The founder Alexander Chamberlain named it for his former hometown of Rochester, New York.

[1] The Lyman M. Brackett House, Fulton County Courthouse, Rochester Downtown Historic District, and John W. Smith House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

On May 11, 1938, Irene Ray and her husband Charles were driven from the town of Rochester, Indiana due to allegations that Irene was a practitioner of witchcraft and had hexed several town folk.

It was alleged that her hexes had caused personal property damage, serious illness, and even death.

Irene and Charles had moved to the town six years prior to this unfortunate episode along with their daughter, Iloe, and their cat (a strange fact that many of the newspaper stories were sure to include).

In 1967, the most complete known specimen of the extinct bear Arctodus was found in a cornfield near Rochester.

[13][14] In early April, 1974 Indiana was one of the states that were impacted by the super outbreak.

The tornado reportedly hit multiple houses in Rochester, Also damaging Riddle Elementary, the tornado continued and killed a couple people before dissipating.

Located on the east side of Rochester, Lake Manitou is a popular place in the summer for boating and other water-related activities.

City Park is located on the western side of Rochester, near the high school.