Rockford is a town in Coosa County,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 349. The town is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Coosa County and is part of the Talladega-Sylacauga Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Coosa County was created by an act of the Alabama State Legislature on December 18, 1832, and a site on Hatchet Creek was chosen as the county seat and given the name Lexington. In 1835 the name was changed to Rockford.

Geography

Rockford is located at (32.888181, -86.219575). The town is located in the central part of the state along

U.S. Route 231 U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway System, U.S highway that is a parallel route of U.S. Route 31, US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, St. John, Indiana, at U.S. Route 41 in Indiana, US&nbs ...

, which runs south to north through the center of town, leading north 21 mi (34 km) to Sylacauga and south 28 mi (45 km) to Wetumpka.

Alabama State Route 22 State Route 22 (SR 22) is a state highway that extends from Safford in Dallas County to the Georgia state line near Roanoke in Randolph County. The route travels across most of the state from west to east. Route description St ...

meets US 231 in the center of town, leading east 18 mi (29 km) to Alexander City and west 29 mi (47 km) to Clanton. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the town has a total area of of which is land and 0.30% is water. Soils are mostly well drained sandy loam of the Wedowee series. Loams and silt loams of the Baden, Tallapoosa and Fruithurst series are common on the northern outskirts.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Rockford has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(abbreviated ''Cfa'').

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 349 people, 261 households, and 164 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 428 people, 189 households, and 113 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 226 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 65.65%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 32.48%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.23%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 1.64% from two or more races. 1.17% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 189 households, out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 19.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 38.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.81. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.5% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $20,000, and the median income for a family was $32,125. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $17,031 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $13,350. About 24.3% of families and 24.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 27.6% of those under age 18 and 16.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education in Rockford is provided by the Coosa County Board of Education. There are four schools located in Rockford: Central High School (grades 9 through 12), Central Middle School (grades 5 through 8), Central Elementary School (grades (K through 4), and Coosa County Science and Technology Center (grades 9 through 12).

Fred the Town Dog

In 1993, a sick and bedraggled dog wandered into Rockford. The animal was called "Fred" and was nursed back to health by town residents. For the next ten years, Fred was the town mascot. Fred gained popularity through a regular newspaper column, "A Dog's Life," about his activities and encounters, and then national recognition after he was profiled on cable TV's ''

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel focusing on the animal kingdom owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1 ...

''. Fred died on December 23, 2002, in a Birmingham animal hospital, from a mysterious animal bite. He was buried behind the town's old jailhouse. A full-size grave marker, donated by a Montgomery businessman, was added in May 2003. Fred was inducted into the Alabama Veterinary Medical Association Animal Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2014, the story was turned into a

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

titled ''Fred: The Town Dog''.

Gallery

File:Coosa County Alabama Courthouse.JPG, The Coosa County Courthouse is located in Rockford which is the county seat of Coosa County. File:2021-03-18_Rockford,_AL_-_Town_Hall.jpg, Rockford Town Hall File:2021-03-18_Rockford,_AL_-_Post_Office.jpg, Rockford Post Office ( ZIP code: 35136) File:2021-03-18_Rockford,_AL_-_Coosa_County_law_Enforcement_Center.jpg, The Coosa County Law Enforcement Center located in Rockford. File:2021-03-18_Rockford,_AL_-_Event_Center.jpg, The Rockford Event Center File:Coosa County Alabama Jail.JPG, The old Coosa County Jailhouse is located in Rockford. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on June 20, 1974. File:2021-03-18_Rockford,_AL_-_Women's_Club_House.jpg, The Rockford Women's Club House was built in 1932 and added to the

Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage The Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage (ARLH), commonly referred to as the Alabama Register, is an official listing of buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts deemed worthy of preservation in the U.S. state of Alabama. These pr ...

on March 13, 1996.

Notable people

* James K. Parsons, major general in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

who received the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

* Lewis E. Parsons, Jr., United States Attorney for the

Northern District of Alabama The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (in case citations, N.D. Ala.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are ap ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Coosa County, Alabama Towns in Alabama County seats in Alabama Populated places established in 1832 Alexander City micropolitan area