Rochford (founded May 1878) is an unincorporated community in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States.

Hopeful placer miners from Lead and Central City flocked to the area, staking claims along Little Rapid Creek.

Mining operations in the area included the Silver Reef, Resumption, Pride of the West, Oro Cache, Rattler, Mountain Treasure, Justin, Glenwood, Little Woodchuck, Ethan Allen, Wide West, and Surprise Fraction, as well as branches of the Homestake Mining Company.

[5] By December 1878, the town had a population of 500, including a few doctors, a Methodist Episcopal Church, three saloons, six stores, and 100 homes.

Several Deadwood businessmen showed interest in extending their companies to Rochford, but they were put off by the lack of a daily postal service and mills.

This was a strategic move for Deadwood businessmen, who wanted to divert trade from Rapid City.

That year, Rochford worried that the nearby camp of Golden Centre would take over as the central point of trade.

Between 1880 and 1882, the town started to decline, but in September 1882, the Black Hills Times in Deadwood reported that Rochford had picked up in activity.

[2] No one in the town died until January 1904, when a man called Alex McCall was accidentally shot; therefore, there was no cemetery for a long time.

[4] Rochford is in the Black Hills just south of the border between Lawrence and Pennington counties; it is located in the latter.

[4] Rochford has a humid continental climate (Koppen: Dwb) with four distinct seasons.