Rockford

by Eric A. Johnson
Rockford
Author: Eric A. Johnson
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2003-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780738523415
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During the early decades of the 20th century, communication by postcard was an inexpensive and popular means of exchanging travel stories, news, and gossip across the United States. For just a few cents each, postcards connected friends and family separated by hundreds of miles. Rockford: 1900-World War I, with a collection of nearly 240 vintage postcard images, captures the details of this dynamic era and documents the Forest City's coming of age.Inside are views of Rockford's bustling downtown, including rare glimpses of long-gone landmarks like the Grand Opera House and Orpheum Theater. Witness history in the making with Rockford's first recorded airplane flights in 1911 and experience U.S. Army "doughboy" life at Rockford's Camp Grant. Be there for Teddy Roosevelt's historic visits to Rockford, and marvel at the intrepid companies that turned Rockford into a national manufacturing power.

Rockford

by Roberta H. J. Schirado
Rockford
Author: Roberta H. J. Schirado
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2009
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780738560731
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One of the first settlers to build a mill on the Rogue River was Smith Lapham. The village that developed by the millpond was called Laphamville. After the Civil War, the townas name was changed to Rockford. The picturesque Rogue River and the city are symbiotic entities. The river was first dammed to provide power for lumber mills and gristmills. Later it supplied electricity for families, commerce, and manufacturing. For many years, Rockford has been known as the home of shoe manufacturer Wolverine World Wide. The sad-eyed canine logo for Hush Puppies footwear is instantly recognizable throughout the world. Many residents continue to be employed there.

Rockford Area Railroads

by Mike Schafer
Rockford Area Railroads
Author: Mike Schafer
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2010-10-25
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1439641005
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Railroads were key to Rockfords rise as a thriving manufacturing and commercial center. With an area population of over 200,000 residents and a reputation for manufactured goods, Rockford had a critical need for railroads into the bust years of the 1970s. Eventually four railroads rose to prominence in Rockford, all of them Class 1 carriers: the Chicago and North Western; Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy; the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Pau,l and Pacific (the Milwaukee Road); and Illinois Central. For nearly a century, these four roadsall of them esteemed Midwestern railroadscarried the bulk of freight and passengers arriving and departing Rockford, Davis Junction, and Loves Park by rail. Two other smaller railways, the Chicago, Milwaukee, and Gary and the Rockford and Interurban, also played a part in Rockfords railroad history and are spotlighted in this volume.

Baseball in Rockford

by Ken Griswold
Baseball in Rockford
Author: Ken Griswold
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2003
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780738523453
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Rockford, IL, and the surrounding area, the Rock River Valley, is rich in baseball history. The town first attracted national baseball attention in 1867 when its Forest City team defeated the touring Washington Nationals, who were previously undefeated. Rockford's young pitcher, Albert G. Spalding, quickly became recognized as a legend, as he dominated all aspects of the game. Rockford's baseball history continued with minor league teams, industrial league teams, and other teams both semi-pro and amateur. The city again gained national attention with the four-time champion Rockford Peaches of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (1943-1954). The excitement of professional ball in the Forest City continues today with the Rockford River Hawks of the Frontier League. Baseball in Rockford tells the players' stories from 1865 to the present, illustrated with vintage photographs throughout.

Haunted Rockford, Illinois

by Kathi Kresol
Haunted Rockford, Illinois
Author: Kathi Kresol
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2017-10-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 1439662827
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Follow local historian and “Ghost Lady” Kathi Kresol as she researches the spirits, curses, and curiosities from the Forest City’s shadowy past. Just beneath the glossy surface of Rockford’s rich heritage lies a dark history of tragedy, a troubled and turbulent past leaving scars that still resonate today. Geraldine Bourbon’s final struggle echoes throughout the farmhouse where her estranged husband pursued her with a pistol from room to room before gently laying her corpse on the bed. The sobs of society darling Carrie Spafford still keep vigil over the family plot of the cemetery where she sowed the heartbreak of her twilight years. From the vengeance of Chief Big Thunder to the Witch of McGregor Road, author Kathi Kresol shares the legends and lore of Rockford’s haunted history. Includes photos! “There are reasons why Kathi Kresol believes Rockford is so haunted. The tour guide said there are good ‘conductors’ for the supernatural in the city’s downtown area. These factors include being near a body of water, having limestone in the area and the area having a Native American influence.” —Beloit Daily News

Rockford & Interurban Railway

by Mike Schafer
Rockford & Interurban Railway
Author: Mike Schafer
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2015-03-23
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1439650527
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With today's America dominated by the automobile, it is difficult to believe that until the 1920s nearly 100 percent of the US population traveled via rail. Conventional passenger-train service spread rapidly by the 1850s, but another form of rail transportation did not emerge until the turn of the 20th century: the interurban. Almost always electric, interurbans linked cities with burghs. Rockford, one of Illinois's three largest urban centers during the 20th century, enjoyed a system appropriately named the Rockford & Interurban, dating from the city's horse-drawn streetcars of the 1880s. By World War I, the Rockford & Interurban ran from downtown Rockford to Cherry Valley and Belvidere; Winnebago, Pecatonica, and Freeport; Roscoe and Rockton; and Beloit and Janesville, Wisconsin. The Rockford & Interurban enjoyed a supernova of success, rising quickly in popularity before slowly dying when the automobile became widespread in the 1920s; the Great Depression finished the job in 1936.