Spafford Sitting Room
The Spafford House at 501 North Prospect, Rockford. Above the sitting room fireplace is a portrait of Mrs. Jessie Spafford.
March 18, 1961
Midway Village Museum
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2013.12.7
Nordstrom Dining Room
Possibly a dining room at the Gust Nordstrom home, 218 West Street. An animal skin rug is on the floor in front of the fireplace. As heating technology changed fireplaces became nostalgic and a focus point of the room. As a focus point, the fireplace was a place to display family treasures and mementoes.
circa 1893
Midway Village Museum
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88.112.10
Walker Dining Room
Dining room in the home of Alexander and Venetia R. Walker at 410 South Third Street. The highly decorative fireplace indicates that this is a public space. The cabinets store and display serving dishes.
Charles Herrick
1897
Midway Village Museum
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88.7.30g
Parlor Fireplace
Possibly the home of Mr. Charles Herrick at 420 South Third Street. The parlor features a highly decorative fireplace. The mirror over the fireplace helps to make the room seem larger.
Charles Herrick
1897
Midway Village Museum
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88.7.29e
Herrick Family Parlor
Possibly the parlor of Mr. Charles Herrick at 420 South Third Street. The fireplace screen protects the room from flying embers. The ceiling light is powered by gas. The paintings at each side of the fireplace are hanging from a picture rail, which is a strip of wood or molding near the ceiling. Picture rails became popular in the 1840s. They could be decorative, supported a lot of weight, and made it easy to move a picture without damaging walls.
Charles Herrick
1897
Midway Village Museum
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88.7.29a
Radio Console
Living room furnishings indicate use of this room for visiting with guests. A radio console popular in the 1930s is by the window next to the door. Radios of this time were in cabinets so large that they were considered decorative furniture as well as a source of entertainment. The room also includes a piano for live entertainment and a fireplace where special decorations can be easily seen.
circa 1930s
Midway Village Museum
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85.109(I).905.13
Parlor Fireplace
A parlor with a fireplace. By the 1840s fireplaces were no longer the main heating source for the house. Fireplaces became a decorative focal point in the room. The curtain at the doorway could be closed to provide some privacy when visiting with guests.
circa late 1800s
Midway Village Museum
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85.109(I).845
Fireplace Mantel
Irl and Dorothy Martin with their children, "Huck" (Harold) and Mary Barbara (Mrs. Billy Bittle) in front of the fireplace.
circa 1930s
Midway Village Museum
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80.6.33
Dailey Family Picture
Dailey family picture taken in front of a fireplace. Fireplaces in eighteenth and nineteenth century homes tend to be shallow to provide heat into the rooms. Today fireplaces in homes are popular for pleasure and are not needed for heat. Today's fireplaces are deeper for safety by moving the flame farther away from the room contents and inhabitants.
1961
Midway Village Museum
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74.595.606