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CHistory
History · Rockwood

Rockwood dates to 1861

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #586 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Most of Rockwood was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1930.

1861founded
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Rockwood’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Rockwood began

When was Rockwood founded?

1861

Rockwood dates its founding to 1861 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 953 in 19302020 census: 3,240165 years

How historic is Rockwood?

C

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1872.
History grade

What drives Rockwood’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rockwood is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #586 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rockwood’s overall grade.
Founding era1861, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.4% of homes (±4.3) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 28%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 16%

Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rockwood’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (32% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points). Two sources give 1861.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Rockwood’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19068 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1981. Watch Rockwood change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rockwood’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewRockwood City Hall, MI: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Rockwood on the map, 1906 to 1981

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

Rockwood on the 1906 USGS mapRockwood on the 1929 USGS mapRockwood on the 1936 USGS mapRockwood on the 1942 USGS mapRockwood on the 1952 USGS mapRockwood on the 1967 USGS mapRockwood on the 1973 USGS mapRockwood on the 1981 USGS map1906Wyandotte 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 Rockwood.

The story so far

Rockwood, in brief

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

Rockwood is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A Downriver suburb of Detroit, Rockwood is located roughly 23 miles (37.0 km) southwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, Rockwood had a population of 3,240.

Rockwood was established in 1861. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 3,289 in 2010, 3,240 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Rockwood, 1861 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1861
    FoundingRockwood is established
  3. 1872Post officeThe Rockwood post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 21st century
  7. 2000Born hereLon Johnson is born here
By decade

Rockwood, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Rockwood City Hall, MIDate?Rockwood City Hall, MI
Today1 recent
State Police Post Informational Designation2020State Police Post Informational Designation
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Rockwood City Hall, MI
Retake this viewRockwood City Hall, MI

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Rockwood’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Rockwood, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50019401960198020002020Peak: 3,442

Between 953 and 3,442 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rockwood’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Rockwood’s post office has been open since 1872.

Gone or out of use
Rockwood Stationlocale
1cemetery inside Rockwood
Saint Marys

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Berlin Township1 historic placeBSouth RockwoodIts storyCFlat RockIts storyC+Brownstown Township1 historic placeB−

Questions about Rockwood’s history

What year was Rockwood founded?

In 1861, according to Wikidata. Rockwood’s post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1930 counted 953 people here.

How does Rockwood rank for history?

Rockwood is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #586 of 701 in Michigan. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Rockwood?

8% of Rockwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1970.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.