Editing Rochester, New Hampshire (section)

===Rochester Common===
In 1737, the Reverend Amos Main became the first settled pastor of the [[Congregational church|Congregational Church]], located on Rochester Hill. The building would be moved to Rochester Common, which then encompassed {{convert|250|acre|km2}} and was called "Norway Plain Mille Common" after its abundant [[Norway pine]]s. At the time, the Common extended into what is now downtown Rochester. By 1738, the farming community contained 60 families. A statue of Parson Main, sculpted by [[Giuseppe Moretti]], today presides over the town square.
 	
By 1780 the area surrounding the Common was the most thickly settled part of town, so a meeting house/church was erected on the east end of the Common with the entrance facing what is now South Main Street. A cemetery was also established near the new meeting house, but the ground was found to be too wet, and the bodies were removed to the Old Rochester Cemetery. In 1842 the Meeting House/church was moved to the present-day location at the corner of Liberty and South Main streets. As the years went by the size of the Common would shrink as more of it was sold off for development. A bandstand was constructed in 1914. Today, the Common is used for community activities such as [[Memorial Day]] events and for concerts throughout the summer months, in addition to having a walking track.
	
During the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] the Common was used as the meeting place for soldiers before going off to war. The common is also the location of the city's [[American Civil War|Civil War]] monument that bears the names of the 54 men who died then. The monument was dedicated in the 1870s, and in the 1880s the statue was added to the monument. Four Civil War cannons also decorated the monument, but during [[World War II]] the cannon were melted down for use in the war. They were replaced by World War II guns.

The bandstand was built in 1914 by Miles Dustin; before then band concerts were held on the square. The flag pole was donated by J. Frank Place in 1917. He was the former publisher of the ''Rochester Courier''.