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Centuries before the town of Rochester came into being, a glacial drift, moving southward from the Arctic Circle, made some artistic changes in the landscaping of this locality. The massive object came to its journey's end here in the lower valley, completely changing the physical part of this section.
This change is especially apparent in the vicinity of the "Poor" farm near the mouth of Raccoon Creek, which marks the southern end of the glacier's trek. There the soil is impregnated to an unknown depth with boulders, stones and gravel of all dimensions.
The rivers in this region once occupied beds hundreds of feet deeper than they are at present, but the slowly moving masses of stone, polished and rounded by the forward movement of the vast ice field above them, finally settled in these valleys and the heights above. Thus was formed the beautiful terrace on which Rochester is located today. The first terrace represents the flood plain of the river; the second terrace forms the bluff along the foot of which the Pennsylvania Railroad runs, and the rounded stones, which vary from one to three inches in diameter, are conspicuous here; the third terrace forms the upper part of the town, and the glacial deposit here includes clay and a very fine earth.
The terraced slopes, so wonderfully constructed by nature, made an ideal spot for the town of Rochester.
The completion of the Montgomery Locks and Dams in 1936, about six and one-half miles downstream than eighteen miles long, from Rochester has resulted in a pool or lake more which extends all the way to Sewickley. The pool is controlled and maintained at a constant water level, with a minimum depth of water of nine feet.
This eighteen-mile pool in the Ohio River allows greater freedom and efficiency in the operation of numerous towboats and their tows. There are many docks located in the pool for loading and unloading material and for transfer to railroad movement.
With the opening of the pool, many new motor boats, cruisers and smaller pleasure craft made their appearance, and it has become a popular place for a quiet cruise. Large river boats make occasional trips from southern waters to this point, and the people of the community are able to use these for outings and dances during the summer.
It has been generally found in the history of this country that the main highways and even rail routes were at one time old Indian trails, and before that, the trails of animals, for the animals and the Indians had chosen the routes that were best, both from directiveness and ease of travel.
Brighton Avenue is no exception, for it is known that it was at one time a part of the old Indian trail, known as the "Tuscarawas" trail, which atone time ran through to Florida. Long before the Indians inhabited this region, it is reasonable to suppose that it was used by animals, or at least a part of it was utilized by them in going to and from the water.
With the coming of the white man, it was only natural that the trader and the trapper would use the old trail, worn smooth by generations of soft moccasined Indians. As the settlers came in their wagons and their ox-carts, afoot and on horseback, the trail widened. It has been established that as early as 1804 roads were laid out in Beaver County, including our Brighton Avenue. The first road was nothing more than a crude affair made by the plowing of two parallel furrows and scraping the loosened earth upon the space between.
The road was improved and widened with the increase in population. It was not until after 1890 however that Brighton Avenue was paved, thus having the distinction of being one of the first two streets in Valley towns to be paved.
With the flourishing business on the river and the canal, which operated from 1834 to about 1870, Water Street soon became the center of business activity. With the advent of the railroad in 1851 and the streetcar about 1891, this center of activity shifted to Brighton Avenue, and very early in the business district began to move up to the corner of what is now Brighton Avenue and New York Avenue and continued up the street to its present center of intense activity, which is approximately at its intersection with Pinney Street. With the cessation of canal activities in 1870, and finally the culmination fo packet boat service in 1936, the business district gradually moved upward to take care of the change in transportation facilities caused by the coming of streetcars and buses.
It is interesting to note the changes in the mode of travel on Brighton Avenue that have taken place since its very beginning. First of all, we have the lone Indian, moving from place to place to take advantage of migratory changes on account of hunting and fishing, sometimes carrying his worldly possessions on his back or using a drag with a dog or a horse. It must be remembered that the North American Indian had no knowledge of the wheel and, until the coming of the white man, did not have any other means of handling loads by land other than with a drag or "travois", which consisted of two poles attached to a dog. Next in succession came the white man with the pack horse, and then the settler with his ox-cart and his wagon. After the incorporation of Rochester, transportation flourished with a variety of wagons, surreys, phaetons, and the like, until the coming of the streetcar, the automobile and the truck. The livery stable gave way to the garage and the service station, and we can truly say that Brighton Avenue has evolved from the man carrying a pack, upward through the crude pole drag, the dog sled, the pack horse, the wagon, to our heavy and diversified traffic of today.