BlockBefore

Rochester, Texas

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Rochester census division. It lies in ZIP code area 79544. The Survey maps it on the Rochester quadrangle. 248 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,594 feet above sea level.

Rochester within Haskell County

Population over time

3 figures

Rochester fell from 378 to 248 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2000378
2010324-54 (-14%)
2020248-76 (-23%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 7 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

26 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 26 fires within 5 miles of Rochester between 2005 and 2019, burning about 525 acres in total. 2 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined15
Debris and open burning6
Natural2
Smoking2
Equipment and vehicle use1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
8 August 2016Natural1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceBAR DITCH FIRE FM2407
28 August 2019Debris and open burning10 acresTexas A & M Forest ServicePASTURE FIRE CR 132
23 August 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined60 acresTexas A & M Forest Service14-0823A
18 August 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined100 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE EVERETT
8 July 2017Natural2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE CR 132
20 July 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS/BRUSH
20 July 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
3 May 2006Debris and open burning2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Haskell County

Storms near this place

45 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rochester in 45 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 24 hail, 16 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 wildfire. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
October 2018FloodRochester$2,300,000TXDOT reported FM 617 between Rochester and Weinert closed due to flooding. Many other roads were affected across Haskell County. Prolonged heavy rainfall flooded roads across Haskell County and this flooding damaged some roads in the county. This damage and flooding was exasperated by all of the rainfall since September.
June 1996Thunderstorm WindRochester$100,000no account filed
June 2004Thunderstorm WindRochester$80,000Winds estimated to near 100 MPH moved across northern portions of Haskell county damaging buildings, power lines and trees.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindRochester$50,000A downburst destroyed barns, blew down trees and power lines, and damaged homes.
May 2005Thunderstorm WindRochester$9,000no account filed
June 2025Thunderstorm WindRochester-Emergency manager reports a roof was damaged at a school. Numerous trees were also blown down across Rochester. Time estimated via radar.
May 2023HailRochester-The time was estimated from radar.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindRochester-A trained spotter estimated a 60 mph wind gust in Rochester.
September 2018Flash FloodRochester-Water was reported over FM 617 about 4 miles east of Rochester.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindRochester-The sheriff's Office estimated a wind gust of 70 mph in Rochester.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindRochester-The Haskell County Sheriff's Office reported a wind gust of 60 mph in Rochester.
October 2014HailRochester-Law enforcement reported dime to nickel size hail covering the ground.
April 2014Thunderstorm WindRochester-The Public reported downed tree limbs and estimated winds of 70 mph.
October 2012Thunderstorm WindRochester-A trained spotter estimated a wind gust of 52 knots.
October 2012HailRochester-This large hail was accompanied by thunderstorm wind gusts around 60 mph.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindRochester-Power poles were blown down 2 miles south of Rochester.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindRochester-Damage confined to tree limbs.
April 2000Thunderstorm WindRochester-60 mph wind gust.
June 1995Tornado (F0)Rochester-A brief tornado touchdown was reported.
June 1995Tornado (F0)Rochester-A brief tornado touchdown was reported.
March 1995HailRochester-High winds blew a roof off a carport.
April 2021HailRochester-no account filed
May 2017HailRochester-no account filed
April 2015HailRochester-no account filed
April 2014HailRochester-no account filed
May 2013HailRochester-no account filed
May 2012HailRochester-no account filed
May 2009HailRochester-no account filed
June 2005HailRochester-no account filed
September 2005HailRochester-no account filed
May 2004HailRochester-no account filed
May 2003HailRochester-no account filed
June 2003Thunderstorm WindRochester-no account filed
April 2002HailRochester-no account filed
May 2001HailRochester-no account filed
March 2000HailRochester-no account filed
May 2000HailRochester-no account filed
May 1999HailRochester-no account filed
May 1999HailRochester-no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindRochester-no account filed
June 1996HailRochester-no account filed
June 1996HailRochester-no account filed
June 1996Thunderstorm WindRochester-no account filed
November 1996HailRochester-no account filed
March 1996WildfireRochester-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Haskell County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
O'Brien4.5 miles7
Jud5.6 miles7
Pinkerton8.1 miles8
Rule9.3 miles8
Weinert9.7 miles7
Josselet9.8 miles7
Haskell12.7 miles7
Mattson14.4 miles7

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on RochesterAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q972889The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1366626. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.