ABSTRACT
The site of Rochester, wrote Blake McKelvey, the citys historian, has, from the beginning, been linked with the future rather than with the past. Before Aimee Semple McPherson campaign in November 1921, the future-oriented city and cauldron of new ideas and attitudes had evolved at least four times into something newer and better. On his first incursion, concluded the city historian, the results had been truly remarkable from that time forward nearly every succeeding year until 1842 saw some sort of religious outpouring, while no less than thirteen new churches were founded in Rochester between 1834 and 1844. Finneys second Rochester revival in 1842 was only slightly less enthusiastic. Unlike the earlier revival, this one was especially famous for its wholesale conversion of the lawyers of the city. As Aimee was conducting her final healing service in Convention Hall, two city ministers, the newspapers noted, also delivered an entire sermon to the subject during their Sunday-evening service.
