T he Rev. Amos Main was born on January 8, 1708 in York, Maine. In 1729 he graduated from Dartmouth College and in that same year married Elizabeth White of Haverhill, MA. The reason he was important to early Rochester History was that he was the first settled minister in the town. He was hired on May 9,1737 as minister for Rochester but he became much more than a preacher. He would offer his services as a teacher, physicain, helped the residents with legal documents (i.e. wills) and even doctored farm animals. Amos Main traveled the countryside when the Indians were hostile, but they respected him as a good man and did not attack him. Sometimes Amos would be paid for his services with a bag of potatoes or firewood. He did much good in his lifetime for the community. Parson Main died on April 6, 1760 of tuberculosis and was buried on Rochester Hill. He had one son named Josiah and many daughters.

T he Parson Main Monument was designed by Wilbur Dunley. The sculptor was G. Morretti. The pedestal is 12 feet high and the statue is 9 feet high. A bronze plate on the front reads This monument is erected to perpetuate the memory of Rev. Amos Main, the first settled minister of the First Congregational Church of the Province of Rochester from May 9, 1737 to April 5, 1760, when he died aged 51 years.

RETURN TO HISTORY AND FACTS