In 2016, the Community Foundation, through a Jon Lundin Historic Preservation Fund grant, collaborated with Midway Village Museum on a project to install plaques around downtown that would relate the history of Rockford, Illinois. Over the years different residents have approached the Museum about implementing such a project for the public’s benefit.
Midway Village Museum is fortunate to have a dedicated staff who researched articles and images to use in the plaques. The community is fortunate to have another resource in the Local History Room at the Rockford Public Library, whose staff generously researched information and looked up images to support the project. The Museum is also indebted to different individuals and organizations, including Kristi Miller, granddaughter of Ruth Hanna McCormick, Marty Mangas, who has researched and collected the architect Jesse Barloga, as well as the Chicago History Museum , the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Library of Congress.
The Museum also thanks Lauren Davis Creative for designing the plaques, Pannier Inc. of Gibsonia, PA, for fabricating the plaques, and Contemporary Hammer for their installation.
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