Rockford, Jackson County, Indiana Explained

Official Name:Rockford, Jackson County,
Indiana
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community and Census-designated place
Pushpin Map:Indiana#USA
Pushpin Label:Rockford
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Indiana
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Jackson
Subdivision Type3:Township
Subdivision Name3:Redding
Coordinates:38.9861°N -85.8869°W
Elevation Ft:617
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:47274
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:18-65376[1]
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:2830420

Rockford is an unincorporated community in Redding Township, Jackson County, Indiana.

History

Rockford was named for the "rocky ford" of the East Fork of the White River where easier crossing was permitted by a rock river bottom.

The village is approximately 1 mile west of Tipton Island along the White River. The area was first settled in about 1813 by James Reno, who was the grandfather of the infamous Reno Gang.

The small community was known as New Rockford and Old Rockford in the 1840s.

In 1852, the terminus of the north-south Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad was in Rockford.[2]

It was known as a pork packing center and had several established businesses such as a grist mill, post office, Masonic Lodge and a newspaper.

The last newspaper, the Rockford Herald, was printed by Dr Jasper Monroe in 1857. He was persuaded to move to nearby Seymour, Indiana by the town's founder, Meedy Shields, where he published under the name Seymour Times.1

Meedy Shields, through skillful maneuvering, succeeded in getting a new east-west rail stop of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad two miles south of Rockford, which spelled eventual economic doom.

Most original structures were burned out in the 1860s and much of the unkept property was owned by the Reno family.[3]

References

  1. Web site: U.S. Census website. United States Census Bureau. 2008-01-31.
  2. Book: History of Jackson County, Indiana: From the Earliest Time to the Present. 1886. Unigraphic. 435.
  3. The Masked Halters by Edwin J Boley 1977, rare - out of print

Further reading

See wiki's Reno Gang page for external links which describe the eventual demise and criminal activity in and around Rockford in the 1860s.

External links

Geography

Rockford is located at 38.9872°N -85.8914°W.