rochellediamondlodge.com - Area Attractions & Events

Downtown Harvest Market
Flagg Township Museum
June - September 2009
Thursdays from 2 - 6pm
Vendors selling fresh fruit, vegetables and baked goods.

Rochelle Railroad Days
Rochelle Railroad Park
June 5, 6 & 7, 2009
Hobo stories and music, railroadiana displays, and much more!

MVPA Transcontinental Motor Convoy
June 20 & 21, 2009

Independence Day Celebration
Atwood Park
July 4th, 2009
Rochelle Municipal Band concert, fireworks at dusk, and the Rochelle Rotary Club raffle.

Lincoln Highway Heritage Festival
Downtown Rochelle
August 21, 22 & 23, 2009
Website: www.lincolnhighwayheritagefestival.com
Free entertainment, a parade, amusement rides, car show, tractor show, kids zone, food and much more.

City of Rochelle / Chamber of Commerce
Fly-In / Drive-In
Rochelle Municipal Airport
August 23, 2009
Free admission and parking, food, plane rides, lifeline helicopter, flour drop and much more.

Mexican Independence Day Festival
September 13, 2009

Downtown Christmas Walk & Lighted Parade
Downtown Rochelle
December 4 & 5, 2009
Santa at the Museum, Lighted Christmas Parade, BIG Christmas sales, lighting of the Christmas Tree at City Hall and much more.

THINGS TO DO IN ROCHELLE

(excerpted from rochelletourism.com)

The town of Rochelle, Illinois boasts an array of various things to do, such as enjoying the many parks; some with playground equipment, tennis courts, basketball courts, soccer fields, baseball and softball fields, skateboarding, boating and fishing. There is also an indoor pool at Hickory Grove Center as well as an outdoor pool at Spring Lake Marina. You may also enjoy a bike ride on Rochelle's 4 mile bike path. For a complete list of these activities and more visit the Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District website.
While visiting Rochelle, you may also wish to take in a movie at the Hub Theatre in the Historic Downtown of Rochelle, or a theatre production at Vince Carney Community Theatre in Hickory Grove Center, or enjoy shopping in the many unique gift shops and antique shops Rochelle has to offer.
Those looking for dining will encounter a wide array of restaurants offering foods of various nationalities including Mexican, Chinese and Italian. You may choose from fast food, buffet, casual dining, family dining, and fine dining.
Annual events include the Rochelle Railroad Days in June, Rochelle Regatta in June, Rochelle Transportation Festival in June, Downtown Farmer's Market during June - September, Independence Day Celebration on July 4th, the
Lincoln Highway Heritage Festival in August, Rochelle Municipal Airport Fly-In/Drive-In in August, and Downtown Christmas Walk in December.

Visit the 1918 Standard Oil Filling Station, which serves as the Rochelle Visitor's Center and Rochelle Tourism Office.
500 Lincoln Avenue
Standard Oil of Indiana acquired this property in 1918 from Carrie E. Stocking in of Shelby Bolivar County in Mississippi for the grand total of $6,200. It was a perfect site for the filling station, with the location being on a high visibility corner at a 90 degree turn on the transcontinental Lincoln Highway.
This was the first filling station on the Lincoln Highway in Illinois and the first one built in Rochelle. Originally there was a large two story building which had a three sided front on the corner of Lincoln Highway and Lincoln Avenue. From the 1860's the building served as a restaurant with a rooming house upstairs. Later a post office and the Rochelle Register were the its occupants till the building was moved to the south side of 1st Ave to make way for the filling station in April of 1918. After the filling station closed the canopy and the pumps were removed. The ex-station housed several other businesses which included several barbers with a taxi operator being its last tenant before it was restored to its 1918 design.

Visit the Rochelle Railroad Park.
124 N. 9th Street
Anywhere from 80 to 120 trains pass through Rochelle in a 24 hour period. This has made Rochelle a "hot spot" for train watching, drawing visitors from every state in the nation and world wide. Because of the number of visitors, Rochelle acquired the land east of the diamond in 1995 and constructed a park just for train watching. The park, which was dedicated August 30, 1998, includes a handicapped accessible observation pavilion with various vantage sites for the best visitor viewing and photography. The park also includes a gift shop, a 7 ton Whitcomb engine and 50 ton Whitcomb engine which were built in Rochelle, handicapped accessible restrooms, and a replica of the original 1854 Steel Strap Rail. Visitors can see locomotives from many different railroad companies pass through Rochelle on the Union Pacific and the BNSF lines. Other units from railroads of the Eastern United States, Mexico, and Canada also pass through from time to time.

Rochelle Railroad Park website

Visit the Flagg Township Museum.
518 4th Avenue
The town hall that almost wasn't. Even though the land was purchased in 1869 for the grand sum of $2,000 the actual building wasn't built until 1884. In 1866 Flagg Township voted a township tax of $3,000 for the purpose of building a town house with the understanding that the City of Rochelle would pay $3,000 as part of its share of the cost and the building would be jointly used by both parties. Flagg Township almost purchased the 1862 wooden Methodist Church to be moved to the land purchased for a town hall. That was voted down in 1882 and finally in 1884 both parties came to an agreement and a local contractor built the building for $6,200.
The building was almost demolished in 1968 for additional city parking. Fortunately in 1968 the Flagg Township Historical Society was created with one of its main goals being the preservation of the old brick and limestone building. On June 1, 1971 the historical society obtained the building.
It since then has been the home of the museum and the resting place for artifacts of Rochelle's colorful history. The only existing Partin-Palmer resides there which was produced in Rochelle on the site of the old locomotive factory. This car along with other items are on display for the public Thursday - Sunday from 11am - 4pm.

Flagg Township Museum website

Visit the Rochelle Firehouse Museum.
Corner of 5th Avenue & Main Street
The first piece of fire equipment that Rochelle owned was a hand drawn hose cart which was drawn by four men. It was eventually sold to 20th Century Fox for $35 in 1935 to be used in the movies.
Next purchased by the City was a 1912 American LaFrance chemical fire truck and the two pieces resided for a time in the town hall. In 1924 a second American LaFance was bought and is the fire truck that has been restored and whose home is in the Fire Station Museum behind the fire station on Main street. If one happens to come by during the evening hours there is a button, on the south side of the Museum, that can be pushed to turn the lights on and view "Gertie" which was Rochelle's first water pumper.

View the Lincoln Highway Mural of Emily Post.
Corner of Lincoln Hwy & 5th Avenue on Hub City Furniture
The 3rd in a group of 43 murals commissioned by the Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition to be placed in towns along the Lincoln Highway National Scenic Byway in Illinois.
Emily Post, before she became widely known as an author of etiquette books, traveled the newly formed Lincoln Highway in 1915. During her travels she became stuck in the mud in Rochelle and spent 3 days in Rochelle at the Collier Hotel. At that time the Lincoln Highway was America's only coast-to-coast highway.
The 10' x 20' mural was unveiled on Memorial Day, May 28, 2007.

Visit the Flagg Township Public Library.
619 4th Avenue
Andrew Carnegie's first library was built in the town of his birth, Dunfermline, Scotland, on July 27, 1881. This was the beginning of the construction of a total of 2,811 buildings of which 1,946 were erected in the United States. Not wanting to have his name on the buildings they were commonly recognized by sun rays over the text of the words, "'LET THERE BE LIGHT.'"
The Flagg Township Public Library has the words " 19 TOWNSHIP PUBLIC LIBRARY 12" over the original main entrance and was built in 1912 paid for with Carnegie funds. In 1973 the building was place on the National Registry of Historic Places by the Department of the Interior. This plaque is located on the south side of the library.
The library was expanded in 1988 to its present size with the help of federal funds and is located on Hwy 251 and 4th Avenue behind the Rochelle City Hall.