The reason I ask is because I got a call the other day from an author who's promoting his latest book. He wondered if I had gotten a copy of the book that he had sent to me at the radio station here in Rockford. When I said that I hadn't, he told me it must have gone to the wrong Rockford.

I assumed that it went to the only other Rockford that I'm aware of, which would be Rockford, Michigan. Nope, he told me, not Rockford, Michigan. Must have been another Rockford, he said. Then, I foolishly asked "How many Rockfords are there in this country?"

He didn't know, and I quickly got the feeling that he really didn't care, either. So, never one to leave an unanswered question just hanging there (although there are several former teachers of mine who would beg to disagree), I set about trying to find out.

Before I give you the results of my search, would you like to guess? I'll wait...

Okay, time's up.

From what I've been able to run down, there are (drum roll, please) 10 Rockfords in the U.S., and they are as follows:

 

1) Rockford, Illinois

2) and 3) Rockford, Indiana (actually there are two. One in Wells County and one in Jackson County)

4) Rockford, Iowa

5) Rockford, Michigan

6) Rockford, Minnesota

7) Rockford, Alabama

8) Rockford, North Carolina

9) Rockford, Ohio

10) Rockford, Tennessee

It also appears that every single one of the Rockfords in this country were named Rockford because...

  • They're all on rivers
  • All of the rivers had piles of rocks in them that made traversing the river possible.

Now all I have left to do is to start calling nine different Rockfords to find out who got the stupid book I was supposed to have received. However, at this point, much like the author who didn't know how many Rockfords there are--I just don't care.

 

More From WROK 1440 AM / 96.1 FM