Set on the edge of the Green Mountain National Forest, the town is a picturesque tourist destination.

Rochester was granted in 1780, chartered in 1781 to Dudley Chase, Asa Whitcomb and 63 others, then organized in 1788.

[5] The surface of the town is mountainous and broken, but the intervales along the White River provided good farmland.

By 1859, when the population was 1,493, industries included one gristmill, several sawmills, one tub factory, and a variety of mechanic shops.

[4] The White River Railroad from Bethel opened to Rochester in 1900, but was abandoned in 1933 during the Great Depression.

Rochester was one of thirteen Vermont towns isolated by flooding caused by Hurricane Irene in 2011.

The racial makeup of the town was 98.46% White, 0.17% African American, 0.17% Asian, and 1.20% from two or more races.