The village is on the St. Mary's River near the center of the western Ohio border 12 miles Northwest of Celina.

Anthony Shane, born Antoine Chene, was a French-Indian trader who lived with his wife in a double-log cabin north of the current area of Rockford.

He ran a trading post, and was given a large tract of land known as the Shanes Grant for his role as a scout for General Anthony Wayne's army.

On June 23, 1820, Shane filed his plot to the town of Shanesville, which then comprised 42 lots on the south side of the river.

Shane lived in Shanesville until 1832, when acting as a government agent, he accompanied the Shawnee Indians to Kansas.

Most notable of these is the Piqua-Fort Wayne Trail linking the Great Lakes to the Ohio River, which crossed to the north bank at Rockford.

During the Indian Wars of the late 18th century, many armies transited Rockhold, most notably General Josiah Harmar en route to his defeat at Kekionga.

General Anthony Wayne built Fort Adams in the area of Rockford in the early August 1794, as a temporary relay station and supply depot.

[5] The earliest records of Rockford originate from French-Indian trader Anthony Madore, who operated a trading post to the north of the current town, on the southern bank of the St. Marys River.

During the War of 1812, General William Henry Harrison camped in Rockford en route to fight the British and Indian coalition.