Macktown Historic District

The Macktown Historic District is a national historic district encompassing the remains of the Macktown settlement in Winnebago County, Illinois. Established in the late 1830s at the confluence of the Pecatonica and Rock Rivers, Macktown was one of the first settlements in northern Illinois. The community was a major trading post along the Galena–Chicago Trail and was the site of the region's first bridge across the Rock River.[2]

Macktown Historic District
Stephen Mack House
Macktown Historic District is located in Illinois
Macktown Historic District
LocationWest of Rockton on the Pecatonica River
Coordinates42°27′00″N 89°05′17″W / 42.45000°N 89.08806°W / 42.45000; -89.08806
Area35 acres (14 ha)
NRHP reference No.78001201[1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 5, 1978

Two buildings remain standing from the original settlement. The Stephen Mack House, a Greek Revival structure built in 1839, was the home of eponymous Macktown founder and Winnebago County pioneer Stephen Mack. The Whitman Trading Post is a limestone building completed in 1846.[2]

The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 5, 1978.[1] It is located within the Macktown Forest Preserve and is managed by Macktown Living History.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Hanson, Duane (February 20, 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Macktown Historic District" (PDF). Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  3. ^ "Macktown". Forest Preserves of Winnebago County. Retrieved December 10, 2021.