Documentary sources pinpoint “the Rock Ford of the Crooked River” as the principal route of travel north from Liberty and Richmond, Missouri. This unique solid rock ford was long used by Native Americans, pioneers and the Mormons as a reliable crossing.

    Having been expelled from Jackson County, Missouri, in 1833-34, Mormons sought temporary refuge in Clay County, Missouri. In 1836, Clay County residents requested Latter Day Saints to leave. Awaiting State approval of the establishment of Caldwell County, Missouri, as a place of gathering for the Mormons, some members moved to the sparsely populated area in Ray County along the Crooked River. A sizeable settlement of Mormons developed in the Rock Ford area. On 8 August 1836, W.W. Phelps and John Whitmer entered large claims for government land along Shoal Creek to the north, in behalf of the Church. Soon thereafter, the State Legislature established the new counties of Caldwell and Daviess from what had been northern Ray County. The subsequent settlement of this region and occupation by the Mormons of lands to the north ensured continued dependence on the crossing at Rock Ford. Rock Ford crossing is about five miles above the site of the Crooked River Battle, where an armed encounter occurred between Mormon defenders and Missouri militia in 1838, in Ray County, near present day Elmira, Missouri.
    Access to Rockford is via Highway 116 and south ˝ mile on Gold Road.