Rochester, New Hampshire

Rochester is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, with a population over 31,000, making it the largest city in New Hampshire's Seacoast region. The city includes the villages of East Rochester and Gonic. Rochester is also home to Skyhaven Airport. The median income for a household in the city is around $40,596, and the median income for a family is $47,324.

Rochester was once inhabited by Abenaki Indians of the Pennacook tribe. They fished, hunted and farmed, moving locations when their agricultural usage exhausted the soil for growing pumpkins, squash, beans and maize. Gonic was called Squamanogonic, meaning "the water of the clay place hill." For white settlers, the area was initially a farming community. During the industrial revolution, it later developed into a textile milling town and shoe manufacturing community thanks to the nearby presence of the Salmon Falls River.

In recent years, because of its proximity to major routes and industrial centers, the town is being restored to its former beauty and enjoys a special small village feeling that many people crave. Special sites of interest include the Rochester Historical Society Museum and Rochester Opera House along witht he annual Rochester Fair.