Rochester is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,492 at the 2020 census. In addition to the downtown area, the city contains the villages of East Rochester, Gonic, and North Rochester. Rochester is home to Skyhaven Airport and part of Baxter Lake.

Rochester was one of New Hampshire’s fastest growing cities between 2010 and 2020.

Rochester was once inhabited by Abenaki Indians of the Pennacook tribe. They fished, hunted and farmed, moving locations when their agriculture exhausted the soil for growing pumpkins, squash, beans and maize. Squanamagonic (abbreviated to “Gonic”) means “the water of the clay place hill”.

The town was one of four granted by colonial governor Samuel Shute of Massachusetts and New Hampshire during his brief term. Incorporated in 1722, it was named for his close friend, Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, brother-in-law to King James II. As was customary, tall white pine trees were reserved for use as masts by the Royal Navy. But hostility with the Abenaki people delayed settlement until 1728, although attacks would continue until 1748. Early dwellings clustered together for protection, beginning near Haven Hill. Due to warfare or disease, after 1749 Native American numbers dwindled, although many descendants remain in or around Rochester communities. The community at that time included Farmington, which was incorporated in 1798, and Milton, in 1802.

In 1737, the Reverend Amos Main became the first settled pastor of the Congregational Church, located on Rochester Hill. The building would be moved to Rochester Common, which then encompassed 250 acres (1.0 km) and was called “Norway Plain Mille Common” after its abundant Norway pines. At the time, the Common extended into what is now downtown Rochester. By 1738, the farming community contained 60 families. A statue of Parson Main, sculpted by Giuseppe Moretti, today presides over the town square.

By 1780 the area surrounding the Common was the most thickly settled part of town, so a meeting house/church was erected on the east end of the Common with the entrance facing what is now South Main Street. A cemetery was also established near the new meeting house, but the ground was found to be too wet, and the bodies were removed to the Old Rochester Cemetery. In 1842 the Meeting House/church was moved to the present-day location at the corner of Liberty and South Main streets. As the years went by the size of the Common would shrink as more of it was sold off for development. A bandstand was constructed in 1914. Today, the Common is used for community activities such as Memorial Day events and for concerts throughout the summer months, in addition to having a walking track.