"The form of the house is typical of the eighteenth-century Chesapeake, but its fabric and embellishment distinguish it as a fine example of vernacular domestic architecture that reflects the moderate wealth of its original owner. Rochester House is significant to our understanding of "middling" planters and their domestic priorities.....The house has sustained several periods of renovation but the integrity of the original fabric remains largely intact..... Rochester House is also significant because of its association with the Rochester family, which owned the property from 1689 until 1798. English immigrant Nicholas Rochester and his son William, for whom the house was built, settled in Westmoreland County in late 1689. William's grandson, John, resided on the plantation from 1766 until his death in 1794.