Contributed photo | www.midwayvillage.com
Contributed photo | www.midwayvillage.com
Midway Village & Museum Center issued the following announcement on June 15
In June 2020 Midway Village Museum was the recipient of a grant of $2,873 from the Illinois Historical Records Advisory Board (ISHRAB).
This project allowed the museum to digitize 1,500 images and documents for addition to it’s online collection. They are available through the Museum’s website at http://www.midwayvillage.com/digital-collections.html.
The 1,200 color slides of Rockford’s urban renewal and redevelopment efforts from 1964-2002 were a major part of the project. Taken by Community Development Department staff of the City of Rockford from the mid-1960s through the 1990s, they include systematic surveys of downtown buildings, historic districts and neighborhoods that were completed to assist with city planning. These images were captured during the decades that central Rockford was experiencing major changes: downtown business declined as suburban shopping malls thrived, construction of a federal highway east of downtown led to a near abandonment of the central city, and construction of new public buildings led to the demolition of many structures.
Also, part of the project were 300 receipts and business documents from 1834-1884 belonged to Charles I. Horsman. Mr. Horsman arrived in Rockford in 1837 and spent decades as a banker and merchant. The documents include supply orders for construction projects in the heart of the town, receipts for club dues, subscriptions to local newspapers, and itemized receipts from local businesses. There are grocery bills, carriage repair bills and receipts for coal.
These documents and images bring the museums online collection to more than 5,000 items that researchers can access online. These include Civil War letters, oral histories with immigrant families, and photos of Rockford buildings, neighborhoods and residents.
“We are very fortunate to expand our digital resources to the public with this grant,” said Laura Furman, Chief Curator of Midway Village Museum. “This makes items in our archives accessible to researchers at all times, regardless of whether the museum is open during regular business hours.”
Midway Village Museum was established in 1974 with a mission of history preservation and education in the Rockford region. The museum collection contains more than 150,000 artifacts and the museum additionally operates a 13-acre Victorian Village comprised of 26 buildings representing a rural town between 1890 – 1910. The museum campus of 148-acres is situated on Rockford’s east side.
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