ROCHESTER - What is now Rochester township was first settled in the year 1819 by James McCoy, Robert and Archibald Sattley, William Roberts and William Shelton. They were followed by Elias Williams in 1821, Isaac Keys in 1822, C. B. Stafford in 1824 and by others about the same period. This township lies in the middle tier of townships from the north, and was organized in 1861. It comprises government township 15 north, range 4 west, and is bounded on the north by Clear Lake, east by Cooper, south by Cotton Hill and west by Woodside. The township is watered by the south fork of the Sangamon river and its tributaries, on the banks of which plenty of timber is found. It is crossed diagonally by the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern railroad and also by the new extension of the Springfield, Indianapolis, Decatur and Western railroad. The village of Rochester, on the line of the first named railroad, is the local commercial point for the township. It was surveyed and platted by James Gregory for the proprietors in December, 1831, and now has 379 inhabitants.

The population of the township, including the village - is 1,278.