[3][7] On February 2, 1832, Rockwell married Luana Beebe in Jackson County, Missouri, and was endowed in the Nauvoo Temple on January 5, 1846.

[10] But he [Porter Rockwell] was that most terrible instrument that can be handled by fanaticism; a powerful physical nature welded to a mind of very narrow perceptions, intense convictions, and changeless tenacity.

[15] The morning of September 16, 1845, Lieutenant Frank Worrell of the nearby Carthage militia was shot and killed by Rockwell after refusing an order to stop by non-Mormon Sherriff William Backenstos.

In 1849, Rockwell was appointed as deputy marshal of Great Salt Lake City, and remained a peace officer until his death.

They lost the trail of the Goshute that had taken the horses and encountered another group of 20 or 30 people belonging to the Ute tribe, whom they took prisoner but did not disarm.

[20]: 11–12 Rockwell operated the Hot Springs Hotel and Brewery at the southern end of the Salt Lake Valley, in an area known as "Point of the Mountain".

[22] [citation needed] In 1860, on his trip across America to the west coast, Burton stopped to explore the Salt Lake City area.

Rockwell advised Burton to carry a loaded double-barreled shotgun, sleep in a "dark camp" (unlit, miles from where supper was cooked), to never trust appearances, and to avoid the main trail, where "White Indians" (so-called because they were white robbers disguised as Indians to avert blame) preyed on travelers.

[25]At Rockwell's funeral, which was held at the Salt Lake City 14th Ward school house, apostle Joseph F. Smith, nephew of Joseph Smith and future church president, spoke the following about Rockwell: They say he was a murderer; if he was, he was the friend of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and he was faithful to them, and to his covenants, and he has gone to Heaven and apostates can go to Hell ... Porter Rockwell was yesterday afternoon ushered into Heaven clothed with immortality and eternal life, and crowned with all glory which belongs to a departed saint.

On June 11, 1878, the Salt Lake Tribune stated, "Porter Rockwell is another of the long list of Mormon criminals whose deeds of treachery and blood have reddened the soil of Utah, and who has paid no forfeit to offended law.

After spending eight months in jail on charges of attempting to assassinate Boggs, Rockwell traveled to Nauvoo, appearing unannounced at a Christmas party at Smith's home.

After his identity was confirmed, Smith was moved to say: I prophesy, in the name of the Lord, you—Orrin Porter Rockwell—so long as ye shall remain loyal and true to thy faith, need fear no enemy.

After hearing of a balding widow with typhoid fever, he offered his famous long hair to make a wig.

In 1971, the restaurant "Porter's Place" was opened on Lehi Main Street but later in 2018, it moved to Eureka, Utah, and eventually closed permanently.