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Rockford , the erstwhile Midway community, is situated in the state of Illinois in USA. It is the third largest city in the state and also the county seat of Winnebago County.
Germanicus Kent, Thatcher Blake, and Lewis Lemon came from Galena in 1834-1835 and settled in Rockford , Illinois, for the first time in the year 1834-1835. They had come and settled on the banks of the Rock River. Daniel Shaw Haight came and settled on the east bank.
In the year 1837 a post office was established at Rockford . Then in the year 1839 Rockford was built into a village and finally in 1852 it was established into a city. The erstwhile “The Forest City” is now commonly known amongst the new generation as “Rock City" or "Rock Vegas". According to the 2000 census Rockford houses 150,115 residents due to which it has been categorized as a mid-sized city.
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Rockford along with its Water Power Company (Estd.1851) and the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad (Estd.1852) emerged as a developing industrial center. It became famous for manufacturing the John H. Manny reaper as well as some other agricultural equipment.
In the year 1880, with the help of the immense talent possessed by the Swedish craftsmen and entrepreneurs, Rockford started its first furniture industry and by the 20th century it emerged as the second largest furniture company in USA.
During the time of the First World War the agricultural industry suffered a down fall, and the Great Depression Period and the Second World War caused great harm to the furniture industry. The year 1960 marked an end of these two popular industries.
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