ARCHAEOLOGY from Pg 3
An iridescent bottle base came up, refl ecting a
copyright date of “Nov 20,” along with a variety of
other fragments.
The Ames-Florida Stork House – a
treasure on its own
Many of the following historical details were pro-
vided by Kris Strobel, executive director; and Kathy
Ehlers, chair of the board of directors of the Rock-
ford Area Historical Society, and also sourced from
the historical society’s brochure about the property.
In 1855, George Ames and his brother-in-law, Joel
Florida, travelled to Minnesota from Illinois, search-
ing for land for a lumber mill. Along the way, they
met and decided to partner with Guilford D. George.
After purchasing land on both sides of the Crow
River, including the site on which the Ames-Florida
Stork House sits, they returned to Illinois, packed up
their families, moved to Rockford, and built the lum-
ber mill.
George Ames completed building the house in
1861. Its design was ahead of its time in that it was
built into the hillside, which eliminated the need for a
basement. Instead, the root vegetable storage was on
level with the l