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125-525: Arthur Findlay College is a college of Spiritualism and psychic sciences at Stansted Hall in Stansted Mountfitchet , Essex , England. Stansted Hall was built in 1871, and the college was founded there in 1964. In accordance with Arthur Findlay 's wishes, the college building and grounds are administered by the Spiritualists' National Union (SNU). The head offices of SNU at Redwoods are within

250-405: A 2012 bankruptcy. By 2022, the city's population had declined to 209,352 (although the metropolitan area was considerably larger) with 45.1% recorded as White and 38.4% as Black or African American. Although the total population declined, new arrivals continued to move to the city and change its demographic profile. Thousands of Puerto Ricans moved to the city after World War II, and the city became

375-425: A Voice to Mankind , dictated to a friend while in a trance state, eventually became the nearest thing to a canonical work in a spiritualist movement whose extreme individualism precluded the development of a single coherent worldview. Spiritualists often set March 31, 1848, as the beginning of their movement. On that date, Kate and Margaret Fox , of Hydesville , New York, reported that they had made contact with

500-553: A career out of painting the dead or "spirit portraits". Mina Crandon (1888–1941), a spiritualist medium in the 1920s, was known for producing an ectoplasm hand during her séances. The hand was later exposed as a trick when biologists found it to be made from a piece of carved animal liver. In 1934, the psychical researcher Walter Franklin Prince described the Crandon case as "the most ingenious, persistent, and fantastic complex of fraud in

625-594: A century. On November 8, 1803, three men from Hagerstown, Maryland , purchased a 100-acre (40- ha ) tract from the Pulteney Estate along the Genesee River: Major Charles Carroll, Colonel William Fitzhugh Jr, and Colonel Nathaniel Rochester , the namesake of the city. They chose the site because its three cataracts on the Genesee offered great potential for water power. Beginning in 1811, and with

750-859: A convention in Rochester, New York . Then, in October 1944, a ninth principle was adopted by the National Spiritualist Association of Churches, at a convention in St. Louis, Missouri. In the UK, the main organization representing spiritualism is the Spiritualists' National Union (SNU) , whose teachings are based on the Seven Principles. Spiritualism first appeared in the 1840s in the " Burned-over District " of upstate New York , where earlier religious movements such as Millerism and Mormonism had emerged during

875-649: A defined set of rules, but various spiritualist organizations within the United States have adopted variations on some or all of a "Declaration of Principles" developed between 1899 and 1944. In October 1899, a six article "Declaration of Principles" was adopted by the National Spiritualist Association (NSA) at a convention in Chicago, Illinois. An additional two principles were added by the NSA in October 1909, at

1000-550: A dubious Marie Curie . Thomas Edison wanted to develop a "spirit phone", an ethereal device that would summon to the living the voices of the dead and record them for posterity. The claims of spiritualists and others as to the reality of spirits were investigated by the Society for Psychical Research , founded in London in 1882. The society set up a Committee on Haunted Houses. Prominent investigators who exposed cases of fraud came from

1125-469: A female householder with no partner present, and 29.0% had a male householder with no partner present. Of all households, 41.3% were made up of individuals, 25.3% had children under 18 living with them, and 9.2% had someone living alone 65 or older. 33.1% of housing units were owner-occupied, and 66.9% were rented. The age distribution was 18.8% under 18, 15.4% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 or older. The median age

1250-523: A house believed to be haunted by the ghosts of three murder victims seeking revenge against their killer's son, who was eventually driven insane. Many families, "having no faith in ghosts", thereafter moved into the house, but all soon moved out again. In the 1920s many "psychic" books were published of varied quality. Such books were often based on excursions initiated by the use of Ouija boards . A few of these popular books displayed unorganized spiritualism, though most were less insightful. The movement

1375-515: A large concentration of Polish Americans along with nearby Buffalo, New York. Rochester's Bhutanese and Nepalese communities are among the largest (top 3) in the United States, concentrated primarily in Jones Square and Edgerton with growth fueled by recently arrived migrants and refugees. In addition, Rochester was ranked number 9 in the nation for the largest Italian population in the United States in 2018. Rochester has been reported to have

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1500-591: A long history of exposing the fraudulent methods of mediumship. During the 1920s, professional magician Harry Houdini undertook a well-publicised campaign to expose fraudulent mediums; he was adamant that "Up to the present time everything that I have investigated has been the result of deluded brains." Other magician or magic-author debunkers of spiritualist mediumship have included Chung Ling Soo , Henry Evans , Julien Proskauer , Fulton Oursler , Joseph Dunninger , and Joseph Rinn . In February 1921 Thomas Lynn Bradford , in an experiment designed to ascertain

1625-552: A major destination for refugees in the 21st century. Rochester is located in Upstate New York , on the southern shore of Lake Ontario . The Genesee River bisects the city. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 37.1 square miles (96 km ), of which 35.8 square miles (93 km ) are land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km ) are covered by water (3.42%). Rochester borders

1750-445: A medium through study and practice. They believe that spirits are capable of growth and perfection, progressing through higher spheres or planes, and that the afterlife is not a static state, but one in which spirits evolve. The two beliefs—that contact with spirits is possible, and that spirits may dwell on a higher plane—lead to a third belief, that spirits can provide knowledge about moral and ethical issues, as well as about God and

1875-481: A new church." Mesmer did not contribute religious beliefs, but he brought a technique, later known as hypnotism , that it was claimed could induce trances and cause subjects to report contact with supernatural beings. There was a great deal of professional showmanship inherent to demonstrations of Mesmerism , and the practitioners who lectured in mid-19th-century North America sought to entertain their audiences as well as to demonstrate methods for personal contact with

2000-582: A partnership program between the city government and Rochester Coalition for Neighborhood Living, defines 35 neighborhoods in Rochester. Among these are the 14621 Community, 19th Ward, Beechwood, Browncroft, Charlotte , Cobbs Hill, Corn Hill, downtown Rochester , Dutchtown, Edgerton , EMMA (East Main, Mustard & Atlantic Avenue), High Falls, Highland Park, Homestead Heights, JOSANA (Jay-Orchard Street Area), Lincoln Park, Lyell-Otis, Maplewood, Marketview Heights, Mayor's Heights, Monroe Village, NOTA (Neighborhood of

2125-630: A population of 15, the three founders surveyed the land and laid out streets and tracts. In 1817, the Brown brothers and other landowners joined their lands with the Hundred Acre Tract to form the village of Rochesterville. This name was unpopular, and in 1822 it was shortened to Rochester. By 1821, Rochesterville became the seat of Monroe County. In 1823, the Erie Canal aqueduct over the Genesee River

2250-574: A population of 211,328 at the 2020 census . The city forms the core of the larger Rochester metropolitan area in Western New York , with a population of just over 1 million residents. Throughout its history, Rochester has acquired several nicknames based on local industries; it has been known as " the Flour City " and " the Flower City " for its dual role in flour production and floriculture, and as

2375-424: A profitable venture, and soon became popular forms of entertainment and spiritual catharsis. The Fox sisters earned a living this way and others followed their lead. Showmanship became an increasingly important part of spiritualism, and the visible, audible, and tangible evidence of spirits escalated as mediums competed for paying audiences. As independent investigating commissions repeatedly established, most notably

2500-505: A rare hybrid structure called " kame moraine ". The ice sheets also created Lake Ontario, the Genesee River with its waterfalls and gorges , Irondequoit Bay , Sodus Bay , Braddock Bay , Mendon Ponds , numerous local streams and ponds, the Ridge , and the nearby Finger Lakes . Water to the city is sourced from Hemlock Lake , Canadice Lake , and Lake Ontario. Celebrate City Living,

2625-633: A series of séances at Duncan's house and took flash photographs of Duncan and her alleged "materialization" spirits, including her spirit guide "Peggy". The photographs revealed the "spirits" to have been fraudulently produced, using dolls made from painted papier-mâché masks, draped in old sheets. Duncan was later tested by Harry Price at the National Laboratory of Psychical Research ; photographs revealed Duncan's ectoplasm to be made from cheesecloth , rubber gloves, and cut-out heads from magazine covers. Spiritualists reacted with an uncertainty to

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2750-570: A spirit that was later claimed to be the spirit of a murdered peddler whose body was found in the house, though no record of such a person was ever found. The spirit was said to have communicated through rapping noises, audible to onlookers. The evidence of the senses appealed to practically minded Americans, and the Fox sisters became a sensation. As the first celebrity mediums, the sisters quickly became famous for their public séances in New York. However, in 1888

2875-568: A type of séance in which spirits were said to communicate with people seated around a table by tilting and rotating the table. By 1897, spiritualism was said to have more than eight million followers in the United States and Europe, mostly drawn from the middle and upper classes . Spiritualism was mainly a middle- and upper-class movement, and especially popular with women. American spiritualists would meet in private homes for séances, at lecture halls for trance lectures, at state or national conventions, and at summer camps attended by thousands. Among

3000-838: A variety of backgrounds, including professional researchers such as Frank Podmore of the Society for Psychical Research and Harry Price of the National Laboratory of Psychical Research , and professional conjurers such as John Nevil Maskelyne . Maskelyne exposed the Davenport brothers by appearing in the audience during their shows and explaining how the trick was done. The psychical researcher Hereward Carrington exposed fraudulent mediums' tricks, such as those used in slate-writing, table-turning , trumpet mediumship, materializations, sealed-letter reading, and spirit photography . The skeptic Joseph McCabe , in his book Is Spiritualism Based on Fraud? (1920), documented many fraudulent mediums and their tricks. Magicians and writers on magic have

3125-736: A vibrant music industry. It is the site of several museums such as The Strong National Museum of Play and the George Eastman Museum , which houses the oldest photography collection in the world. The Seneca tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy lived around Rochester prior to the American Revolution , and used the area as a hunting ground. Allied with the British, the Seneca were forced to cede or sell most of their land in New York after

3250-525: Is a lakefront community in Rochester bordering Lake Ontario. It is home to Ontario Beach Park, commonly known as Charlotte Beach, which is a popular summer destination for Rochesterians. A new terminal was built in 2004 for the Rochester-to-Toronto ferry service and was later sold after the ferry ceased operations in 2005. The Port of Rochester terminal still exists, but multiple attempts by the city to make additions have failed since 2016. Corn Hill

3375-585: Is best known as a chronicler of the movement's spread, especially in her 1884 Nineteenth Century Miracles: Spirits and Their Work in Every Country of the Earth , and her 1870 Modern American Spiritualism , a detailed account of claims and investigations of mediumship beginning with the earliest days of the movement. William Stainton Moses (1839–92) was an Anglican clergyman who, in the period from 1872 to 1883, filled 24 notebooks with automatic writing, much of which

3500-430: Is centered on the eponymous street southeast of downtown. It originally functioned as a service street with businesses that catered to wealthy residents who lived on nearby East Avenue. Between 1894 and 1975, it was also home to Park Avenue Hospital. Today, the neighborhood is one of the most desirable in the city, highly valued for its walkability and density of bars, clubs, and restaurants. The city's annual pride parade

3625-591: Is hosted in the neighborhood. The Park Avenue Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. The South Wedge is a wedge-shaped neighborhood centered on South Avenue between the Genesee River and Interstate 490. It began as the home of several families involved in trades on the Erie Canal. In the 1840s, the Ellwanger and Barry nursery was built on South Avenue, introducing greenery to

3750-517: Is located in the city's old Third Ward, and best known today for the annual Corn Hill arts festival. Many of the city's wealthiest residents lived in the neighborhood during the 19th century, but they relocated to the East End and suburbs after the turn of the century. The neighborhood experienced decline, and much of the Third Ward was demolished for the construction of I-490 in the 1960s. Revival began in

3875-572: Is on imaging and optical science among the industry and universities. The Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester and the Rochester Institute of Technology have popular imaging programs, and a research hub for photonics has operated in the city since 2015 following federal and state investment. Rochester is also home to the Fortune 500 beverage company Constellation Brands and

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4000-439: Is set apart from most of the continental US by comparatively cool, comfortable summers (ranking among the top five coolest summers among large metros alongside San Francisco , Seattle , Portland, Oregon , and neighboring Buffalo ). Autumn features brilliant foliage colors, cooling temperatures and occasionally an excess of rain depending on the year, though precipitation is generally plentiful and dispersed fairly evenly throughout

4125-475: Is the " white hot ", a variant of the hot dog or smoked bratwurst made by the local Zweigle's company and other companies. Another local specialty is the Garbage Plate , a trademark of Nick Tahou Hots that traditionally includes macaroni salad, home fries, and two hot dogs or cheeseburgers topped with mustard, onions, and their famous meat hot sauce. Many area restaurants feature copies or variations with

4250-678: The Fortune 1000 company Paychex (Fortune #681) and the supermarket chain Wegmans . The median single-family house price was $ 247,000 in the third quarter of 2023 in greater Rochester, an increase of 10.3% from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors . The city of Rochester is home to numerous cultural institutions. These include the Garth Fagan Dance, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra ,

4375-526: The Cunningham Car Company , a pioneer automobile maker. German immigrants John Jacob Bausch and Henry Lomb launched Bausch & Lomb in 1861 and inventor and entrepreneur George Eastman founded Eastman Kodak in 1892. Xerox was founded in Rochester in 1906 as the Haloid Company. In the early 20th century, Rochester became a center of the garment industry, particularly men's fashions. It

4500-596: The First Unitarian Church of Rochester , which was designed by Louis Kahn and described by Paul Goldberger as one of "the most significant works of religious architecture of the century". Significant Art Deco buildings include the Cinema Theater and Times Square Building , noted for its 42' tall "Wings of Progress" sculpture. The Midtown Plaza , the nation's first downtown shopping mall, first opened in 1962, and remains partially standing today. Museums in

4625-599: The Industrial Areas Foundation to help the community organize. With the Reverend Franklin Florence , they established FIGHT (Freedom, Integration, God, Honor, Today), which successfully brought pressure to bear on Eastman Kodak to help open up employment and city governance. With industrial restructuring in the later 20th century, Rochester's manufacturing workforce shrank. Kodak, long the city's largest employer, conducted massive layoffs prior to

4750-547: The Maplewood Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. The Marketview Heights neighborhood is northeast of downtown Rochester, running east from Union Street just north of Atlantic Ave. It is best known as the location of the Public Market, which first opened in 1905 and offers a variety of groceries and other goods from farms and shops from surrounding areas, primarily on

4875-633: The RIT men's and women's ice hockey teams, and the University of Rochester men's squash team, which has ranked top 5 in Division I. Notable cemeteries include the Victorian-era Mount Hope Cemetery , Holy Sepulchre and Riverside Cemetery . Mount Hope became a popular picnicking destination during the late nineteenth century, and the city began to develop public parks. Rochester's park system

5000-706: The Rochester City Ballet , Rochester Contemporary Art Center , the Rochester Broadway Theater League , Hochstein School of Music & Dance , the Auditorium Theater, and numerous arts organizations. Geva Theatre Center is the city's largest professional theater. The East End Theater is on East Main Street in the theater district. The Eastman School of Music , one of the top musical institutes in

5125-600: The Sacramento Kings ) were a professional basketball team in Rochester from 1945 to 1957 with roots as an amateur team dating back to 1923. They won the NBA title in 1951 , defeating the New York Knicks in 7 games. Rochester and its surrounding area also has a rich golf history and has hosted numerous professional tournaments on its local golf courses, most recently the 2023 PGA Championship . NCAA Division I teams include

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5250-548: The Second Great Awakening , although Millerism and Mormonism did not associate themselves with spiritualism. This region of New York State was an environment in which many thought direct communication with God or angels was possible, and that God would not behave harshly—for example, that God would not condemn unbaptised infants to an eternity in Hell. In this environment, the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) and

5375-549: The Spiritualist , attempted to view spiritualist phenomena from a scientific perspective, eschewing discussion on both theological and reform issues. Books on the supernatural were published for the growing middle class, such as 1852's Mysteries , by Charles Elliott, which contains "sketches of spirits and spiritual things", including accounts of the Salem witch trials , the Lane ghost, and

5500-415: The University of Rochester to become the city's top employer in 2005, a title it holds today. Bausch & Lomb moved to Bridgewater, New Jersey, in 2014. The Gannett newspaper company and Western Union were founded in Rochester by Frank Gannett and Hiram Sibley , respectively, but have since moved to other cities. Today, the city's top employers are its educational and medical institutions. After

5625-427: The spirit world "at a rate more rapid and under conditions more favourable to growth" than encountered on earth. Rochester, New York Rochester ( / ˈ r ɒ tʃ ɛ s t ər , - ɪ s -/ ROTCH -ess-tər, -⁠iss- ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Monroe County . It is the fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with

5750-692: The women's rights movement . Rochester is the birthplace and/or home of many notable companies including Eastman Kodak , Xerox , Bausch & Lomb , Wegmans , Gannett , Paychex , and Western Union , and the region became a global center for science, technology, and research and development. This has been aided by the presence of several internationally renowned universities, notably the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology , and their research programs; these schools, along with many other smaller colleges, have played an increasingly large role in its economy. The city experienced significant population decline due to deindustrialization in

5875-534: The women's suffrage movement . A critical suffragettes' convention was held in 1848 in nearby Seneca Falls, and Rochester was the home of Susan B. Anthony along with other notable Suffragettes such as Abigail Bush and Amy Post . The city itself played host to the Rochester Women's Rights Convention of 1848 . The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution , in 1920, which guaranteed

6000-500: The "Brooks Landing" development along the Genesee River. Gentrification has occurred in the 19th Ward and adjacent Plymouth-Exchange area from the conversion of housing stock to student housing for the University of Rochester. Located in the 19th Ward are the Arvine Heights Historic District , Chili–West Historic District , Inglewood and Thurston Historic District , and Sibley–Elmdorf Historic District , listed on

6125-549: The "Imaging Capital of the World" for its association with film, optics, and photography. The city was one of the United States' first boomtowns , initially due to the fertile Genesee River valley which gave rise to numerous flour mills, and then as a manufacturing center, which spurred further rapid population growth. Rochester has also played a key part in US history as a hub for social and political movements, especially abolitionism , and

6250-497: The 1840s to the 1920s, especially in English-speaking countries . It flourished for a half century without canonical texts or formal organization, attaining cohesion through periodicals, tours by trance lecturers, camp meetings, and the missionary activities of accomplished mediums . Many prominent spiritualists were women, and like most spiritualists, supported causes such as the abolition of slavery and women's suffrage . By

6375-530: The 1840s, as the example of Andrew Jackson Davis shows. After 1848, many socialists became ardent spiritualists or occultists. The most popular trance lecturer prior to the American Civil War was Cora L. V. Scott (1840–1923). Young and beautiful, her appearance on stage fascinated men. Her audiences were struck by the contrast between her physical girlishness and the eloquence with which she spoke of spiritual matters, and found in that contrast support for

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6500-465: The 1887 report of the Seybert Commission , fraud was widespread, and some of these cases were prosecuted in the courts. Despite numerous instances of chicanery, the appeal of spiritualism was strong. Prominent in the ranks of its adherents were those grieving the death of a loved one. Many families during the time of the American Civil War had seen their men go off and never return, and images of

6625-641: The 1890s, as Rochester expanded, the area rapidly urbanized. By 1930, it was a booming residential area for doctors, lawyers, and other skilled workers. Homes in the originally upper-class neighborhood typically have gumwood trim, leaded glass, fireplaces, hardwood floors, and open porches. In the 1960s, property values fell as the population of Rochester did, the area experienced white flight accelerated by school busing, blockbusting , and race riots downtown, and crime increased, with violence, drug use , and neglected property further diminishing property values. In recent years, neighborhood revitalization has come from

6750-523: The 1950s. Casually employed by the city's major industries, most African Americans in the city held low-pay and low-skill jobs, and lived in substandard housing. Discontent exploded in the three-day 1964 Rochester race riot , which resulted in five deaths, 350 injuries, nearly a thousand arrests, and 204 stores looted or damaged. In the wake of the riot, the Rochester Area Churches, together with black civil rights leaders, invited Saul Alinsky of

6875-518: The American medium Maria B. Hayden (credited with introducing spiritualism to England); Owen made a public profession of his new faith in his publication The Rational Quarterly Review and later wrote a pamphlet, "The future of the Human race; or great glorious and future revolution to be effected through the agency of departed spirits of good and superior men and women". A number of scientists who investigated

7000-487: The Arts), North Winton Village, Northland-Lyceum, Park Avenue, Plymouth-Exchange, South Wedge, Susan B. Anthony, Swillburg, Upper Falls, Upper Monroe, and Upper Mount Hope. The 19th Ward is a southwest neighborhood bordered by Genesee Street, West Avenue, and the Erie Canal, and is across the river from the University of Rochester. The neighborhood is one of the largest in Rochester. Now known by its slogan "Urban by Choice", in

7125-423: The Fox sisters admitted that this contact with the spirit was a hoax, though shortly afterward they recanted that admission. Amy and Isaac Post , Hicksite Quakers from Rochester , New York, had long been acquainted with the Fox family, and took the two girls into their home in the late spring of 1848. Immediately convinced of the veracity of the sisters' communications, they became early converts and introduced

7250-545: The Genesee Riverway Trail, which runs for the river's entire length through the city. Current city facilities include 12 full-time recreation centers, 48 playgrounds, two artificial ice rinks, 74 softball/baseball fields, 42 tennis courts, four soccer fields, and 45 outdoor basketball courts. Rochester is governed by a mayor serving as chief executive of city government and a city council consisting of four district members and five at-large members. Rochester has had

7375-613: The London Spiritualist Alliance, which published a newspaper called The Light , featuring articles such as "Evenings at Home in Spiritual Séance", "Ghosts in Africa" and "Chronicles of Spirit Photography", advertisements for " mesmerists " and patent medicines , and letters from readers about personal contact with ghosts. In Britain, by 1853, invitations to tea among the prosperous and fashionable often included table-turning,

7500-562: The National Register of Historic Places. The Browncroft neighborhood is built on the former nursery grounds of the Brown Brothers nursery, between the town of Brighton and Winton Road. Many Tudor and Colonial houses are contained within, and the business district situated on Winton Road has a mix of restaurants and shops. The Browncroft Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. Charlotte

7625-429: The Rochester area include the Genesee Country Village and Museum , George Eastman Museum , Memorial Art Gallery , Rochester Museum and Science Center , Strasenburgh Planetarium , Susan B. Anthony House , New York Museum of Transportation , Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum , and The Strong National Museum of Play . In 2023, plans were announced for a museum dedicated to the life of Frederick Douglass in

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7750-403: The Rochester rappings. The Night Side of Nature , by Catherine Crowe, published in 1853, provided definitions and accounts of wraiths, doppelgängers, apparitions and haunted houses. Mainstream newspapers treated stories of ghosts and haunting as they would any other news story. An account in the Chicago Daily Tribune in 1891, "sufficiently bloody to suit the most fastidious taste", tells of

7875-411: The United States until her death in 1861. Sprague was an abolitionist and an advocate of women's rights. Another spiritualist and trance medium prior to the Civil War was Paschal Beverly Randolph (1825–1875), a man of mixed race, who also played a part in the abolitionist movement. Nevertheless, many abolitionists and reformers held themselves aloof from the spiritualist movement; among the skeptics

8000-411: The United States, Europe, and the Caribbean. Douglass lived in Rochester until his home was destroyed in a fire in 1872, and a historical marker was erected at the site on South Avenue. Many other prominent abolitionists operated in the area and operated on the Underground Railroad , such as Thomas James and Austin Steward . Around the same time, the nearby Finger Lakes region was the birthplace of

8125-606: The United States, Russia and Poland. Palladino was said by believers to perform spiritualist phenomena in the dark: levitating tables, producing apports, and materializing spirits. On investigation, all these things were found to be products of trickery. The British medium William Eglinton (1857–1933) claimed to perform spiritualist phenomena such as movement of objects and materializations . All of his feats were exposed as tricks. The Bangs Sisters , Mary "May" E. Bangs (1862–1917) and Elizabeth "Lizzie" Snow Bangs (1859–1920), were two spiritualist mediums based in Chicago, who made

8250-546: The University of Rochester, major employers in these fields include Rochester Regional Health , the Rochester Institute of Technology , and Carestream Health . In recent years, a high technology industry has grown in Rochester, fostered in part by collaborations between private startup enterprises and the local higher learning institutions. Other organizations such as High Tech Rochester provide local startups with mentorship, office space, and other resources. Like its legacy manufacturers, Rochester's modern technological focus

8375-406: The afterlife. Many believers therefore speak of " spirit guides "—specific spirits, often contacted, and relied upon for worldly and spiritual guidance. According to spiritualists, anyone may receive spirit messages, but formal communication sessions ( séances ) are held by mediums, who claim thereby to receive information about the afterlife. As an informal movement, spiritualism does not have

8500-420: The area around Lyell Avenue has been a target for the formation of a designated Little Italy neighborhood, although few Italian Americans live there today. The neighborhood is known for struggling with a high crime rate. Residents have pursued a number of strategies to improve the neighborhood in recent years, including the construction of housing for the homeless. The neighborhood features Edgerton Park, which

8625-422: The as part of the Second Great Awakening , including a particularly notable revival led by Charles Grandison Finney which inspired local social reform movements. During the mid-19th century, as the center of the wheat-processing industry moved west with population and agriculture, the city became home to an expanding nursery business, giving rise to the city's second nickname, the Flower City. Nurseries ringed

8750-438: The battlefield, produced through the new medium of photography, demonstrated that their loved ones had not only died in overwhelmingly huge numbers, but horribly as well. One well known case is that of Mary Todd Lincoln who, grieving the loss of her son, organized séances in the White House which were attended by her husband, President Abraham Lincoln . The surge of Spiritualism during this time, and later during World War I ,

8875-426: The city, the most famous of which was started in 1840 by immigrants George Ellwanger from Germany and Patrick Barry from Ireland. Shoemaking also became a major local industry as the city began to industrialize. In 1847, Frederick Douglass founded The North Star , an abolitionist newspaper, in Rochester. A former slave and an antislavery speaker and writer, he gained a circulation of over 4,000 readers in

9000-462: The city. Rochester hosts a number of cultural festivals every year. The Lilac Festival at Highland Park is attended by hundreds of thousands annually. Established after an 1898 gathering, it features the largest collection of lilac varieties in North America, a parade, and dozens of musical acts and food vendors. The Rochester International Jazz Festival was established in 2002 and is one of

9125-590: The college grounds. Course prices include daily meals, tuition and accommodations. Stansted Hall, built in 1871, was given to the Spiritualists' National Union in by J. Arthur Findlay, MBE, JP, a former honorary president of the SNU, and in accordance with his wishes is administered by the Union as a college for the advancement of psychic science. Findlay bought the estate in 1923 upon his retirement from business and first mooted

9250-487: The course of the past 70 years Rochester has become a major center for immigration, particularly for arrivals from Eastern and Southeastern Europe , sub-Saharan Africa , and the Caribbean . Rochester had the highest percentage of Puerto Ricans of any major city in the United States in 2013, one of the four largest Turkish American communities, one of the largest Jamaican American communities in any major U.S. city and

9375-512: The divine sometimes uses them as a means of communication. Although Swedenborg warned against seeking out spirit contact, his works seem to have inspired in others the desire to do so. Swedenborg was formerly a highly regarded inventor and scientist, achieving several engineering innovations and studying physiology and anatomy. Then, "in 1741, he also began to have a series of intense mystical experiences, dreams, and visions, claiming that he had been called by God to reform Christianity and introduce

9500-448: The divine. Perhaps the best known of those who combined Swedenborg and Mesmer in a peculiarly North American synthesis was Andrew Jackson Davis , who called his system the "harmonial philosophy". Davis was a practising Mesmerist , faith healer and clairvoyant from Blooming Grove, New York . He was also strongly influenced by the socialist theories of Fourierism . His 1847 book, The Principles of Nature, Her Divine Revelations, and

9625-484: The early 1920s. The Park Commission also constructed new facilities in all parks, filling them with playgrounds, pavilions, and sports facilities. Modern additions to the park system include Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, Turning Point Park, and Tryon Park, which are located on former industrial and urban sites, in contrast to the early parks. Most of the city's parks lie on the Genesee River and can be accessed by

9750-439: The early 19th century, the area was known as Castle Town, after Castle Inn, a tavern run by Colonel Isaac Castle. By the early 1820s, however, the area was overshadowed by developments in the north that would become downtown Rochester. Due to a tumultuous bend in the Genesee, the area was home to skilled boatsmen who assisted boats traveling north to Rochester and the area was consequently known during this time as "The Rapids". In

9875-454: The early nineteenth century. Spiritualist camp meetings were located most densely in New England, but were also established across the upper Midwest. Cassadaga, Florida , is the most notable spiritualist camp meeting in the southern states. A number of spiritualist periodicals appeared in the nineteenth century, and these did much to hold the movement together. Among the most important were

10000-572: The existence of an afterlife, committed suicide in his apartment by blowing out the pilot light on his heater and turning on the gas. After that date, no further communication from him was received by an associate whom he had recruited for the purpose. The movement quickly spread throughout the world; though only in the United Kingdom did it become as widespread as in the United States. Spiritualist organizations were formed in America and Europe, such as

10125-420: The first time since the 1950 Census . As of the 2020 Census, 38.0% of Rochester residents were non-Hispanic Black, 33.0% were non-Hispanic White, 19.8% were Hispanic/Latino, 3.9% were Asian, 0.2% were Native American or Pacific Islander, and 5.1% were mixed or other. In 2020, there were 91,500 households, of which 18.8% were married couples living together, 9.9% were unmarried co-habitating couples, 42.3% had

10250-441: The former Lehigh Valley Railroad station on the Genesee River. The Ragú brand of pasta sauce used to be produced in Rochester. Some of the original facility still exists and produces products for other labels (including Newman's Own) as Private Label Foods. Rochester was also the original home of French's Mustard, whose address was 1 Mustard Street. Rochester has several professional sports teams: The Rochester Royals (now

10375-517: The hall, grounds and endowment to the union. Findlay died in July 1964. 51°53′49″N 0°12′45″E  /  51.89692°N 0.21247°E  / 51.89692; 0.21247 This Essex school or sixth form college related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Spiritualism (movement) Emanuel Swedenborg has some claim to be the father of spiritualism. The movement developed and reached its largest following from

10500-509: The history of psychic research." The American voice medium Etta Wriedt (1859–1942) was exposed as a fraud by the physicist Kristian Birkeland when he discovered that the noises produced by her trumpet were caused by chemical explosions induced by potassium and water and in other cases by lycopodium powder. Another well-known medium was the Scottish materialization medium Helen Duncan (1897–1956). In 1928 photographer Harvey Metcalfe attended

10625-475: The idea of a spiritualist college at Stansted to the union in 1945. After personal contacts with three successive SNU presidents, a will was drawn up, and in 1954 the National Council accepted the proposed bequest of Stansted Hall with an endowment. This was followed by a later gift in the form of stock to be used for furnishing and decorating, and in 1964, a year after the death of his wife, Findlay transferred

10750-760: The largest jazz festivals in the United States. It takes place in late June at dozens of clubs, concert halls and free outdoor stages throughout Downtown Rochester , regularly drawing over 200,000 visitors. Other notable annual festivals in Rochester include the Rochester International Film Festival in June, the Corn Hill Arts Festival in July, and the Rochester Fringe Festival in September. One food product Rochester calls its own

10875-657: The largest per capita deaf population in the United States by the New York Times because it is home to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf . A 2012 report by the NTID concluded 3.7% of the Rochester metropolitan area is deaf or hard-of-hearing, compared to a national rate of 3.5%. Rochester has the largest deaf and hard-of-hearing population per capita when analyzing the working-age population, but may not have

11000-407: The largest per capita deaf population among all cities, due to deafness being much more prevalent in the elderly. Like many Rust Belt cities, Rochester was traditionally a manufacturing center, home to companies such as Bausch & Lomb , Kodak , and Xerox . In the 21st century, deindustrialization has occurred. Xerox and Kodak each laid off thousands of workers in the 1990s and 2000s, causing

11125-561: The late 1880s the credibility of the informal movement had weakened due to accusations of fraud perpetrated by mediums, and formal spiritualist organizations began to appear. Spiritualism is currently practiced primarily through various denominational spiritualist churches in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. Spiritualists believe in the possibility of communication with the spirits of dead people, whom they regard as "discarnate humans". They believe that spirit mediums are gifted to carry on such communication, but that anyone may become

11250-605: The late 1960s, as several of the Victorian homes in the neighborhood were restored by the Genesee Landmarks Foundation. In 1969 the Corn Hill arts festival was held and became an annual feature. The Third Ward Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The Edgerton neighborhood is in the city's northwest quadrant, along Lake Avenue. Historically an Italian-American neighborhood,

11375-545: The late 20th century, although less severely than its Rust Belt peers. The Rochester metropolitan area is the third-largest regional economy in New York, after New York City and Buffalo-Niagara Falls . Rochester is also known for its culture; in particular, the Eastman School of Music , one of the most prestigious conservatories in the world, and the Rochester International Jazz Festival anchor

11500-724: The most significant of the camp meetings were Camp Etna, in Etna, Maine ; Onset Bay Grove, in Onset, Massachusetts ; Lily Dale , in western New York State; Camp Chesterfield , in Indiana; the Wonewoc Spiritualist Camp , in Wonewoc, Wisconsin ; and Lake Pleasant , in Montague, Massachusetts . In founding camp meetings , the spiritualists appropriated a form developed by U.S. Protestant denominations in

11625-464: The nation, and its auditorium are also within the East End neighborhood. The Eastman Theatre is host to the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and other musical/drama events.The Rochester Association of Performing Arts is a non-profit organization that provides educational theater classes to the community. Several churches are among Rochester's architectural features, including Asbury First United Methodist Church , St. Joseph's Church and Rectory , and

11750-410: The neighborhood and drawing tourists. Frederick Douglass lived in a house in the neighborhood. The area fell on hard times after World War II, when residents moved to the suburbs and several homes and businesses were abandoned. The South Wedge Planning Committee was established in 1973 to revitalize the neighborhood. Today, the neighborhood is a hub of small businesses. The South Wedge Historic District

11875-540: The notion that spirits were speaking through her. Cora married four times, and on each occasion adopted her husband's last name. During her period of greatest activity, she was known as Cora Hatch. Another spiritualist was Achsa W. Sprague , who was born November 17, 1827, in Plymouth Notch , Vermont. At the age of 20, she became ill with rheumatic fever and credited her eventual recovery to intercession by spirits. An extremely popular trance lecturer, she traveled about

12000-590: The phenomenon also became converts. They included chemist and physicist William Crookes (1832–1919), evolutionary biologist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) and physicist Sir Oliver Lodge. Nobel laureate Pierre Curie was impressed by the mediumistic performances of Eusapia Palladino and advocated their scientific study. Other prominent adherents included journalist and pacifist William T. Stead (1849–1912) and physician and author Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930). Doyle, who lost his son Kingsley in World War I,

12125-498: The presence of Indians. But for many that guilt was not assuaged: rather, in order to confront the haunting and rectify it, they were galvanized into action. The political activism of spiritualists on behalf of Indians was thus the result of combining white guilt and fear of divine judgment with a new sense of purpose and responsibility. In the years following the sensation that greeted the Fox sisters, demonstrations of mediumship (séances and automatic writing , for example) proved to be

12250-477: The publicity of fraud accusations and partly through the appeal of religious movements such as Christian science , the Spiritualist Church was organised. This church can claim to be the main vestige of the movement left today in the United States. London-born Emma Hardinge Britten (1823–99) moved to the United States in 1855 and was active in spiritualist circles as a trance lecturer and organiser. She

12375-591: The right of women to vote, was known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment because of her work toward its passage, which she did not live to see. Anthony's home is a National Historic Landmark known as the National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House . Rochester saw an expansion of new industries in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Irish immigrant James Cunningham founded the carriagemaker James Cunningham, Son and Company . James Cunningham and Sons later founded

12500-404: The southern edge of the ice mass. This created a line of hills, including (from west to east) Mt. Hope, the hills of Highland Park, Pinnacle Hill, and Cobb's Hill. Because the sediment of these hills was deposited into a proglacial lake, they are stratified and classified as a " kame delta ". A brief retreat and readvance of the ice sheet onto the delta deposited unstratified material there, creating

12625-468: The southern shores of Lake Ontario), ranking among the snowiest large cities on earth and occasionally setting records for annual snowfall among large US metros. The 30-year annual average snowfall is just above 100 in (2.5 m). Spring sees plentiful rain with the rising temperatures, and occasional late snowstorms depending on the year. Summers are warm and sunny; there are occasional short periods of high heat and humidity but in general, Rochester

12750-444: The surrounding towns to arrive at its present borders. The population reached 62,386 in 1870, 162,608 in 1900, and 295,750 in 1920. By 1950, the population had reached a high of 332,488. The surge in new arrivals, along with increased industrialization , resulted in the city becoming a hotbed of labor activism. From the 1920s and continuing into the post-war era Rochester grew into a power center for newly formed industrial unions. It

12875-503: The teachings of Franz Mesmer (1734–1815) provided an example for those seeking direct personal knowledge of the afterlife. Swedenborg, who claimed to communicate with spirits while awake, described the structure of the spirit world. Two features of his view particularly resonated with the early spiritualists: first, that there is not a single Hell and a single Heaven, but rather a series of higher and lower heavens and hells; second, that spirits are intermediates between God and humans, so that

13000-717: The theories of evolution in the late 19th and early 20th century. Broadly speaking the concept of evolution fitted the spiritualist thought of the progressive development of humanity. At the same time, however, the belief in the animal origins of humanity threatened the foundation of the immortality of the spirit , for if humans had not been created by God, it was scarcely plausible that they would be specially endowed with spirits. This led to spiritualists embracing spiritual evolution . The spiritualists' view of evolution did not stop at death. Spiritualism taught that after death spirits progressed to spiritual states in new spheres of existence. According to spiritualists, evolution occurred in

13125-481: The towns of Irondequoit to the north and northeast, Brighton to the southeast and south, Chili to the southwest, Gates to the west, and Greece to the northwest. Rochester's landscape was formed by the ice sheets during the Pleistocene epoch. The retreating ice sheets reached a standstill at what is now the southern border of the city, melting at the same rate as they were advancing, depositing sediment along

13250-759: The war, the city began engaging in urban renewal projects to revitalize downtown, including the construction of Midtown Plaza and freeways like the Inner Loop , and the demolition of the Front Street neighborhood. By the 1970s, the city experienced highway revolts against new projects, and in the 2010s, the city began filling in the Inner Loop to restore older neighborhoods. In 1950, the Census Bureau reported Rochester's population as 97.6% White and 2.3% Black. Rochester's black population tripled to more than 25,000 during

13375-642: The war. The area now occupied by Rochester was ceded in the Phelps and Gorham Purchase of 1788. As a reward for their loyalty to the British crown, the Iroquois were given a large land grant on the Grand River in Canada. Rochester was founded shortly after by a wave of English-Puritan-descended immigrants from New England , who were looking for new agricultural land. They were the dominant cultural group in Rochester for over

13500-420: The weekends. In the late twentieth century, the neighborhood experienced a severe decline, and roughly half of residents lived below the poverty line in 2000. Public investment was made in the neighborhood after 2008 to implement a number of community proposals. A second round of proposals are being explored currently for the planned removal of the Inner Loop in the southern end of the neighborhood. Park Avenue

13625-745: The weeklies the Banner of Light (Boston), the Religio-Philosophical Journal (Chicago), Mind and Matter (Philadelphia), the Spiritualist (London), and the Medium (London). Other influential periodicals were the Revue Spirite (France), Le Messager (Belgium), Annali dello Spiritismo (Italy), El Criterio Espiritista (Spain), and the Harbinger of Light (Australia). By 1880, there were about three dozen monthly spiritualist periodicals published around

13750-566: The word "plate" commonly used as a general term. Chicken Francese was first popularized by Rochester's Italian American community. The Genesee Brewing Company is headquartered in Rochester, where it holds an annual December tradition of assembling a tower of beer kegs in the shape of a Christmas tree. Other local franchises include Abbott's Frozen Custard , Bill Gray's , DiBella's , and Tom Wahl's . Dinosaur Bar-B-Que , which originated in Syracuse, also operates its second franchise downtown in

13875-471: The world. These periodicals differed a great deal from one another, reflecting the great differences among spiritualists. Some, such as the British Spiritual Magazine were Christian and conservative, openly rejecting the reform currents so strong within spiritualism. Others, such as Human Nature , were pointedly non-Christian and supportive of socialism and reform efforts. Still others, such as

14000-399: The year. As of the 2020 United States census , the population of Rochester was 211,328. Like most Rust Belt cities, the city has experienced a sustained population decline over the last 60 years. In 2020, for the first time in 200 years, Rochester dropped to the fourth most populous city in the state behind Yonkers . However, in 2020, an increase in the city's population was reported for

14125-483: The young mediums to their circle of radical Quaker friends. Consequently, many early participants in spiritualism were radical Quakers and others involved in the mid-nineteenth-century reforming movement . These reformers were uncomfortable with the more mainstream churches because those churches did little to fight slavery and even less to advance the cause of women's rights . Such links with reform movements, often radically socialist, had already been prepared in

14250-516: Was 32.9. For every 100 females, there were 93.6 males. According to 2020 American Community Survey estimates, The median income for a city household was $ 37,395, and for a family was $ 43,873. Males had a median income of $ 30,379, versus $ 28,260 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 24,916. About 25.5% of families and 30.4% of the population were below the poverty line , including 48.2% of those under age 18 and 17.3% of those age 65 or over. Although losing population since 1950, over

14375-432: Was a direct response to those massive battlefield casualties. In addition, the movement appealed to reformers, who fortuitously found that the spirits favoured such causes du jour as abolition of slavery, and equal rights for women. It also appealed to some who had a materialist orientation and rejected organized religion. In 1854 the utopian socialist Robert Owen was converted to spiritualism after "sittings" with

14500-525: Was abolitionist Frederick Douglass . Another social reform movement with significant spiritualist involvement was the effort to improve conditions of Native Americans. Kathryn Troy writes in a study of Indian ghosts in seances: Undoubtedly, on some level spiritualists recognized the Indian spectres that appeared at seances as a symbol of the sins and subsequent guilt of the United States in its dealings with Native Americans. Spiritualists were literally haunted by

14625-467: Was also a member of the Ghost Club . Founded in London in 1862, its focus was the scientific study of alleged paranormal activities in order to prove (or refute) the existence of paranormal phenomena. Members of the club included Charles Dickens , Sir William Crookes, Sir William F. Barrett , and Harry Price . The Paris séances of Eusapia Palladino were attended by an enthusiastic Pierre Curie and

14750-606: Was completed, connecting the city to the Hudson River to the east. New commerce from the canal turned the village into America's first boomtown . By 1830, Rochester's population had grown to 9,200, and in 1834, it was rechartered as a city. Rochester was first known as "the Young Lion of the West", and then as the "Flour City". By 1838, it was the largest flour-producing city in the United States. A series of religious revivals occurred in

14875-433: Was extremely individualistic, with each person relying on his or her own experiences and reading to discern the nature of the afterlife. Organisation was therefore slow to appear, and when it did it was resisted by mediums and trance lecturers. Most members were content to attend Christian churches, and particularly universalist churches harboured many spiritualists. As the spiritualism movement began to fade, partly through

15000-559: Was initially designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s. Olmsted intended to preserve natural landscapes for the city residents to enjoy. The system included four major parks: Genesee Valley Park , Highland Park , Maplewood Park, and Seneca Park, the last of which is today home to the Seneca Park Zoo . The park system was expanded in the early twentieth century with Cobb's Hill Park and Durand Eastman Park in 1908, Edgerton Park in 1911, and Ontario Beach Park in

15125-592: Was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013, and the Gregory Tract Historic District was listed in 2022. Rochester lies in the humid continental climate zone ( Köppen : Dfa ) and has four distinct seasons. Winters are cold (temperatures drop to 0 °F (−18 °C) on 4.2 nights annually). Like much of the eastern Great Lakes, Rochester is very cloudy and overcast in winter. Rochester normally receives heavy snow in winter (primarily lake effect snow resulting from its location on

15250-462: Was once home to most of the city's professional sports teams. Maplewood is located in the northwest quadrant, centered around Lake Avenue and Maplewood Park. Eastman Business Park is located on its north edge. The neighborhood once contained both mansions for the wealthy and worker housing for nearby factories like Kodak's. Many of the neighborhood's old mansions have been converted to multi-family housing. Due to its diverse architectural heritage,

15375-520: Was one of the very few American cities where the labor movement was powerful enough to mount a successful general strike when in 1946 an estimated 50,000 workers across multiple sectors walked off in support of hundreds of city employees who had been fired for attempting to unionize. During World War II , Rochester factories produced a variety of goods for the war effort, including fuel tanker ships, optical equipment, and radio proximity fuses, amounting to US$ 1,200,000,000 of military orders. Following

15500-436: Was said to describe conditions in the spirit world. However, Frank Podmore was skeptical of his alleged ability to communicate with spirits and Joseph McCabe described Moses as a "deliberate impostor", suggesting his apports and all of his feats were the result of trickery. Eusapia Palladino (1854–1918) was an Italian spiritualist medium from the slums of Naples who made a career touring Italy, France, Germany, Britain,

15625-600: Was the base of Bond Clothing Stores , Fashion Park Clothes , Hickey Freeman , and Stein-Bloch and Co. The Erie Canal was rerouted south of Rochester by 1918 to allow widening as part of the Barge Canal 's construction. The short-lived Rochester subway was constructed in the abandoned canal bed and operated from 1927 to 1956. The dawn of the 20th century in Rochester saw rapid growth, driven by waves of immigrants arriving from Germany, Italy, Poland, and elsewhere. The city also grew in area, annexing suburban neighborhoods from

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