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History · Rockford Bay

Rockford Bay’s post office opened in 1911, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Rockford Bay was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Its Register listing is the Bellgrove School II. Below: maps from 1957 on.

1911first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Rockford Bay began

When was Rockford Bay founded?

1911

The Rockford Bay post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Black Rock (1909), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 325115 years
Founding year: the first Rockford Bay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Rockford Bay’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Rockford Bay are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rockford Bay’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rockford Bay’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Rockford Bay, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rockford Bay yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Rockford Bay is a census-designated place in Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. Rockford Bay is located on Rockford Bay of Coeur d'Alene Lake, 12.5 miles (20.1 km) south-southwest of Coeur d'Alene. As of the 2020 census, Rockford Bay had a population of 325.

Its first post office opened in 1911. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 184 to 325 (+77%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Rockford Bay, 1909 to 1965

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1909Post officeThe Black Rock post office opens
  3. 1911Post officeThe Rockford Bay post office opens
  4. 1913Post officeThe Black Rock post office closes
  5. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1965Post officeThe Rockford Bay post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Rockford Bay on the map, 1957 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rockford Bay. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Rockford Bay on the 1957 USGS mapRockford Bay on the 1981 USGS map1957Coeur DAlene sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Rockford Bay.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Rockford Bay

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Bellgrove School II
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Bungalow1
Colonial Revival1
All 1 listings
Bellgrove School IIBuilding · listed 1985

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Rockford Bay

Nobody well known was born in Rockford Bay itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
S
Sydney SweeneyAmerican actress · b. 1997
John StocktonAmerican basketball player · b. 1962
Chuck JonesAmerican animator and filmmaker · b. 1912
Craig T. NelsonAmerican actor and comedian · b. 1944
Anne McClainAmerican astronaut · b. 1979
Susan PetersAmerican actress · b. 1921
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Rockford Bay had its own post office from 1911 to 1965. Another post office, Black Rock, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Black Rock
1909–1913
Rockford Bay
1911–1965
19001960today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Rockford Bay’s history

What year was Rockford Bay founded?

The Rockford Bay post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Rockford Bay?

One place: the Bellgrove School II (listed 1985).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.