Searching for Antiques Among the Rockford Files

If you’re looking for a terrific mementos of turn-of-the-century antiques, head for this friendly industrial city about 75 miles northwest of Chicago.

Rockford’s population of roughly 148,000 supports two sizable antiques malls with nearly 200 dealers, two Saturday and Sunday antiques flea markets with dozens of dealers and more than a dozen individual antique shops.

They sell all sorts of American antiques, including furniture, farm equipment, kitchen utensils, gadgets, books, prints, toys, clothing and personal accessories.

Quality and condition of goods vary greatly from shop to shop, but prices are reasonable. That’s because local dealers have purchased items directly from the attics and basements of families whose ancestors settled the town.

This concentration of antiques outlets is only one aspect of Rockford’s romance with the past. Before touring the shops, take time to absorb the city’s fascinating history by browsing through several landmark sites, each lovingly restored and/or preserved by volunteer groups.

Blacksmith’s Shop

Midway Village, a collection of turn-of-the-century buildings, gives visitors a glimpse into Rockford’s past. It includes a post office, lawyer’s and doctor’s offices, a bank, blacksmith’s shop, schoolhouse and church--all with antique furnishings.

Tinker Swiss Cottage, a chalet-like residence built in 1865, provides a look at a wealthy Rockford family’s Victorian life style. The Coronado Theater, an ornate 1925 vaudeville auditorium, has its original twinkling stars in the ceiling, gilded gargoyles of Abraham Lincoln and an organ that reproduces such sounds as thunder and sirens for accompanying silent films.

Much of the antique furniture housed in these landmarks was donated by Rockford families, who were also sources for local antique dealers.

The best-known antique dealer in town is Barbara A. Johnson. Her expansive two-level shop at the Clock Tower Inn (7801 E. State St.) displays a stunning selection of furniture in model rooms. There are lovely 1830s tables ($2,500) and an apothecary’s chest of drawers (with 20 drawers, $2,400), as well as cradles (from $750), sideboards, beds and corner cupboards.

Duck Decoys

Toys and objets d’art include a hand-carved Santa riding a pig ($725) and a fierce-looking wooden soldier riding a three-foot-long galloping horse ($1,275). There are vintage coffee grinders ($225 and up); duck decoys ($155); paddle boards ($24 and up); old tin boxes decorated with biscuit and other food ads ($55 and up); copper kettles from the 1880s ($225 and up) and a vast selection of turn-of-the-century prints of children playing, gardens and floral themes ($12 and up).

In addition, the shop offers stylistically compatible contemporary crafts, including heart-shaped rag rugs ($42) and Woody’s rough-hewn cedar log sculptures ($18 and up) of mice, swans and other animals.

In her booth at the enormous Land of Lincoln Antiques Mall (1201 Broadway), Johnson also shows such items as handsome handmade sewing boxes ($65), pine cupboards ($1,425) and children’s rockers with cane seats ($165).

140 Dealers

The mall has about 140 dealers selling a wide range of merchandise, dating from the 1850s to the 1950s. It occupies a large building, with two stories and a basement divided to give dealers spacious individual booths.

Kristen MacRae’s booth shows 1870s wooden chests (from $125) and children’s rockers (from $85), as well as hickory-seated chairs ($75), botanical prints (from $12) and antique wooden rulers ($4).

The booth labeled Karen’s Kountry Dolls features a delicate 1890s wax doll ($210) and a wonderful 44-inch-tall 1880s papier-mache doll ($675), as well as porcelain and rag dolls and doll accessories.

Other dealers display turn-of-the-century rough-hewn ladders ($40) and farm equipment, plus washboards (from $20), ironing boards ($28), shoe lasts (from $6), brass doll beds ($85), gilded mirrors ($85), wooden storage trunks ($295), quilts ($300 and up), huge walnut secretaries ($1,375), dining-room tables with or without sets of chairs, lace camisoles ($32 and up) and hundreds of beautifully illustrated books.

Maze of Booths

Other memorabilia among the thousands on hand includes a Seeburg jukebox with records ($4,515), an aluminum carrousel horse in a special promotional base marked “Coca-Cola” ($1,200) and 1950s plastic handbags ($38) in perfect condition.

East State Street Antiques Mall (5411 E. State St.) is a maze of booths filled with American antiques.

Unusual and appealing items include vintage cash registers ($895) and slot machines ($330 and up), green glass salt-and-pepper shakers ($18), the complete works of Charles Dickens in 30 volumes ($60), model ships ($45), oak and bamboo drop-front desks (about $500), a set of assorted knitting needles (with 40 pairs of variously-sized needles, $65), 1920s ladies swimsuits in perfect condition ($10), Victorian lamps with brass Cupid bases ($1,200), Silvertone radios ($70) and grandfather clocks ($1,095).

Victorian Village, at Longwood Street just off East State Street, is a three-block enclave of restored turn-of-the-century residences now housing antiques, crafts shops and eateries.

Full of Victoriana

The best is Victorian House (128 Longwood St.), which is filled floor to ceiling with Victoriana, including hoop-back chairs ($395 for a pair), a walnut library table with petit-point cover ($595), fragile wooden comb holders ($40), magazine racks ($160), serving trays ($100), marble-top tables ($495 and up), drop-leaf sewing machine tables ($249) and glassware.

Most unusual are framed pictures made out of braided and twisted human hair ($125 and up). Owner Shirl Pfeiffer certifies all merchandise, and is a terrific source of information about Victorian times and life styles.

Additional shops in Victorian Village include the Blue Hyacinth (123 Longwood St.) for antique glassware, china and pottery; Longwood Manor (132 N. Longwood St.) for reasonably-priced, turn-of-the-century European furniture and American objets d’art; Roberta McNames Antiques (136 N. Longwood) for antique household goods ranging from wood-burning stoves ($100 and up) to school room desks ($95) and Country Squire Antiques (330 N. 6th St.), with oak, pine and walnut furniture beautifully displayed in a home-like setting.

Don’t overlook individual antique shops scattered throughout Rockford, including McMullens Misc. (1510 Broadway) for vintage cash registers, gum-ball machines and arcade shooting games, as well as old bicycles, clocks, radios, stained-glass lamps ($35 and up) and mounted steer horns ($10).

Flea Markets

Forgotten Treasures (2310 Charles St.) has a good selection of oak, pine and walnut furniture dating from the 1890s through the 1930s.

Rockford’s two weekend flea markets are not far from each other. The Greater Rockford Antique Flea Market is at Alpine and Sandy Hollow Roads, while the Southgate Antiques Flea Market is at Sandy Hollow and Eleventh Street. Both have indoor and outdoor booths, and the ambience is as fascinating as the merchandise.

As you weave through aisles of tables displaying everything from antique coins and vintage records to drill bits and wrenches, you’ll be entertained with local lore from friendly dealers. No telling in advance what you’ll find to buy, but the flea markets are a fun adventure through Americana.

Rockford is spread out, so you’ll need a car to get from antique mall to shop to market.

For a more complete listing of Rockford’s antique dealers, contact the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, 220 E. State St., Rockford, Ill. 61104, (800) 521-0849.