Rochester, Massachusetts
Plymouth county. A large maritime town on Buzzard's bay, 9 miles E. from New Bedford and 48 S.S.E. from Boston. Incorporated, 1686. Population, 1837, 3,570. The face of the town is uneven and the soil light. Mattepoiset and Sipican rivers, rising in large ponds in the town, empty into the bay and form good harbors. The manufactures of Rochester consist of vessels, salt, bar iron, boots, shoes, &c.; value, the year ending April 1, 1837, $101,811. During that period there were 9 vessels engaged in the whale fishery, and brought into port 116,928 gallons of oil, valued at $71,658. A number of merchant vessels belong to this place, and numerous coasting and fishing vessels.
