In 1911 Rockford had a population of 350 and by the looks of this school picture 1/3 of that were kids. There were 4 churches, a bank, a creamery, a hotel and a graded school. The town also boasted a grocery store, meat store, 2 blacksmith’s, 2 saloons, barber (M.D. Stanley), a veterinarian, 2 general stores and 2 hardware stores. Land that had been cleared was going for $50-$75 an acre. Stage coaches traveled through Rockford 4 times daily for travel/mail or you could catch the Soo Line train which started in Minneapolis, step on in Rockford and travel all the way to North Dakota if you wished.
Sailing on the Crow River abt. 1900