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C−History
History · Rockford Township

Rockford Township dates to 1856

More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #223 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

Most of Rockford Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1880.

1856founded
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
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Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Rockford Township began

When was Rockford Township founded?

1856

Rockford Township dates its founding to 1856 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 159 in 18802020 census: 3,371170 years

How historic is Rockford Township?

C−

More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Rockford Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rockford Township is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #223 of 273 in Minnesota. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rockford Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1856, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.3% of homes (±2.8) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MN town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 19%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 18%

Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rockford Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota 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 (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1856.

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 Rockford Township’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 Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rockford Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Rockford Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rockford Township.

Read it all →

Evidence of indigenous settlement in what is today Rockford can be found in burial mounds ranging from 500 to 1500 years old, as well as a trail that runs under the Bridge Street Bridge on the Hennepin County side. The area was a natural borderland between the Ojibwe and Dakota, with both tribes using it for hunting and wintering. The space was primarily used by the Dakota, but there was also an Objibwe village near modern-day Dayton, on the Crow River.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Rockford Township, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Rockford, Minnesota-042024Rockford, Minnesota-04Rockford, Minnesota-032024Rockford, Minnesota-03Rockford, Minnesota-022024Rockford, Minnesota-02Rockford, Minnesota-012024Rockford, Minnesota-01Crow River-No Jumping or diving2024Crow River-No Jumping or divingCrow River2024Crow RiverCrow River at2022Crow River atHighSchoolFront2021HighSchoolFrontCP Rockford trestle2021CP Rockford trestleRockford MN2014Rockford MNCrow River2007Crow River
On the map

Rockford Township on the map, 1958 to 1981

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

Rockford Township on the 1958 USGS mapRockford Township on the 1981 USGS map1958Buffalo 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 Township.

People over time

Rockford Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,000188019001920194019601980200020204,500

Grew from 159 people in 1880 to 4,500 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Johnson Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Rockford Township
TrinityZion

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.

Franklin Township1 historic placeB−Rockford1 historic placeC+GreenfieldIts storyC−BuffaloIts storyCHanover1 historic placeCBuffalo TownshipIts storyCSt. Michael1 historic placeCMarysville Township1 historic placeB−

Questions about Rockford Township’s history

What year was Rockford Township founded?

In 1856, according to Wikidata. the census of 1880 counted 159 people here.

How does Rockford Township rank for history?

Rockford Township is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #223 of 273 in Minnesota. 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 Rockford Township?

3% of Rockford Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1978.

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 (11), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.