BlockBefore
Decorative drawing: a small American settlement seen from a low hill. Not a photograph of this place.

Rockford, Ohio

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1909 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Union Township. It lies in ZIP code area 44675. The Survey maps it on the Uhrichsville quadrangle.

Rockford within Tuscarawas County

Then and now

1909 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 85 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Rockford, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of Rockford, surveyed 1909

Topographic sheets covering this place

16 sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

2,565 words on this township

The History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, published 1884 names this settlement in its chapter on Union Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

John McPherson did not remain in the township long, but emigrated farther west. His cabin stood near the bank of Little Stillwater, on the south side, and during freshets was inundated by the floods. Once the creek rose so rapidly that he rescued his family with difficulty from their watery home. His son had taken refuge in the chimney, but emerged at its top and reached the boat in safety. William McCleary entered the southwest quarter of Section 20 and occupied it for many years. He then went West and subsequently became wealthy. David Wagoner entered the southeast quarter of Section 19. James Vanater was his son-in-law and by occupation a farmer. For a while, Vanater kept a tavern at Rockford; he then removed to the western part of the State. George Kail entered the northwest quarter of Section 20. He remained a life-long resident on a portion of it, and his family have long since gone beyond the limits of the township. Jacob Creager was of German birth. He purchased a portion of the Kail farm and remained there till his death, which overtook him in old age. James Boyd was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, and was a pioneer of Union Township widely known as the host of

Passage source: The History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, published 1884.

Most of the earliest settlers had scarcely the rudiments of education themselves, and devoted little attention or expense to the instruction of their children. The first school is said to have been taught by a Mr. Russell in a log house about three miles east of Uhrichsville. John Pevard gave the first instruction in the northern part of the township. He was a cripple, and gave private lessons at his home in the eastern part of Section 30 about 1824. Thomas W alker was the first teacher of a regularly kept school near Rockford.

Passage source: The History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, published 1884.

The township contains three Methodist Episcopal and one Christian or Disciple Church. Rockford Methodist Church is a neat frame building, which was erected about twenty years ago. It stands in the eastern part of Section 36. The class was organized at a private house, and for some time the meetings were held at the cabins of Mark Herron and John Irvin. Among the early members were Samuel Carnes, Yenassa Carnes, Abel Lemasters and wife, John Lemasters, John Irvin, Mark Herron. Rees Baldwin, Hanson W. Roby and wife, Nathan Leggett, John Belch and Joseph Belch. A log church was the first house of worship, occupying the site of the present building. The lot was donated by Alexander Gray. Rev. William M. Dickerson is the present minister.

Passage source: The History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, published 1884.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Union Township - it names this place 1 more 1 time.

Fires near this place

17 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 17 fires within 5 miles of Rockford between 2003 and 2019, burning about 57 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning8
Missing data/not specified/undetermined4
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Recreation and ceremony1
Smoking1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
11 May 2018Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreOhio Department of Natural Resources12906
9 April 2013Debris and open burningunder an acreOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
16 April 2016Debris and open burningunder an acreOhio Department of Natural Resources4708
16 April 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined12 acresOhio Department of Natural Resources4727
13 April 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resources13085
12 April 2014Smokingunder an acreOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
8 March 2017Power generation/transmission/distribution1.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resources7511
7 March 2018Debris and open burning4.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resources11236

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Tuscarawas County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 478 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 478 specimens collected within 10 miles of Rockford between 1851 and 1973: 384 Animalia, 79 Plantae, 13 Fungi, 2 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. Cobula, A. Perry, Allen, John and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Pisidium cruciatum Sterki, 1895Pisidium cruciatum Sterki, 18951894G. MarstonTuscarawas River, New Philadelphia
Specimen of Pisidium fallax Sterki, 1896Pisidium fallax Sterki, 18961894G. MarstonTuscarawas River, New Philadelphia
Specimen of Pisidium noveboracense Prime, 1858Pisidium noveboracense Prime, 18581895G. Marstonfrom spring - brook lat. 4 miles south of New Philadelpia (Sterki)
A photograph of the species Amelanchier arborea, not of this specimenAmelanchier arborea (F.Michx.) Fernald1851Wolle, J.Canoe Down [Canal Dover]
A photograph of the species Anemone canadensis, not of this specimenAnemone canadensis L.1851Wolle, J.Canoe Down [Canal Dover]
A photograph of the species Cardamine douglassii, not of this specimenCardamine douglassii Britton1851Wolle, J.Canae Docus [??] [Canal Dover]
A photograph of the species Conopholis americana, not of this specimenConopholis americana (L.) Wallr.1851Wolle, J.Canoe Down [Canal Dover?]
A photograph of the species Delphinium tricorne, not of this specimenDelphinium tricorne Michx.1851Wolle, J.Canoe Down [Canal Dover]
A photograph of the species Erythronium americanum, not of this specimenErythronium americanum Ker Gawl.1851Wolle, J.Canal Dover
A photograph of the species Hydrophyllum appendiculatum, not of this specimenHydrophyllum appendiculatum Michx.1851Wolle, J.Tuscarawa City
A photograph of the species Hydrophyllum virginianum, not of this specimenHydrophyllum virginianum L.1851Wolle, J.Canoe Down [Canal Dover]
A photograph of the species Silene virginica, not of this specimenSilene virginica L.1851Wolle, J.Canal Downs [Canal Dover]

All 478 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Rockford: 1 past producer, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Clay, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Black Hawk MineClay, Stone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Evans Clay Products, Inc. MillClayPast Producer

Every working recorded in Tuscarawas County

Storms near this place

3 since 2013

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rockford in 3 storm reports between 2013 and 2018: 2 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2013Thunderstorm WindRockford$1,000Law enforcement reported trees down.
June 2018Flash FloodRockford-The intersection of Dawn Road and Miller Hill Road was reported as impassable due to flooding.
June 2018Flash FloodRockford-Portions of Roxford Church Road were washed away.

Every storm recorded in Tuscarawas County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Roswell2.2 miles16
Glens Cottage Area3.7 miles17
Barnhill3.8 miles16
Egypt (historical)4.0 miles17
North Shore Cottage Area4.1 miles17
Eastport4.2 miles16
New Cumberland4.3 miles17
Midvale4.4 miles16

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on RockfordAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q22134188The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1057961. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.