Bringing the Midway Village Museum Archives Online For Public Use
Midway Village Museum, Rockford Illinois’ local history museum, is proud to announce that it has received a grant from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois. The grant will allow for development of this site.
Staff will digitize 300 rare glass plate negatives of Rockford life 1880-1900, 500 postcards of central Rockford and Camp Grant, and 70 letters home from Rockford boys fighting in the Civil War. Each will be scanned and uploaded to this site with descriptive information. The site is keyword searchable for easy use. High resolution copies of the images will be available from the Museum upon request.
The Museum is excited to increase its service to local researchers, teachers and history buffs. Currently the museum’s local history collections—nearly 150,000 items—are available to view by appointment only.
Work on the digitization website began in January 2017. It is anticipated that these first 900 images will be available late in 2017.
The mission of Midway Village Museum is to be the best institution for collecting preserving and interpreting the history of the Rockford region, is committed to educating and enriching our community by providing state-of-the-art exhibits, programs and events.
The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois has been a regional leader in philanthropy since 1953. CFNIL serves as a catalyst for giving in order to attract, grow and preserve an endowment for the needs of Northern Illinois. Since its founding, CFNIL has granted more than $60 million for charitable purposes.
Featured Collection
Many Faces, One Community: Rockford, Illinois' Stories of Immigration
In 2006-2009 Midway Village Museum undertook an oral history project to capture the stories of immigrants who have come to Rockford and contributed to…
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News Tower, East State Street at the Rock River, Rockford, Illinois
Color graphic rendering of the News Tower with the State Street Bridge to the left and the Rock River in the foreground. On back: "No better edited…
News Tower, Rockford, Illinois
Color photograph of the News Tower Building on the East side of the Rock River by the State Street Bridge. Notice the boat pulling a skier in front of…
East State Street, Rockford, Ill.
This view depicts horses and wagons on the street, pedestrians on the sidewalks, wires strung above across the street, and signs on the left…