On August 15 for 815 Day we will welcome visitors to the Museum Center and Victorian Village to commemorate our local history and share in our day of community pride. Hours are 10am - 4pm for the Museum Center. The Victorian Village will close at Noon.

ADMISSION IS FREE.

2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the museum’s opening in 1974! Midway Village Museum Center was founded by the Rockford, Harlem, and Swedish Historical Societies with a mission to collect, preserve and interpret the history of the Rockford area.

The Museum Center’s History Gallery opened in 1974 with its first exhibits, and additions followed in 1976, 1986, 1988, and 2010. Today the Museum Center houses exhibit galleries, collection storage, classrooms, library, a gift store, and staff offices.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, campaigns to create a living history village on the premises led to eight historical buildings moved to the property, and over one dozen replicas built to create a turn-of-the-century town.

At present, the Victorian Village includes 26 historic structures and heritage gardens that recreate daily life in northern Illinois from the era of 1890-1910.