ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Ever wonder how your hometown got its name?
Northern Illinois was once part of “Illinois Country” during French control, and part of French Canada. It was named by French Catholic missionaries and explorers after Indian tribes who lived in the area. The British gained control of the area with the Treaty of Paris in 1763 at the end of the French and Indian War.
The territory was divided and subdivided over the years, and much of its early settlement came by way of New Englanders taking the recently completed Erie Canal, which was completed in 1825, to move westward.
Winnebago County
Winnebago County was formed on January 16th, 1836, and was named after the Winnebago Indian tribe.
Rockford was originally settled in the 1830s and was called Midway, due to it being “midway” between Galena and Chicago, and was the combination of two settlements: Kentville, on the west bank of the Rock River, and the settlement of Daniel Shaw Haight on the east side. The name was changed to Rockford in 1835, for a “rock ford” in the river which allowed settlers to cross.