The Ethnic Heritage Museum Link
Dedicated to preserving the history of the six ethnic groups that settled in SW Rockford ... the Irish, Italians, African-Americans, Polish, Lithuanians and Hispanics.
Admission: $2.00, $1.00 for children
Although this museum is not a rich source of genealogical information, it has two items of interest to the genealogist.
The first is a scrapbook of newspaper clippings containing information about Rockford's west side residents and some other memorable experiences of the times beginning in the 1940's. There is special emphasis on Lithuanian families. There is no index.
The second is a book about early African-American experiences in the Rockford area and includes information on well-known, local African-Americans. That Men Know So Little About Men. This book, however, is in a case and not available to research.
A third resource of the museum is the tour guide. He is very familiar with the history of the west side of Rockford and may be able to answer questions on west-side history.