Rockford (Michigan)

Kent County

26-69080

Rockford is a town in Kent County near Grand Rapids in the U.S. state of Michigan. The town has 4626 inhabitants and is located on the Rogue River.

Geography

Rockford is located in southwest Michigan, about 45 km east of Lake Michigan and has an area of 7.8 km ² without significant water surface. The distance to Chicago in the southwest is about 265 km and Detroit in the southeast about 280 km.

History

Probably the area of ​​Rockford was inhabited by Indians. However, they found no traces of settlement of Hopewell, Mascoutah or Ottawa. The first surveyor of the 19th century have been reported yet from beaten paths of the Indians.

The earliest documented inhabitants of the present city of Rockford was Smith Lapham, who moved from Washtenaw County to Kent County in 1843 and built a sawmill there in 1844. 1845 was the place of 5 houses. The connection to the railway line in the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad in 1865 brought the city a population boost to 315 people in 1866.

Recovery

The White Pine Trail State Park runs through the town. This park is a nature trail that runs from Grand Rapids about 140 km from Cadillac, Michigan.