Rockford is named for a river ford used by early 19th-century settlers and merchants travelling between Knoxville and Maryville.

[2] As its name implies, the ford was unusually rocky, and thus preferred by travellers, as large amounts of silt and sand made much of the Little River difficult to cross.

[2] Since the 1900s, the community has been the site of the Rockford Manufacturing Company, a yard cordage factory, and its adjacent and hazardous low head dam, formerly used to power the factory and now poses nothing more than a dangerous feature on the Little River, having been the site of numerous fatalities.

[8] Rockford incorporated as a city in the early 1970s to avoid being annexed by Alcoa or Maryville, both of which were growing rapidly.

[7] The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year.

18.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.