Excerpt from The Swedish Element in Rockford: Industrial, Religious and Social Activities of Men and Women of Swedish Descent

Stephen Mack, a Vermonter, was the first white man who made a permanent settlement in Winnebago county. The exact date is not known, but it was probably about 1829. He was also the first white settler in the Rock River valley. He engaged in trade with the In dians, taking their fur in exchange for merchandise. He married an Indian woman, daughter of a Pottawattamie chief. In 1835 Mr. Mack took possession of a tract of land at the mouth of the Pecatonica river where he resided until his death. There he planted a village which he called Macktown. He also operated a store, established a ferry and in 1842 built a bridge across the Rock river. He died in 1850. Winnebago county was established by an act of the State Legislature of Illinois January 16, 1836. The county war organized in August, the same year.

The first white settlers in what is now Rockford were Germani cus Kent and Thatcher Blake. They arrived on the site August 24, 1834. Each of them located a claim and built a log cabin. The village was first called Midway because of its location midway between Chi cago and Galena, but from 1837 became known as Rockford, presum ably named for a shallow place in the river with a rock bottom where the Indians and later the white settlers crossed the stream. The first settler on the East side was Daniel Shaw Haight who arrived April 9 1835. His cabin, built that year, was the first building on the east Slde. Mrs. Haight and her sister were the first white women to settle in Winnebago county. Rockford was incorporated as a town in 1839 and after a long struggle was made the county seat by election the same year. In 1852 it was incorporated as a city.

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