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Welcome to Rock County - an area rich
with historical significance and present day fun. Officially established
in 1836, Rock County was named for the big rock jutting out into
the Rock River in Monterey Park.
Rock County has something for everyone
whether you want to have an outdoor adventure, learn Wisconsin
history, or shop till you drop. Sports enthusiasts can enjoy great
minor league baseball, while outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy biking,
hiking, fishing and picnicking at the many Rock County parks.
Warm weather brings many wonderful outdoor festivals, fairs and
celebrations where visitors can spend their time eating, dancing
and having great time. Rather explore the indoors? Visitors can
choose from a variety of activities including strolling through
historical districts and homesites, enjoying theater and musical
performances, or shopping in a variety of riverfront boutiques.
Rock County features several unique and special attractions, such
as an extensive collection of ancient cultural artifacts at the
Logan Museum of Anthropology , the General Motors Tour, Miracle
the white buffalo that legend says will bring peace to our world,
and more than 11,000 angels at the Angel Museum.
So whether you want enjoy the countryside,
visit the museums and historical sites, shop or just relax, Rock
County - "Wisconsin's Front Porch" - can provide it
all!
ROCK COUNTY ATTRACTIONS
Museums/Historical Sites
Lincoln-Tallman Restorations
440 N. Jackson Street, Janesville
608-756-4509 or 608-752-4519
The Lincoln-Tallman home
is one of Wisconsin's most outstanding examples of Victorian homes
and is also the only private home in Wisconsin where President
Abraham Lincoln slept during a visit in 1859. This Italian villa
style home reflects lifestyles of the wealthy in the mid 19th
century from the domestic quarters in the basement, through the
elegant drawing rooms, bedrooms and dining rooms, to the attic
and cupola. Guided tours take visitors through the home and share
the story of President Lincoln's overnight stay. Open every Saturday
&Sunday year round; June through September, Monday to Friday
9am-4pm; Holiday tours November 20 through December 31, 9am-4pm
daily; closed all major holidays.
The Angel Museum
St. Paul on the Riverfront
656 Pleasant Street, Beloit
608-362-9099
Displayed within St. Paul's
Catholic Church along Beloit's riverfront, the Angel Museum features
the largest collection of angel objects in the United States and
includes a world class collection of angels. Over 11,000 angel
items were donated to the museum by Joyce and Lowell Berg of Beloit,
and 600 black angels were donated by Oprah Winfrey. The museum
also includes the Angel Gift Shop and the Taste of Heaven Café.
Open May to October, Monday through Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday
1pm-4pm; November to April, Tuesday through Saturday 10am-4pm;
call for December holiday schedule.
Logan Museum of Anthropology
Prospect Avenue & Bushnell
Street, Memorial Hall, Beloit College
608-363-2677
The Logan Museum was established
in 1893 with a gift of more than 3,000 Indian artifacts from Chicago
financier Frank G. Logan. Logan Museum today features an extensive
collection of pre-Columbian ceramics, Native American artifacts,
ancient jewelry and what scholars regard as the most significant
collection of Paleolithic art outside of Europe. The primary goal
of the Logan Museum is to serve as facility to teach and research
cultural artifacts, which allows visitors a chance to see scholars
and students conserving and cataloging the artifacts. Visitors
are welcome to open storage doors and look through the collections
of stone axes, arrowheads and ceramics from Native Americans in
the Beloit area. Open Tuesday through Sunday, 11am-4pm.
Beloit Historical Society
Robert & Elizabeth Solem Museum 845
Hackett Street, Beloit 608-365-7835
Hanchett - Bartlett Homestead 2149 St. Lawrence Avenue,
Beloit 608-365-7835
The Beloit Historical Society
founded in 1910 operates both the Lincoln Center/Solem Museum
and the Hanchett - Bartlett Homestead to help preserve the historical
significance of the area. The Solem Museum celebrates Beloit's
history with exhibits that include the Ted Perring Sports Hall
of Fame, the Arthur Missner Veterans Gallery, the stories of President
Abraham Lincoln's visit and speech in 1859, and the center's research
facilities. Open Monday through Friday 10am-12noon 1pm-4pm. The
Hanchett - Bartlett Homestead was built in 1857 and resides
on 15 acres and includes the original barn and the Daisy Chapin
School House of 1873. The main house is artfully decorated with
fine period furnishings, crafts and a newly restored homestead
kitchen. The Beloit Historical Society also hosts the September
Heritage Days Celebration at the homestead and produces exhibits
and publishes quarterly newsletters to educate visitors and residents
of the early history of Beloit. Open June to September, Wednesday
through Sunday 1pm-4pm; October by appointment only.
Milton House Museum
Hwy 26 & 59, Milton
608-868-7772
Step back into Wisconsin
Civil War History with a visit to the historical Milton House
Museum, a registered National Historic Landmark. Guided tours
of the Milton House take visitors through the 1844 hexagonal stagecoach
inn - considered to be the oldest poured concrete building in
the U.S., a blacksmith shop, a smokehouse, a buggy shed and a
country store. Visitors also tour the log cabin built in 1837
that served as a tunnel to the Milton House and was a hideout
in the Underground Railroad. The Milton Historical Society sponsors
many special events and exhibits on the Milton House grounds throughout
the year. Open May 10am-5pm on Saturdays Sundays; Memorial Day
through Labor Day 10am-5pm daily; September and October by appointment
only.
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Nature Centers & Parks
Rotary Gardens
1455 Palmer Drive, Janesville
608-752-3885
The Janesville Rotary Gardens
is a botanical garden featuring international themes, providing
both beauty and horticultural education. Founded in 1998 the 15
acres of the gardens were built and landscaped through volunteer
labor and private donations. Some of the specialty gardens include
the elegant English Cottage Garden and the Alpine Garden. Structures
such as the Japanese Bridge, the gazebo and the many sitting benches,
all combined with the variety and colorful beauty of the flowers,
trees and shrubs - ensure enjoyment for everyone. The Rotary Gardens
hold special events throughout the year including the Sunday Summer
Stroll, the annual "Art in the Gardens" art show and
sale, the Winter Wonderland Walk and the Dinner Dance - an elegant
evening of dining and dancing. Open daily during daylight hours.
Call for schedule of events.
Beloit Poetry Garden
Bushnell & College Streets,
Beloit
608-363-2215
Take time to reflect and
enjoy the artistry of nature at the Beloit Poetry Gardens. The
gardens were dedicated by artist Siah Armajani and include many
seating areas, a variety of trees and more than 10,000 tulips
and other flowering plants. The gardens are located next to the
Logan Museum of Anthropology on the Beloit College Campus.
Beckman Mill Park
Corner of Hwy H and Millpond
Road, Beloit
608-365-7835
Nature and history enthusiasts
will love spending an afternoon at Beckmen Mill Park. This scenic
park along the Raccoon Creek offers picnic areas, water access,
canoeing, a wildlife area and some local history. The historical
highlight of the park is the restored 1926 grist mill, better
known as Beckman Mill. Beckman Mill is one of the last remaining
grist mills in Rock County and has been converted to a living,
working museum. Visitors to the park can tour the mill and see
how it operated during the late 1920's. A working dam, covered
bridge, trading post, gardens and walking trails all complement
the historic landmark and make a wonderful backdrop for an afternoon
in the park. The park grounds are open from 5am until 10pm daily,
and the mill is open for tours every Saturday, April through October,
or by appointment.
Rock County Park Department
1-800-48-PARKS or 608-757-5450
Rock County offers many
wonderful recreational activities, including hiking trails, canoeing,
fishing and wildlife areas, at the fourteen parks in the park
system. Visitors can spend a day at Airport Park, watching traffic
while picnicking; Magnolia Bluff Park, enjoying breathtaking views
from the bluff and the county's only naturally occurring birch
stand; Schollmeyer Park, fishing or canoeing down Turtle Creek;
and Walt Lindemann Sportsman's Park, relaxing with the entire
family. All county parks are open year round from 5am to 10pm.
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Special Things to Do
Beloit Farmers Market
300 Block of State Street, Beloit
608-365-0150
Enjoy the farm fresh produce,
meats, cheeses and more at Beloit's Farmers Markets. Local vendors
will entice your taste buds with the many flavors of jams, jellies,
preserves and syrups made fresh every week. Shoppers with a green
thumb will enjoy the wide variety of plants, annuals and perennials
the markets have to offer. Open every Saturday, May through October
from 8am-1pm.
Milton Country Market
Goodrich Park, Hwy 26 and High
Street, Milton
608-868-6222
Shoppers flock to the Milton
Country Market for its fresh produce and baked goods, a flea market,
arts and crafts and antiques. Sponsored by the Milton Area Chamber
of Commerce, the market is open the 2nd Saturday of each month
May through October, from 8am-3pm rain or shine.
General Motors Tours
1000 Industrial Avenue, Janesville
608-756-7681
Visitors will be fascinated
as they tour the General Motors 3 ½ million square foot
complex, which also is the largest GM plant under one roof in
the U.S. The tour is a wonderful opportunity to see the automation
and hard work needed to build quality vehicles and includes a
stop along the new Suburban/Tahoe line to watch more than 200
robots constructing the trucks. Tours are held Monday - Thursday
at 9:30am and 1pm. Call to verify tour time because tours will
not be held during prototype production.
Evansville Historical District
Evansville Chamber of Commerce
608-882-5131
Settlers first came to
Evansville in 1839, and since then Evansville has grown from a
town with a single log cabin to a thriving community. Evansville's
rich architectural history is a main attraction of the area, with
a 23-block area designated by the National Register of Historic
Places as a historic district. The historical district showcases
some of the finest examples of mid 19th and early 20th Century
architecture including Greek Revival, Italianate, French Second
Empire, Queen Anne Victorian, Prairie, Neoclassic and more! A
historical walking tour was prepared by the Education Committee
of the Evansville Historic Preservation Commission and includes
almost 50 homes and structures. Tour maps are available at local
business, the public library or through the local chamber of commerce.
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Points of Interest
Miracle, the White Buffalo
2739 S. River Road, Beloit
608-752-2224
Since her birth in 1994,
Miracle the White Buffalo has attracted more than 20,000 people.
When Miracle was born, a Native American legend was reborn with
her. According to Native American storytellers, the White Buffalo
Calf Woman, the spirit that created the bison, some day would
return as a white buffalo, bringing prosperity and peace to the
world. The Heider Farm is open for visitors from 10am to 5pm daily.
Call for more information.
Thompson Observatory
Chamberlin Hall, Beloit College
608-363-2215
See the galaxy and its
billions of stars during free tours of the Observatory. The tours
are offered annually in the mid fall and mid spring on selected
dates. Reservations are required.
Beloit College
700 College Street, Beloit
608-363-2000
Beloit College, Wisconsin's
oldest college, was founded in 1846 and features spectacular architecture
on campus and the scattering of 23 conical, linear and animal
effigy mounds that were built between 700 and 1200 AD. Beloit
College researchers have identified the Native American builders
of the mounds as the Effigy Mound people, and are currently proving
that these people are the ancestors of the modern day Ho-Chuck
(Winnebago) Nation. Excavated artifacts can be found at the College's
Logan Museum of Anthropology. The Logan Museum also features pre-Columbian
ceramics and a remarkable collection of Paleolithic art. Brochures
for self-guided walking tours of the 40-acre campus are available
at the school or from the Beloit Visitors Bureau, 608-365-4838
or 1-800-423-5648.
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Outdoor Concerts and Local Entertainment
Rock County is proud of its many outdoor
entertainment and musical concerts that are held throughout the
summer months bringing residents and visitors wonderful music.
All concerts are FREE!
Friday in the Park Concert Series
- Held every Friday from 11:30am
to 1pm at the First National Plaza in Beloit. May 28th through
August 27th. 1-800-4-BELOIT
Wednesday Night Concert Series
- Held every Wednesday at 7pm at Riverside Park
in Beloit. June 9th through August 11th. 1-800-4-BELOIT
Concerts in Central Park - Sponsored by the Arts Council of Edgerton,
the free concerts are held in a 1930's bandstand in Edgerton's
Central Park. June through August, call 608-884-4408.
Main Street Entertainment Series - Held every Wednesday evening at 6:30pm and
on Thursdays at noon at the Janesville Courthouse Park. June 16th
through July 29th. 608-755-3030.
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