This area was known as Prospect, Schaff's Bridge, and Mineral Point before taking the name Rockwood from the surrounding resources. Phillip Wolfersberger laid out the first town here in 1857, and it was incorporated as Mineral Point. By 1871, two railroads met here, making it a rail hub for the Baltimore & Ohio and the Somerset to Mineral Point railroads. In 1885, the town was renamed Rockwood Borough and had a population of about 600. It had a steam-driven electric plant, a planing mill, a charcoal manufacturer, a brewery, a tannery, five hotels, and lumbering enterprises. The Western Maryland Railway arrived in 1912, and its corridor was later abandoned and converted into the Great Allegheny Passage trail.