The first natives of the Rockford were by Native American cultures (i.e. the Hopewell, Mascouten, and Ottawa peoples). No archeological evidence of Native American settlements have been found in the Rogue River valley. Certain early settlers noted trails branching through the area.
Smith Lapham was one of the first important settlers of the city of
Rockford. He came to Kent County in 1843 after residing in Washtenaw
County. He came to the banks of the Rogue to help complete a dam and
sawmill started by William Hunter. Hunter gave Lapham 40 acres of land
on the east side of the Rogue for his effortse, and Lapham stayed there
for the rest of his life.
Lapham built his own mill on his side of the river, and completed it by
1844. New settlers followed, including John Long, Freeman Burch, and
William Thornton. Near the end of 1845, the area consisted of 5
houses. The settlement was mostly owned or sold by Lapham, and became
known as Laphamville.
By 1865 the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company had begun a
railroad extending northward through Laphamville. The railroad
suggested they adopt a shorter name. When people new arrived from
Rockford, Illinois they suggested the name their former residence. The
name Rockford was narrowly approved. It was incorporated as the
Village of Rockford in June 1866 with 315 inhabitants.
Starting around the 1980s, the town of Rockford developed a more
suburban character as a popular bedroom community, as the Grand Rapids
Metropolitan Area has grown in the past couple of decades. (from
wikipedia)
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