Rochelle News-Leader | The first settlers of Rochelle
It is difficult to decide where to start when talking about the settling of Rochelle. It is not as simple as, people left Europe, sailed to New York, traveled by wagon trains to Chicago, St. Louis, and finally the gold fields of California. That may have worked for Major Seth Adams and Wooster (Wagon Train) on television, but not so much in reality. In the early 1800s most travel was done on boats. Oxen, horses and wagons were only utilized when there were no longer water routes available.
Source: rochellenews-leader.com