Updated: 1/29/2010 
Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum and Gardens
Rockford, Illinois
Description

Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum and Gardens is currently expanding its vision and is developing a new methodology for interpreting the Victorian Era represented by the buildings and the grounds and illustrated by the Tinker and Dorr families.
In 1943 Tinker Swiss Cottage opened to the public as a Museum. Tours, exhibits, programs and exhibits are offered year round for visitors of all ages.

History

Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum and Gardens is a treasure trove of a time gone by. Rockford, Illinois businessman Robert Hall Tinker built the home in 1865, perching it high on a limestone bluff overlooking Kent Creek. His inspiration came from an 1862 tour of Europe where he fell in love with the architecture of Switzerland. Today the Cottage is one of only a handful of Swiss-style homes remaining in the United States from the 1800s. The Tinker family, the sole occupants of the Swiss Cottage, left their home to the Rockford Park District and their household belongings to trustees after seventy-five years of residence. Filled with original furnishings, artwork, diaries and household items, the Cottage is a rich time capsule of life a century ago.

Programs

Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum and Gardens offers educational programs for audiences of all ages. Schools may arrange tours of the Cottage and hands-on opportunities for students that allow them to explore and use objects that are similar to those seen in the Museum. An Education Packet is available for educators containing pre and post tour activities for students.

Governance

Nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization and an affiliate of the Rockford Park District

Library

Access: Members

Appointment required: True

DISCLAIMER
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MUSEUM CONFERENCES

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

March 15 - 18, 2025

Blacksburg, Virginia

Ohio Museum Asociation 2025 Annual Conference - Athens

March 29 - 31, 2025

Athens, Ohio

North Carolina Museums Council 2025 Annual Conference

March 30 - 31, 2025

Raleigh, North Carolina

Arkansas Museums Association 2025 Conference

March 31 - April 3, 2025

Washington, Arkansas

New York Museum Association 2025 Conference in Ithaca, NY

April 5 - 8, 2025

Ithaca, New York

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