Rockford Chair and Furniture Company Records

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: RHC-RC-042

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Rockford Chair and Furniture Company Collection partially documents the activities of a major manufacturing corporation in Rockford, Illinois during the period 1882 to 1973. The records of the Rockford Chair and Furniture Company are arranged in three series. The first contains the statement of incorporation minutes from meetings, letterbooks, correspondence, agreements, and reports dating from 1882 through 1973. Series two contains labor records and printed materials including wage and hourly rate schedules, furniture manuals, and supply catalogs dating 1931 to 1941. Also included in this series are photographs of company records. The third series contains financial records: business journals, ledgers, daybooks, order books, time books, cash books, payroll books, and a draft register, 1882 to 1973.

Dates

created: 1882-1977
Other: Date acquired: 10/24/1978

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on access to the collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights in the collection are held by the Regional History Center; literary rights are dedicated to the public.

Biographical or Historical Information

Rockford Chair and Furniture, an Illinois corporation organized in 1882, engaged in the manufacture of furniture until 1950. From that time until its properties were sold to Rockford Standard Furniture in 1972, Rockford Chair and Furniture was engaged entirely in the rental business. Its rental properties consisted of six buildings, the largest of which was completely destroyed by fire in 1960. The original organizers of Rockford Chair and Furniture Company were P.A. Peterson, Alexander Johnson, and Aug Peterson. When the founders of Rockford Furniture died, ownership remained in the families for the most part: little stock was sold to outsiders. Rockford Chair was one of the largest and oldest of the city’s furniture manufacturers–a major industry in Rockford from the Civil War to mid-twentieth century. It was also one of the last to cease operations in 1973.

Note written by

Extent

23.00 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Source of Acquisition

Mr. Harry West, Mr. Stanley Kjellgren

Method of Acquisition

Mr. Harry West of Rockford, Illinois, donated the records of the Rockford Chair and Furniture Company to the Regional History Center on October 24, 1978. Mr. Stanley Kjellgren supplemented the collection by donating the minute books and stockholders register on May 3, 1979.

Related Materials

Researchers using the collection may also find supplementary material in the Center’s other Rockford business collections: Rockford Mitten and Hosiery (RC 38), National Chair Company (RC 58), and the Rockford Small Business Collection (RC 57).