Rockford's "Living" History Museum

Welcome to Midway Village Museum

History and stories of the past come to life at the award-winning Midway Village Museum in Rockford, Illinois. We invite you to visit and explore Midwestern life as it was during the early 1900s through artifacts, exhibits, special events and tours.

New 2024 Calendar of Events

Calendar of Events

The Calendar of Events details the scheduled dates and topics of this year’s favorite signature museum special events, programs and fundraisers. This PDF document is approx. 761 KB.

2024 Calendar of Events

Download Calendar of Events

Book Online | View 2024 Calendar

Upcoming Events (use arrows to scroll)

  • 1
  • Nov

Evening of Illumination on Friday, November 1

5:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Learn more →

  • 14
  • Dec

Christmas in the Trenches on Saturday, December 14

10:00 am to 11:30 am

Learn more →

Evening of Illumination in the Victorian Village

Christmas in the Trenches

Shop Gift Shop

Shop Gift Shop

Touring Midway Village Museum

Village Tours

MAIN MUSEUM CENTER
IS OPEN YEAR ROUND!

Visit us Tue. - Sat. from 10 am to 4 pm.
Sun. Noon to 4pm.

Book Your Tour

Plan your visit or explore our acclaimed "Many Faces, One Community" exhibit with a virtual, 360-degree, interactive tour.

Note: Tour opens in new pop-up window or tab (on mobile devices).

Midway Village Rentals

Event Rentals at Midway Village

Make Your Next Event Truly Memorable!

Midway Village Museum can provide the ideal setting for your wedding or next special event. Get complete details on private rental opportunities at the museum. View our Wedding Photo Gallery and discover why Midway Village makes the ideal setting for your special day!

Learn More

Camp Grant Collection Fund

Camp Grant not only served as a training ground for hundreds of thousands of U.S. Army soldiers, it also helped train nurses and other critical medical personnel, and even housed POWs.

Camp Grant WWII - Post Exchange

Rockford's Camp Grant

Camp Grant Collection FundA big thank you to all of you who donated to help Midway Village Museum acquire treasures from The Camp Grant Museum. Thanks to the generous donations from our community, we were able to save some of the artifacts that tell the story of Rockford’s Camp Grant. Contributions can still be made to help support the cataloguing, digitizing and eventual display of these artifacts and archives. You can donate to the cause by credit card or PayPal on our Donations page. Select "Camp Grant Collection Fund" in the dropdown menu named “Donation Type” in the middle of the website landing page. To donate by check, make your check out to Midway Village Museum with “Camp Grant” on the memo line and send to Curator, Midway Village Museum, 6799 Guilford Rd., Rockford 61107. Thank you for helping preserve Rockford's history!

Learn more →

Camp Grant Capital Campaign

 

Bringing Our Archives to You

Announcing Midway Village Museum's Online Digital Collections

Planning a visit?

Explore Midway

Midway Village is open year around.

Education Resources

The Midway Village Museum Education Department offers a wide variety of history themed programs and events for all ages covering time periods from early pioneer settlement through World War II. Our education staff prides themselves in providing quality history programs that are interactive and hands-on whenever possible to interpret the rich history of Rockford and the northern Illinois region. Whether you are looking for a group tour, dynamic guest speakers, exciting school field trips or a new way to make your classroom come alive…we have the program for you.

Learn more

Schedule a School Tour

Exhibits

Our handicap accessible Main Museum Center offers visitors the opportunity to engage and explore history through interactive exhibits in the more than 20,000 square feet of gallery spaces. In addition to our acclaimed new, "Many Faces, One Community" exhibit that showcases the "turn of the last century" immigrant experience in America, our Main Museum Center houses six exhibition galleries, collections storage, classrooms, workrooms, administrative offices, library, audio-visual room, and the Museum Gift Store. This section includes links to some of our most popular exhibits.

Learn more

Transportation Around The Museum Campus

Midway Village Museum is expanding its campus accessibility for individuals visiting the museum. The recent addition of a new six passenger golf cart makes possible improved access to those with mobility issues. The golf cart purchase was made possible through a grant from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois and a private donation by long-time museum supporter Judy Gambrel. For questions, call 815-397-9112.

Support Midway Village

Help us preserve Rockford's rich history for future generations.

We would like to thank all of our generous donors, corporate sponsors, volunteers, and others who make Midway Village Museum possible. If you would like to help, there are many ways to support Midway Village Museum. These ways include Membership, Sponsorship, Donating Time or Money, Planned Giving, Artifact Donation, and more.

Volunteer at Midway

Are you energetic and enthusiastic and willing to share your time and talents with us? Become a part of our volunteer team, and enjoy the many benefits associated with the program.

Learn more

Join or Donate

Become a Midway Village Museum Member today. Benefits include free admission to many special events at Midway Village and much more. It's fast and easy to sign up or make a donation online.

Learn more

Midway Village Rentals

Midway Village Museum can provide the ideal setting for your next event.