- Potpourri - Janesville Sesquicentennial
-
- Historical Society started back in 1948
- The Rock County Historical Society was just an idea back
in mid-1948.
- Suggested during the state centennial pageant held at the
Rock County Fairgrounds, it became a
- reality later that year.
- Now the society has nearly 1,000 members, six full time,
two part time and seasonal employees,
- plus the largest collection of Rock County archives anywhere.
- But a lot has happened between 1948 and now.
- When it started, the society's primary goal was to collect
information on famous local people.
- Dr. Rachel SALISBURY, the first president of the group,
helped secure the TALLMAN House -
- which became the group's focal point for many years.
- George TALLMAN, a grandson of William TALLMAN
who built the landmark, turned the
- TALLMAN house over to the city with the understanding
that the historical society would run it. He died two weeks later.
- Besides the home, the Historical Society also became a beneficiary
of a TALLMAN trust fund.
- That allowed the Historical Society to hire its first full-time
director in 1951. The fund has continued to help finance the
society, now providing $19,500 yearly.
- The TALLMAN House, which opened in 1951, was originally
a general museum.
- In the mid-1960s, the society started to broaden its own
collection including items like Edgerton
- pottery, historic vehicles, historic costumes and archives.
- In 1961 the Early Janesville Restoration Society was formed
to assist the Historical Society.
- The efforts of that group led to the acquisition of the Stone
House in 1962. The group also raised
- funds to move the historic building to the TALLMAN
House area, and then to restore and furnish the building.
- The Stone House also provided the first year-round office
for the society.
- In the early 1970s walking tours and other projects were
organized, in part, to retain what was left
- of Janesville's historic buildings.
- The Restoration Society merged with the Historical Society
in 1972.
- By 1974, the ice cream social of the '50s blossomed into
the arts fair, and the first tour of historical
- homes was held.
- By the end of 1975, the society further increased the size
of its staff through the hiring of CETA
- employees.
- The society moved into a downtown office in 1975, where it
remained for five years.
- Then, the society moved into its present home at 10 S. High.
That structure is located on land
- previously occupied by two other buildings: an academy and
Central School which later became an armory. The building burned
in 1929 and a new one was built in 1930.
- After moving into the new location, the society collected
archives which had been stored in a
- variety of places, plus collected newly discovered ones.
The society's archives have doubled over the last five years.
- The latest addition to the society is a museum which will
open Aug. 16, and Aug. 19-23, for the
- week-long Sesquicentennial celebration. Hours will be from
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will open permanently on Oct. 5.
- From Oct. 5 until next June, the museum will feature an exhibit
from the State Historical Society.
- The exhibit, "Culture and Agriculture," will be
an exhibit interpreting the diversity of agriculture in state
history.
- Besides its more visible offerings, the society also works
with governments and individuals on
- historic preservations, identifying historic material, and
with genealogical inquiries. Among its accomplish- ments was
work on placing the Cotton Mills and HAYES Block on the
National Register of Historic Places, thus paving the way for
government funding to upgrade those buildings.
- The Grove Society and the Blackhawk Model Railroad Association
are both chapters of the
- society, and the Rock County Township and Local Historians
group is an official auxiliary. The Rock County Genealogical
Society is housed in the society's headquarters.
|
