Town of Rockford Over One Hundred Years Old - Coosa Co., AL ----------------------------------------------------------------------- USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with the USGenWeb policy of providing free information on the Internet, this data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other gain. Copying of the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged. ALGenWeb File Manager - Lygia Dawkins Cutts ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sun, 11 Apr 1999 21:09:47 -0500 Contributed by Ronald Bridges Town of Rockford Over One Hundred Years Old - Coosa Co., AL "Town of Rockford Over One Hundred Years Old The Town of Rockford, county-seat of Coosa County, has recently observed its one-hundred-second birthday, for according to available records it was on March 6, 1835, that a charter was issued for a county seat for Coosa County at this place. It is situated practically in the center of the county and its location makes it ideal as the hub about which the county’s business must revolve. At the time this charter was issued for the establishment of Rockford, Coosa County itself was only two years old. So it is seen that this town has long been a place of importance in the development of the county. H. W. Pond, grandson of one of the county’s first probate judges, is present Mayor of Rockford and is assisted in the management of the Town’s business affairs by a Town Council, composed of five members. They are: C. Bussey, P. N. Davis, Theo Miller, Ralph Burke, and Jack Penton. Few places in Alabama are richer in early historical lore, especially Indian legend, than is this little Coosa County hamlet. Old timers can sit for hours and spin tales about the days when this county was a prolific hunting ground for the Red Man. John K. McEwen, Rockford’s oldest citizen, and one of its business pioneers, is credited by his townsmen as being an authority on this subject. He has made an extensive study of the Indian history of this section, and his collection of Indian relics is rated as one of the best in the South. Rockford is situated 736 feet above sea level and is one of the healthiest little cities in Alabama. Its climatic conditions are conducive to freedom from disease, and its high elevation makes it ideal in summer. Surrounded by a rural area, its principal business activities, aside from county governmental affairs, are supplying merchandise and other farm needs to the farmers who till the soils of the county and forming a market for the produce they have raised on these lands. Although lack of railway transportation facilities has perhaps handicapped its growth to some extent, the Town of Rockford and its business men still have extensive opportunities to render a greater service to its surrounding area than most any town in East Central Alabama. Among the families playing important roles in the history of Rockford are the Martins, Fergusons, McEwens, Wilsons, Ponds, Suttles, Bufords, McCains, and others. Its present business establishments are: McDonald Mule Company, Rockford Service Stations, P. N. Davis, McEwen Hardware, Gann’s Furnishing Company, Bussey Drug Store, Prater Grocery, Prater Drugs, City Barber Shop, McEwen Service Station, Rockford Café and others." (1) (1) "Town of Rockford Over One Hundred Years Old," in The Central Alabamian, published in 1937, p. 6. I, Ron Bridges, found the article in a box of files (SG) located in the Alabama Archives.