9-23-2023 4:09am

Roscoe antique sale to benefit restoration of first settler's homestead

Michael McGinnis Editor

Removing the modern paint in July 2023 revealed and preserved the original brick made in 1840s Roscoe, Illinois.

Roscoe Township Historical Society is having an antique sale on Sept. 23 and 24 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. rain or shine at the Roscoe Township Community Center at Founders Park, 4562 Hononegah Rd., Roscoe, IL. All proceeds will help to fund the continued restoration of the 1840s Cross Homestead.

The Cross home will also be open for tours during the antique sale.

Hunt for bargains and show your support for one of Roscoe's most treasured places

Park in the community center parking lot and follow signs.

Roscoe was first settled in the 1830s and 1840s, at the same time as Rockford, but the Cross home is one of Roscoe's last remaining buildings from the 1840s.

Robert J. Cross became the original permanent settler of what is now Roscoe, Illinois, in 1835. Cross was the first Winnebago County Treasurer. He was elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 1846 and helped to draft the state constitution in 1847. He introduced an amendment calling for voting by ballot, not voice, on the first Tuesday of November.

Cross's first homestead was in what is now Edgemere Terrace but he and his wife Hannah raised their five children on a farm which is now Founders Park on Hononegah Road.

Local trade unions and companies have provided several renovations to the home at no charge, including adding a new roof and a heating system. An anonymous donor paid for the removal of white paint added in the mid-20th century, revealing and preserving the original brick that was made in Roscoe in the 1840s.

https://facebook.com/events/s/antique-sale/1222909138367502/

Click, tap, or swipe on the photo below to see an image gallery of some of the treasures in the antique sale.