Rochester School for the Deaf: The Roots of Rochester's Deaf Community

Perkins Hall at the Rochester School for the Deaf (undated)

The Rochester School for the Deaf is the first designated site for the deaf in the Rochester's history, and is still in operation today. This will be the first site to be presented for the historical tour of Rochester's deaf community for the Rochester: Then & Now mobile application.

Deaf children of the 19th century typically had little to no opportunity to learn or lead productive lives. Schools for the deaf were not commonplace, so deaf children were often sent to county poor houses or kept at home without language or education.

It was the birth of Carolyn Erickson Perkins, born to parents Gilman and Caroline Perkins, in Rochester on July 24th, 1868, that set in motion the events that would change the history of Western New York and deaf history. While Carolyn was not the first deaf child to be born in Rochester, her mother Caroline was the daughter of Aaron Erickson, founder of the Union Trust Company. She had a reputation as someone who was a visionary that was willing to confront challenges.

The closest school at the time was the New York School for the Deaf, known as "Fanwood." Concerned for the future of her child and not wanting to send her away, Caroline was determined to find a way for her child to be educated in Rochester. While visiting a school for the deaf in Maryland, she met Mary Hart Nodine. Admiring her warmth and talent, she invited Miss Nodine to go back with them to Rochester as a private teacher for Carolyn. Miss Nodine was engaged to Zenas Freeman Westervelt, a teacher at the Maryland school who became a frequent visitor of the Perkins household. Westervelt had been gathering the names of deaf children in Western New York who were not in school, and felt that Rochester would be a great location for a new school. The Perkins family encouraged him to move to Rochester, and the Rochester School for the Deaf was born.

After his second year teaching in Rochester, Westervelt became concerned about his students ability to make proper use of the English language, and discouraged students from signing. Instead, he urged them to use the manual alphabet with speech. This became widely known as the "Rochester Method."

Source: The Rochester School for the Deaf by Ruth Rosenburg-Naparsteck, 2002 - Click here for PDF