In 1178, the castle of Rocha Forcha was built by the bishops of Die as a stronghold against the Holy Roman Emperors. It belonged to French lords until the year 1766 when the last one, Lord Rey de Noinville, died. In 1796, a French trader, Pierre Jossaud bought the land surrounding the castle and renamed it Rochefourchat. The commune has been passed down through Jossaud's family.
Historical populationYear | | |
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1968 | 6 | — |
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1975 | 2 | −14.52% |
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1982 | 3 | +5.96% |
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1990 | 2 | −4.94% |
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1999 | 1 | −7.41% |
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2009 | 1 | +0.00% |
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2014 | 1 | +0.00% |
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2020 | 1 | +0.00% |
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Source: INSEE[4] |
The permanent population of Rochefourchat consists of one woman; yet Rochefourchat is not the least populous French commune, as there are six communes with no inhabitants, destroyed and abandoned during World War I but maintained as administrative subdivisions to preserve their memory.