Rockford High School - RHS Yearbook (Rockford, IL)

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ADMINISTRATION

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Early Rockford HE site of Rockford was first settled in 1834 by Germanicus Kent and Thatcher Blake at the location of the Illinois Central station. With them were two hired men and a negro boy who assumed the name of Lou Kent. He was the first slave in this county but was later given his freedom. Midway was the name given to the colony by its founders because of the central position it held between Chicago and Galena. It is inter- esting to note that Galena then rivaled Chicago because of its lead mines. To the Indians this spot was known as Rocky ford because of the solid rock bottomed ford that existed where the dam is now located. Dr. Goodhue secured this name for the colony in 1837. On the east side of the river Daniel S. Haight built the first building on the corner of nvhat is now State and Madion Streets. He became the Postmaster in 1837 when the first mail arrived here. Mail service did not begin until a stage coach line was established. One could travel to Chicago from Rockford in a stage coach in the amazingly short time of twenty-four hours. The roads and stage coach were by no means comfortable, and one was subject to being held up by bandits. Between Haightville and Kentville there was a certain amount of rivalry over com- mercial and political questions such as the location of factories and the Courthouse. This rivalry caused Mr. Spaulding. the Government surveyor, to lay out the streets unparallel and mismatching from one side to the other. An important factor in breaking this rivalry was to a create a connection between the two sides. A ferry supplied this need for nine years, but in 1845 a very well-built wooden bridge united east and west The sturdy little bridge suffered much when the various dams were washed out, and it soon acquired a very angular shape: but it held until the present iron bridge was con- structed in 1870. East and west Rockford were incorporated as a village in 1837, and in 1852 it received its charter to become a city with a government similar to that of Spring- held. The present city council is an outgrowth of the council form of government used in the boroughs of England. The city is divided into eight wards, each having two aldermen. With the mayor these aldermen form the city council and make the laws or ordinances governing the city. The Library Board is composed of nine members, three of whom are elected each year and hold office for three years. This board supervises the Library and its branches, hires employees, and purchases books. The Main Library is one of the best in the Middle West, and is due greatly to Andrew Carnegie. He offered 570,000 for the Library building if the city would provide the site and 88,000 a year for the cost of maintenance. Rockford Fire Department consists of seven engine companies and two hook and ladder companies. Thomas Blake, the Fire Chief, has been in service over thirty years, and he has two seasoned assistants, Matt Long and William julian. In Rockford there are seven stations with ten men employed in eachg one captain and four men are on duty twenty-four hours at a time. In general control of the Police Department is the Chief of Police. A. E. Bargren holds this office, and has been in service for over forty years. The Assistant Chief, Homer Read, has charge of two bureaus. Besides these officers are a secretary, three captains, three patrol sergeants, three desk sergeants, the patrolmen, motorcycle officers, plain- clothesmen, and a police matron. To do efficiently all of the required work, the Police Department is organized into bureaus with one of the above mentioned officers at its head.

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