In addition to the Victorian Village and old doll house exhibit at Rockford’s Midway Village, another museum stands out among the attractions. Midway Village Museum is a small museum at 20,000 square feet that packs in exhibits that explore the history of the area. One of the featured, and most popular, exhibits is called The Missing Link: Socks, Monkeys and Rockford’s Industrial Past, a showcase of sock monkeys and their history. That’s right Silly Americans, a sock monkey museum!
Sock monkeys are iconic stuffed animals made famous by the red-heeled socks that make up their bodies. Rockford’s sock-knitting industry played an important part in their creation and formation, from the 1870s until all the way through the 1990s.
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From 1932 to 1992, Rockford’s Nelson Knitting Company of Rockford manufactured and sold Rockford Red Heel socks. The sock monkeys were born in the Great Depression as folk art. The company acquired the patent for the sock monkey doll in the 1950s and placed a pattern in each pack of socks.
The Midway Village exhibit features a plethora of the stuffed sock monkeys: some decked out in costumes and some in their own naked glory. Some vintage, some brand new. There’s even a giant sock monkey made of fiberglass or three! The museum exhibit also has plenty of chances to learn about the history of the red-heeled sock, the history of the sock monkey, and to see historical documents, including the original patents.
Want more? Every March, the museum celebrates Sock Monkey Madness Festival with costumes, games, vendors, performances, and a Make-A-Monkey Workshop. And be sure to look outside for Soxanne: a giant fiberglass sock monkey!
More photos from the Rockford Sock Monkey Museum
While traveling through Rockford, be sure to also check out another nearby Illinois roadside attraction: Gertrude the Cow, a giant fiberglass statue in Lockwood Park Trailside Equestrian Centre and Children’s Farm.
Sock Monkey Museum at Midway Village Museum Center
Location: 6799 Guilford Road, Rockford, IL 61107
Cost: Main Museum Center Exhibits are $9 Adults, $7 Child (ages 5-12), $8 Senior (62+). Free admission for museum members and children ages 0-4.
Summer Hours: Tuesday- Saturday, 10am – 4pm; Sunday Noon – 4pm
Fall Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 4pm; Sunday Noon – 4pm
Date of Photos: May 9, 2008
Visit the museum’s official website for up-to-date hours and admission costs.
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The Sock Monkey museum at Midway Village in Rockford, Illinois celebrates the famous stuffed animals and the town’s sock-knitting industry. It features vintage stuffed monkeys and a giant sock monkey made from fiberglass! Visit this weird roadside attraction and museum on an Illinois road trip or Rockford vacation and add it to your travel itineraries and bucket lists!
