The Birth of Rockford Illinois: An Activity Book By: Bobbi Koch Montessori School 7-13-07

1. The Birth of Rockford Illinois: An Activity BookBy: Bobbi KochMontessori School7-13-07

2. Units Settlement and Birth of Rockford Shelter and Buildings Tools and Items for Work and Comfort Food and Clothing Transportation Communication Professions Social Comforts Politics Famous People

3. Germanicus Kent along with his friend Thatcher Blake desired to form a new town between Galena and Chicago.

4. When Blake and Kent left Galena they traveled to a spot like this along the Rock River to set up what would later become Rockford.

5. The Journey Kent and Blake set out from Galena in the spring of 1834 to form a new town in between Galena and Chicago. They traveled by wagon, canoe and on foot on their journey. They came in contact with Stephan Mack in the northern area of the Rock River and with American Indians in the area now known as Freeport. They finally settled on an area. Upon an examination they discovered a place that was on high ground to avoid any health issues from the creeks and rivers which would be a good source of trade and travel. They saw land that would be good for the farming of cash and food crops and an abundance of fine wood for construction and development.

6. Once the decision to start a town on this spot was completed the two men went back to Galena and stocked up on supplies and also brought with them 2 others to help with the work. One was named Evans and the other was thought to be a slave (Believed by some to be Lewis Lemon). They arrived in the area now known as Rockford on the evening of August 24th, 1834. Work began to build the settlement.

7. The Settlement Work started with the building of two cabins for the men to live in, such as the one pictured below.

10. Shelter and Buildings The first homes in the area were very primitive in there construction. Better constructed and much more modern homes for the time and buildings would come over time. Haight would be the responsible for several building firsts in Rockford. He was the first to build a house on the east side of the river. His house was approximately 18 feet x 18 feet and had a cellar. His cabin was constructed of Oak logs which was a very common wood for the area and was built without any nails. His floors were not the normal dirt floors that most cabins had. He had Puncheon floors, which were logs that had been split and were laid flat side up.

14. Purchase of Land

15. Tools and Items for Work and Comfort In the time of Rockford�s beginnings there were not the luxuries we have today. Many of the items were both very basic and very necessary to survive. One of the most used was the wagon. The wagon was used to haul equipment and supplies and as a way to get around.

19. Other tools were used to provide some comforts in life.

21. Food and Clothing The diet and foods of people in the early times in Rockford was based heavily on the foods that were found, grown, hunted or bought from other settlers. The settlers diet was many times centered around foods found or grown during certain seasons. Many food s may be grown on family farms or in family gardens. Some food may be traded with another settler, or at a trading post. With other foods such as meats coming from animals hunted or from animals that were once livestock on the farm.

30. Transportation When it comes to travel it was not easy to get around. The roads were many times rough gouges or trenches that had been made from repeat travel.

32. The Stage Coach The stage coach was a source of transportation that people started to use. It was a wagon that would travel on a regular basis to specific destinations.

34. Water Travel Water travel was a natural source for Rockfordians. With the Rock River it offered many forms of water travel. From the use of a simple canoe to a flat bottom boat. People also would simply ford across the river by either tying their wagons together and driving through the river or by floating across on their own or on some planks or logs.

37. Steamers As time went on and technology advanced water travel steamers were used to travel on the river. The problem was however that the river was very shallow in some spots making it difficult for many to travel to Rockford. It took some engineering on the part of the citizens of Rockford to dig a trench in the river and clear debris to allow for frequent stops and use of steamers. However, the rewards the steamers brought was worth the time and effort it took to alter the river.

38. Bridges To make it easier to cross the river the idea of building a bridge was discussed. The two sides of the river was feeling like separate towns instead of the same place. The first bridge was built of oak logs that were to be supported by rocks on each side of the river. However, on Christmas night in 1843 the parts of the bridge that were up were pushed up and sent down river. The parts were recovered and put back together ata cost of $5500. The bridge was designed to flow into two tracks, one going and one coming.

41. Railroad The railroad had been in existence in the country for several years before planning began to bring it to Rockford. The railroad was many times faster than a wagon a boat or the stage coach. This would be great addition for the town and would propel the city forward in its ability to grow, develop and expand trade and business. Planning to bring the railroad to Rockford began in 1847. It would take until August of 1852 for the train to finally make its arrival to much fanfare and a party. From that day on Rockford felt it was a big city.

43. Communication As it is today keeping in touch with friends and family is important. Mail was something that came from time to time, not everyday. In 1837 Daniel Haight was made postmaster and a post office was built at 107 S. Madison. Some of the first mail arrived in September to what should have been an exciting day. However, the mailpouch was sent without the key required to open it. It would take some time for the mail to return with the key need to open the pouch. As time went on mail came more often and people began to send more and more packages and letters to friends and family. Which required a new post office be built on East State Street one year after the first went up.

45. Telegraph In 1844 the story of the first telegraph reached the town of Rockford. It was not until 1850 that it finally came to Rockford after a cost of more than $2000 to the citizens. The town was hooked up to the Milwaukee and Chicago lines and eventually national and world wide.

46. Newspaper Another form of sharing information was achieved through that of newspapers. Newspapers were able to share local information and some limited national news. It was not until the advent of the telegraph that more up to date news was able to be shared rapidly. The Rock River Express was the first newspaper in Rockford, with an initial publishing in May of 1840. This paper was circulated weekly. This paper did not last long because people refused to pay their bill. The second newspaper to come to Rockford was the Rockford Star in 1840, which lasted a very short time also.

48. Professions One of the basic professions of the time was that of a farmer. A farmer was able to provide food for both himself and his neighbors. He could use his crop as if it were money to also pay for goods and services.

58. Social Comforts When people came to the Rockford area they also were seeking quality of life comforts. Those would come from the growth of churches, schools and libraries and other clubs and organizations. The people in the area were usually frequent church goers. However, before churches were built the people were preached to by traveling ministers known as circuit riders or would read the Bible at home on their own as a family.

65. Libraries Libraries were around at the settlement of Rockford but they were for adults and were private. The Sons of Temperance had a collection of 200 books that could be borrowed if one had a membership for a dollar a year. Children had no real area to get books until schools started to form school libraries. In 1852 the Sons of Temperance was to disband and it was decided that they would transfer into the Rockford Library Association. People were invited to join the association and pay a membership.

67. Politics For there to be any political events in Rockford, the settlement would have to become a city within a county. This began with the area forming a county approximately 2 years after Kent and Blake started the settlement. There were nearly a thousand people in the area and the men held an election to elect county officers and select a name. This was the birth of Winnebago County. The county was growing fast but the settlement was slow to expand. It would take 150 settlers to be qualified as a village. It was in 1839 that this event took place and that village trustees were elected.

72. Famous People & Companies Rockford has had many people go onto to do great things both on a local and national stage. Several of these people were John H. Manny, Ralph Emerson, Wait Talcott, Amos W. Woodward, John Nelson, John S. Barnes, Julia Lathrop, Robert H. Tinker, Lewis Lemon, John T. Haight and many more.

79. Activity Book Lesson Plan The activity book lesson will be set-up by a creative writing activity that asks the student to think about what Rockford would have been like 200 years ago. Ask the students to think of what they would have seen, done or what the area would have looked liked if they could have gone back in time. After they have written some ideas and you have shared it as a class and discussed it some, you will introduce them to the idea of researching the formation of Rockford. You can discuss that the town was not always here and you can brainstorm on how it came to be.