Rochester, Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Rochester was first settled in Plymouth Colony in 1638 and was named for Rochester, England, the home of some of its first settlers. The town of Rochester was founded in 1679 and incorporated on June 4, 1686 in Barnstable County, shortly following that county's creation by the Colony in preparation for their merger with the Massachusetts Bay Colony to form the Province of Massachusetts Bay. In the initial town grant issued to Rochester, its large land area included the western shore of Buzzards Bay as far as Wareham and Dartmouth, and the present towns of Mattapoisett, Marion, Rochester, and parts of Wareham. Rochester was transferred to Plymouth County on 19 November 1701.