Rochester boasts three iconic buildings in its center. They form an image of Rochester that has stayed relatively constant over the centuries. Of the three buildings, the presence of a “town hall” building has the longest history even though today’s town hall is not the oldest on the green. Today’s town hall is the third to have been built in the center.
As with most early New England towns, one of the first buildings to be constructed was a meetinghouse which was used both as a house of worship and a place to conduct town business. In 1697, the first two town constables established the area to be Rochester Center and in 1699, the first meetinghouse was built in or near the Center Cemetery. This meetinghouse became too small, and a new building was constructed on the town green in 1717. Once the First Parish meeting house was built in 1760, the 1717 meetinghouse became a “Town House.” Here town meeting and other large gatherings were held.
The two- story building was cut down to one story in 1773. It is thought that the bottom portion was removed because it suffered from rot. That was not the only change voted. It was decided to put up a partition so that one side of the building could be used for town business, while the other side would be a “workhouse to promote industry.” This plan was put off due to the American Revolution, but it was put in place by 1781. It was at this time that town officers came into being. The first two were Lot Haskell and Deacon Seth Dexter. The workhouse was closed down by the state in1792 and the entire building was remodeled and all of it was used as a town hall.
Moving on to the second Town Hall, it was built on the east side of the town green in 1811. It was a square, hip-roofed building and was in use until 1892 when the third Town Hall was built. The 1811 building was changed into a cranberry screen house after being moved to the Pratt Bog.
The impetus behind the building of the 1892 building was an offer by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Leonard of East Over who said they would provide half of the money needed for the building. Mrs. Leonard also donated the money for the creation of a town library that was housed in what is now the current assessors’ area of Town Hall.
Rochester’s 1892 Town Hall has stood the test of time, but changes within have been made to create more room for meetings, modern equipment and storage. A large meeting room in the basement, a second vault and moving some offices to the Women’s Club annex has provided more space.
As the town is looking to upgrade fire and police stations, no doubt there will be changes considered for our 131-year-old building, but it’s safe to say it won’t end up as a screenhouse on a cranberry bog.
By Connie Eshbach