Rockford, Illinois Rockford, Illinois Rockford East State Street Corridor looking west from 3rd Township Rockford Winnebago County Illinois incorporated and unincorporated areas Rockford highlighted.svg Wikimedia Commons: Rockford, Illinois Rockford is the third biggest city in the U.S.
State of Illinois, the 171st most crowded city in the United States, the biggest city in Illinois outside of the Chicago urbane area, and the town/city of the 148th most crowded urbane region in the United States. It is the governmental center of county of Winnebago County and is positioned on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois.
According to 2010 census data, the City of Rockford had a populace of 152,871, with an outlying urbane region population of 348,360, which was estimated to have decreased to 150,251 and 344,623, in the order given, by July 2013. Settled between 1834 and 1835, Rockford was strategically positioned between Chicago and Galena and thus became suitable for industrialized development.
Rockford was notable for its output of heavy machinery and tools; by the twentieth century, it was the second dominant center of furniture manufacturing in the nation, and 94th biggest city.
Referred to as the Forest City, Rockford is known for various venues of cultural or historical significance, including Anderson Japanese Gardens, Klehm Arboretum, Tinker Swiss Cottage, the BMO Harris Bank Center, the Coronado Theatre, the Laurent House, and the Burpee Museum of Natural History.
It has been suggested that this section be consolidated into History of Rockford, Illinois.
Rockford was established by New Englanders in 1834 as separate settlements (commonly known as Kentville and Haightville, for the framers of each) on each side of the river and originally called Midway. At the time Rockford was established its inhabitants consisted almost entirely of New Englanders and New England transplants from upstate New York. These were "Yankee" settlers, meaning they were descended from the English Puritans who settled New England amid the early 1600s.
Due to the area's adjacency to a ford athwart the Rock River, the village of Midway was retitled Rockford in 1837 by arriving New Englanders. Rockford was chartered as a town/city in 1852, following the establishment of a postal service in 1837 (of which Shaw Height served in as the first postmaster) and a weekly journal in 1840.
Growth was fueled by the charter of Rockford Female Seminary in 1847 and a connection to the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad in 1852.
The New York Tribune inspired the metonym The Forest City for Rockford in 1853.
The Rockford Union Furniture Company, under John Erlander, spearheaded these cooperatives; today, Erlander's home is a Rockford exhibition, demonstrating his accomplishments in rank Rockford to second in furniture manufacturing in the nation, behind Grand Rapids. In 1848, 42 percent of voters in Winnebago County, which Rockford dominated as the county seat, voted for Martin Van Buren.
During the Civil War, one of the first Illinois regiments to be mobilized, the Zouaves, were from Rockford, which served as the site for Camp Fuller, a training site for four other infantry regiments.
Rockford Station ca.
The Rockford Female Seminary became the alma mater of Jane Addams in 1881.
This move accompanied the Seminary's transition into a more complete curriculum, which was represented by its renaming to Rockford College in 1892.
This was complemented by the assembly of a Carnegie library in 1902, which became the first building of Rockford's enhance library system.
Roosevelt returned to Rockford amid his campaign in 1912 and later to address the soldiers at Camp Grant, a training site for World War I soldiers.
Kennedy campaigns through State Street in downtown Rockford in 1960.
Electorally divided between wets and drys on the subject of prohibition, Rockford featured a coalition of workforce unionists and socialists that propel various aldermen and carried 25 to 40 percent in mayoral elections.
While its congressional precinct favored Republicans, Rockford itself continuously propel former Socialists as mayor between 1921 and 1955.
Prior to World War II, Rockford became home to Kegel Harley-Davidson, which became the earliest family-owned Harley-Davidson dealership in existence. One of its intact attractions, the Coronado Theatre, was opened in 1927.
The USS Rockford, a Tacoma-class frigate titled for the city, was commissioned in March 1944 and earned two service stars.
In the September 1949 copy of Life magazine, postwar Rockford was described as "nearly typical of the U.S.
Lloyd Warner warned of the necessity to "understand the realities of their system." Heavily dependent on manufacturing and experiencing a shift in economic evolution toward its easterly borders, Rockford began to suffer irrevocable decline. Impetuses for this shift in economic evolution include the assembly of the Northwest Tollway in 1958, the new ground for Rockford College in 1964, and the ground of Rock Valley College and the Chrysler Belvidere Assembly Plant in 1965 near the easterly periphery of the town/city clean water downtown.
The former sectioned off Rockford's Main Street, impeding vehicle traffic, to the criticism of close-by company owners. The latter, the Metro - Centre, opened in 1981 to performances by Dionne Warwick and The Rolling Stones.
Courthouse and BMO Harris Bank Center in downtown Rockford.
The aerospace industry, represented by Woodward and UTC Aerospace Systems, is dominant in Rockford.
Loves Park, a suburb, was chose by Woodward for a $200 million manufacturing ground toward its energy control and optimization systems in 2012. Boeing encompassed Rockford in a list of five finalists to manufacture the 777 - X amid union disputes in 2014. The healthcare industry, represented by OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center and Swedish - American Hospital, is also involved.
Even before the Great Recession had an effect on Rockford, the town/city was impacted by flooding of its Keith Creek in both 2006 and 2007.
Thirty two percent of the area's mortgages were underwater by 2013; Forbes rated Rockford number three on its America's Most Miserable Cities list in the same year. In the first four months of 2014, the unemployment rate of Rockford declined from 12.9 percent to 9.2 percent, but these figures remained well above the nationwide average. The emphasis given to easterly areas in Rockford have rendered their counterparts with blighted neighborhoods.
In 2002, Rockford's enhance school fitness was court-ordered to spend $250 million on upgrades to schools after it was found culpable for discrimination against inhabitants served by them, many of whom were African American. According to the 2010 census, Rockford has a total region of 61.949 square miles (160.45 km2), of which 61.08 square miles (158.20 km2) (or 98.6%) is territory and 0.869 square miles (2.25 km2) (or 1.4%) is water. Neighboring communities that border Rockford, and are considered an integral part of the Rockford metro area, are the metros/cities of Loves Park, Machesney Park, Belvidere, and the villages of Winnebago, Roscoe, Rockton, Poplar Grove, New Milford, and Cherry Valley.
The Rock River is the traditional center of the Rockford region and is its most recognizable natural feature.
Also of note, South Beloit, Illinois and Beloit, Wisconsin are part of this continuous urban region that stretches for approximately 30 miles along the Rock River from the Chicago Rockford International Airport north to the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport.
Due to its locale in the Midwest, naturally a deciduous forest, Rockford's climate contains four clearly defined seasons.
June is Rockford's wettest month while January is the driest.
Rockford and encircling areas are apt to violent thunderstorms amid the months of March, April, May, and June.
On July 5, 2003 at 04:13, supercells produced tornadoes causing widespread damage on both the east and west sides of Rockford.
On January 13, 1979 over 9 inches (23 cm) of snow fell on Rockford in just a several hours amid one of the strongest blizzards in the city's history.
Climate data for Rockford, Illinois (Chicago Rockford International Airport), 1981 2010 normals & extremes Rockford is in the center of its namesake urbane area.
In the late 1950s, Rockford surpassed Peoria as the second biggest city in Illinois by population, holding onto that position into the 21st century.
As is with many other Rust Belt and midwestern cities, Catholics make up Rockford's biggest theological group.
. Rockford's theological improve is served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford, a several large evangelical and non-denominational churches, and a several Lutheran and other Mainline Protestant congregations.
Rockford's Jewish improve is served by a Jewish church, the Muslim improve by a mosque, the Sikhs by a temple, and its Buddhist improve is served by two homes of worship as well. Rockford, Illinois Rockford City Hall in the East Rockford Historic District Rockford is the governmental center of county of Winnebago County.
The mayor of Rockford is chosen in a general election every four years.
The Rockford City Council consists of 14 aldermen, individually propel from each ward in the city.
1 Rockford Public School District 4,800 4 Rockford Health System 2,500 10 City of Rockford 1,135 Fishers Potato Chips, a county-wide manufacturer of potato chips established in Rockford, is a recognized brand name of potato chips in parts of the Midwestern United States.
Rockford is linked by highway to Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Madison, Wisconsin; and Dubuque, Iowa.
Public transit in the town/city is provided by the Rockford Mass Transit District (RMTD); however, enhance transit transit framework in Rockford is not at the level of comparably sized communities.
The Jane Addams Memorial Tollway links the Rockford region both to Madison, Wisconsin and the northwest Chicago suburbs.
From Rockford north, I-90 replaced U.S.
Route 20 goes through Rockford twice.
Rockford also marks the point where U.S.
20 bypass, the highway directly links Rockford to Bloomington and Normal, Illinois.
Route 51 overlaps Interstate 39 throughout the Rockford area.
The Rockford Mass Transit District provides Fixed Route and Para-transit Service to the metros/cities of Rockford and Loves Park and the Village of Machesney Park.
Main article: Chicago Rockford International Airport In 1946, after the closure of Camp Grant, the state of Illinois allowed for the establishment of an airport to serve the town/city of Rockford.
Built on the portion of the Camp Grant property between the Rock River and US 51 (now Illinois 251), the Greater Rockford Airport was positioned between the southern border of Rockford and New Milford.
Opened in 1946, the Greater Rockford Airport opened its current passenger terminal in 1987.
In 1994, United Parcel Service (UPS) opened the first of its two facilities at the airport; Rockford is home to the second-largest UPS air package operation (after Worldport in Louisville, Kentucky).
Following the loss of passenger service at the airport from 2001 to 2003, the Greater Rockford Airport underwent a several name changes, becoming the Chicago Rockford International Airport in 2007.
Since the restoration of passenger service in 2003, the Rockford airport primarily markets its passenger service for leisure travelers, offering flights by Allegiant Air along with charter operations on a cyclic basis.
Machesney Airport, positioned north of the city, was opened in 1927 as a private airport serving the Rockford area.
As of 2017, the Rockford region is not presently served by passenger rail service.
From 1974 to 1981, Rockford was served by Amtrak via its Black Hawk route, a daily train service from Dubuque, Iowa to Union Station in Chicago with a stop in Rockford.
During the 2000s, interest increased in relinking the Rockford and Chicago regions together by rail.
In 2006, the Northern Illinois Commuter Transportation Initiative proposed extending Metra train service from the Chicago suburbs to Rockford. While Metra service has yet to be proposed on an official level, amid the early 2010s, design work on a prepared 2015 revival of the Black Hawk route on Canadian National rails., with Rockford as the initial terminus.
Rockford is served by a several different freight barns lines, the Union Pacific, the Canadian National, the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern (Canadian Pacific), and the Illinois Railway.
The Union Pacific line from West Chicago terminates in Rockford, at a small yard.
The Illinois Railway Rockford Line comes from the South, joins the Canadian National line, where they continue on trackage rights to the Canadian National yard.
The Union Pacific Railroad's Global III Intermodal Facility is positioned approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Rockford in Rochelle, Illinois, a improve of 10,000.
Main articles: Rockford University and Rock Valley College Although Rockford is positioned in a large urbane area, the region does not feature any locally based enhance 4-year universities; the closest such institution is Northern Illinois University in De - Kalb, 45 miles (72 km) away.
Along with Rockford University (a private 4-year school of just under 2000 students), the town/city is the home to Rock Valley College (a 10,000-student improve college), Rockford Business College (re-branded as Rockford Career College in 2009), and St.
University of Illinois College of Medicine and Pharmacy, Rockford degree from the newly accredited baccalaureate institution in 1882 (the school was retitled Rockford College in 1892, and Rockford University in 2013).
Rock Valley College is a improve college with a several locations in the Rockford area.
See also: Rockford Public School District 205 and Public schools of Rockford, Illinois Serving Rockford, Cherry Valley, and portions of Winnebago and Boone counties, Rockford Public School District 205 covers an region of roughly 170 square miles (440 km2).
See also: Boylan Catholic High School, Keith Country Day School, Spectrum Progressive School of Rockford, Rockford Christian High School, Christian Life High School, Rockford Lutheran High School, and Rockford Iqra School In addition to its enhance school system, Rockford supports 27 sectarian and nonsectarian private schools ranging from elementary to secondary education.
The attractions of Rockford are often of architectural significance.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, it is contemporarily used for the School of Medical Technology of the Rockford-based Swedish American Hospital. Further Swedish influence on Rockford amid the Victorian era is represented in the Erlander Home Museum, the base of the Swedish Historical Society.
Modern architectural movements, like Art Deco and Prairie School, are also integral to Rockford.
The theatre is known for its blend of Art Deco with Spanish Baroque Revival and has hosted various performers over its lifetime, including the Marx Brothers, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Dylan. The 186-foot tall Faust Hotel complements the Coronado; constructed in 1929, itsuffers as Rockford's tallest building, albeit as apartements for the elderly and disabled.
List by Forbes. The Burpee Museum and the Discovery Center Museum, along with the Rockford Art Museum and the bases for Northern Public Radio, the Rockford Dance Company, and the Rockford Symphony Orchestra compose the downtown Riverfront Museum Park complex.
The conservatory is adjoining to the Symbol, a Alexander Liberman sculpture that was moved from downtown amid the 1980s and is now one of Rockford's most recognizable features. Main article: List of citizens from Rockford, Illinois Rockford Big Dogs (Travel Baseball Program 2006 Present) Rockford Ravens (rugby; Chicago Area Rugby Football Union 1976 present) Rockford Foresters (baseball; Midwest Collegiate League 2010 present) Rockford Ice - Hogs (ice hockey; UHL 1999-2007, AHL 2007 present) Rockford Rivets (baseball; NWL 2015-present) Rockford Aviators (baseball; Frontier League 2002-2009, Northern League 2010, Frontier League 2011 2015) Rockford Rage (women's roller derby; 2006 present) Rockford Ravens (youth football; 2012 National Champions, UYFL) Rockford Forest Citys (baseball, 1871) Main article: Media in Rockford, Illinois List of tallest buildings in Rockford, Illinois a b c "Rockford (city), Illinois".
Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: City of Rockford "Rockford - Illinois, United States".
History of Rockford and Winnebago County, Illinois: From the First Settlement in 1834 to the Civil War pg.
History of Rockford and Winnebago County, Illinois: From the First Settlement in 1834 to the Civil War, pg.
"All About Rockford, Illinois" (PDF).
Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
"Rockford, An Illustrated History, Windsor Publications 1989 p.
"Rockford, An Illustrated History, Windsor Publications 1989 p.
Rockford Register Star.
Rockford Register Star.
Symbol The Official Rockford Sculpture.
"Amtrak rail service between Chicago and Rockford to begin in 2015".
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"Rockford Metro - Centre has new name: BMO Harris Bank Center".
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"Rockford's new riverwalk opens".
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"Rockford's new federal courthouse dedicated".
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"An empowered Rockford neighborhood jubilates accomplishments".
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"July Daily Averages for Rockford, IL".
"January Daily Averages for Rockford, IL".
"Station Name: IL ROCKFORD GTR ROCKFORD AP".
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The City of Rockford.
City of Rockford CAFR Rockford Register Star.
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"Coronado Theatre, Rockford, IL".
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Rockford Public Schools.
Rockford Park District.
Rockford Park District.
"Rockford Rage home page".
Rockford Rage.
"Interactive Directory: Rockford, Illinois".
"The 'Rosies' of Rockford: Working Women in Two Rockford Companies in the Depression and World War II Eras," Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, 102 (Fall Winter 2009), 402 28.
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Rockford Area CVB travel guide Swedish Immigration to Rockford Swedish Historical Society of Rockford Rockford Grand Opera House and Julien House hotel, visited by Oscar Wilde in 1882 Facebook page dedictated to Rockford region dining Rockford, Illinois Rockford
Categories:
Rockford, Illinois - 1834 establishments in Illinois - Cities in Illinois - Cities in Winnebago County, Illinois - County seats in Illinois - Populated places established in 1834 - Rockford urbane area
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