Rockford, Michigan, United States

🇺🇸 Rockford is a city in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located along the Rogue River, the city is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is about 10 miles (16.1 km) north of the city of Grand Rapids.

History The area was first settled by Marlin Hunter, who settled along the Rogue River in 1842. By 1845, several other families arrived and settled the community under the name Laphamville, and the community received a post office under that name. The community was platted in 1865 and incorporated as a village in 1866. At that time, the community's name changed to Rockford. The community was originally based around the lumber industry but was soon supported by a shoe factory and tannery at the turn of the century. The village incorporated as a city in 1935.

Wolverine World Wide has major operations in the city for over 100 years. In modern times, its former tannery site used Scotchgard chemicals to waterproof shoes, which contaminated local areas with the active ingredients at the time of PFOA and PFOS.

The downtown area hosts a summer farmer's market on Saturday. The city also hosts a Fall Harvest Festival. Start of Summer Celebration is a community organization annually held in early June at the beginning of summertime.

Geography According to the Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.29 square miles (8.52 km²), of which, 3.22 square miles (8.34 km²) is land and 0.07 square miles (0.18 km²) (2.13%) is water.

White Pine Trail State Park runs through the downtown area of Rockford, next to the Rogue River and the Rockford Dam.

Indian Trails provides daily intercity bus service between Grand Rapids, Michigan and St. Ignace.

Education Rockford is served by the Rockford Public Schools. The city is served by the Kent District Library. Rockford Christian School, a campus of Grand Rapids Christian Schools, is in Rockford. In 2021, a Rockford High School student presented a 137-page report describing a culture of racism present at Rockford Public Schools in an effort to find solutions for the problem, with multiple students describing experiences of racism in the school district. The acting superintendent of Rockford Public Schools described the report as "more confusing than enlightening" and that society as a whole had issues with racism.