In its early years, our neighborhood was populated by wealth and prominence.
In 1832, Chief Blackhawk and his Indian army were chased north along the Rock River from Rockford to Wisconsin. The Indians were chased north along the Rock River to Wisconsin. The Indians were gone from this area by 1833 in compliance with treaty agreements. Current residents still find Indian artifacts in the soil occasionally.
On November 7, 1843 a plat of East Rockford was filed for record by David S. Haight. The land was surveyed and marked out on the ground. There were people who came and bought large amounts of land in the neighborhood. Many were real estate agents. Among them were L.B. Gregory, John and David Penfield, Gilbert Woodruff, Samuel Treat and Dr. A.M. Catlin.
Three former Mayors who had homes in our area were E.H. Baker, H.C. Scovil and Gilbert Woodruff. Baker and Woodruff have several streets named after them. The Scovil and Woodruff homes still stand. The Baker home was lost to a fire. There were presidents of banks, officers and owners of various furniture companies who also lived here. Mr. W.W. Sawyer was a druggist and lived at 711 Seminary Street.
Many of the homes were built prior to the Civil War, but the majority were built after the turn of the century. Many of the existing homes were built as single family dwellings, but were converted into apartments after WW11, when homes were in high demand. With the Rockford College in the area, there was a need for student dwellings.
Rockford Female Seminary was built in 1852 at the intersection of Seminary St. and Morgan. The Seminary occupied land where the strip mall and Brewington Oaks high rise now sit. The Seminary later became a co-ed school and its name changed to Rockford College. The first graduate was Jane Addams, the first American woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. In 1964, Rockford College moved to its currents location on East State St.
Rockford Housing Authority built the Jane Addams Housing Project in 1968. With the arrival of the projects", came a vile decay. Over the years it had housed drugs, murders, prostitution, theft, drunks, gangs, gunfire, and failure. This development is marked for demolition Spring of 2007. The housing development is now empty.
Within the past 8 years, a new group has begun bringing this neighborhood back to the greatness it once was. We are ORCHiD 3rd Union College Neighborhood Association, Incorporated. It is our vision that we will have a safe, strong neighborhood in which to raise our families. We are willing to put to work the changes that will make a marked improvement in our neighborhood. There is a new hope on the horizon. We will see better days to come.
Our Strategic Plan was developed by the Board of Directors on July 1, 2006. We constructed a blue print for change. Our President, Becky Lichty and Vice President, Joe Owen, are on the Community Development Task Force. We are working closely with our government officials to make a change. Our common goal is to preserve our history, encourage safety and beauty, and to become a destination neighborhood where families will live healthy and productive lives.
Jaye Baer