Rockford, Jackson County, Indiana

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Rockford
settlement_type = Town
motto =


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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
established_title =
established_date =
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latd = 38
latm = 59
lats = 14
latNS = N
longd = 85
longm = 53
longs = 29
longEW = W
elevation_footnotes = GR|3
elevation_ft = 604
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postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 47274
area_code =
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 18-65376GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = [http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:442218 442218]
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Rockford is an unincorporated town in Redding Township, Jackson County, Indiana.

History

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

The area was first settled by James Reno in about 1813 who was the grandfather of the infamous Reno Gang.

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

In 1854, the terminus of the north-south Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad was in Rockford.

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 skillfull 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.¹

Citations

¹ "The Masked Halters" by Edwin J Boley 1977, rare - out of print

References

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

* [http://www.jacksonlodge146.org/b_lodge/History/History_of_Jackson_Lodge.htm History of Jackson Masonic Lodge 146]

Geography

Rockford is located at coor dms|38|59|14|N|85|53|29|W|city.