- Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum
The Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum is a historic place, museum, and park in
Rockford, Illinois , USA. It was built as a personal residence by Robert Hall Tinker in the 1860s. It is now a popular destination for school trips and wedding receptions.Tinker moved to Rockford in 1856, where he was employed as an accountant by Mary Dorr Manny, the wealthy widow of John H. Manny of the Manny reaper works. Tinker traveled Europe in 1862 and was greatly impressed by the estates and gardens he had seen there. On his return to Rockford, Tinker built himself a 20-room Swiss-style cottage on a limestone bluff overlooking the Kent creek and the home of Mary Manny. In 1870 Robert and Mary were married, becoming Rockford's most influential couple. Tinker was mayor of Rockford in 1875 and a founding member of the Rockford park district.
Upon the death of the Tinkers, the cottage was left to the Rockford Park District. The home has been listed on the
National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) since 1972, according to the NRHP database.External links
* [http://www.tinkercottage.com/ Official website]
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