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Rockford Area Historical Society

Rockford, Minnesota

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        • Aaron Sprague Ames
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  • Home
  • About Us
    • Overview
    • Board
    • Executive Director
    • Volunteers
    • Our Partners
  • Rockford Area History
    • Artifacts/Memorabilia
    • Businesses
      • Rockford Drive Inn
    • Churches
    • Government
    • Greenwood
    • Maps
    • People
      • Memorial Day Spotlights
        • Aaron Sprague Ames
        • Albert E. Hohenstein
        • William Henry Hopkins
        • Armin Christ Lieder
        • Fredrich Mutterer
        • Walter Mutterer
        • Benjamin Smith Parmeter
        • Harvey (Spud) Schulze
        • Lillian Walker
        • Others
      • Stork Family Papers
    • Pop Culture
      • Past Stories – Tidbits
    • Railroad
    • River
      • Bridges
      • Floods
    • Schaar Photo Collection
      • 1880 Photos
      • 1890 Photos
      • 1900 Photos
      • 1910 Photos
      • 1920 Photos
      • 1930 Photos
      • 1940 Photos
      • Unknown
    • Schools
    • Sports
  • Ames-Florida-Stork House
    • Visit the House
      • Public Hours
      • Public Tours
      • Book a Tour
      • Rockford Walking Tour
    • History of the House
      • About the Families
        • Ames Family
        • Florida Family
          • Diaries
        • Stork Family
      • About the Collections
    • The Beginnings
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Volunteer
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Donations
    • Memberships
  • Events
    • Privy Dig 2019
    • Thousand Hearts – Crow River Serve Day 2020
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Donations

About the Families

In Their Own Words

About the Families

The RAHS doesn’t have to guess what the Ames, Florida, or Stork family members thought–we have boxes full of their words. Left in their own careful hand on envelopes sent through the mail, small notebooks, or loose sheets of paper.

Volunteers have transcribed over 1,000 Florida family letters, including some sent from the Civil War. A growing number of Stork diaries are available to researchers and the generally curious at Minnesota Reflections, hosted by the Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) database. The family’s letters and journals chronicle everything from daily weather patterns to momentous events such as the assasination of President Abraham Lincoln. Click the links to learn more!

Continuing the transcription and digitization process remain a priority for RAHS staff and volunteers, through the generous support of donors and grant awards.

Florence Stork Written Diary
Written by Florence Stork, age 10, on January 3, 1886. She notes the “stormy weather” and that she “helped mamma looked out of window marked on state wrote to Grandpa & Grandma Craig” among other daily activities at their home in Pipestone, Minnesota.

Traveling Rockford Ties

Traveling Rockford Ties

Explore our project detailing the exploits of William Hatch, husband of Nellie Florida.

In 1901 Hatch traveled to Europe and wrote daily to his wife, Nellie — read his stories and learn more about the places he visited.

Read More

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