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| Neighborhood History |
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 This history of the neighborhood plays a vital part in the identity of its residents. If you have lived in the neighborhood for many years, the neighborhood history is a heartfelt reminder of days gone by.
If you have just come to call the neighborhood home, it is a way to learn more about the new community you have joined. We would love nothing more than to be able to share the history of neighborhood name with all who reside there. If you are interested in adding to this brief history of the neighborhood, please contact us!
A Brief History of the Tullock Family and Tullock's Woods
When George Tullock, newly arrived from Scotland, first saw Rockford, he was sure the thriving young town would be home for all his days. In 1864, he purchased 160 acres of land northwest of town for farming. Half of the land was rolling, wooded country with a pleasant little creek meandering through it.
The Tullock family was happy to share this natural wealth with others and first made their land available to the Winnebago Native American tribes for pow wows, and later to their many friends and neighbors. For many generations of local families, the woods still bring memories of happy family picnics under the great oaks. In the mid-1950s, Carrico & Wilgus purchased the land and developed the neighborhood, laying out the roads and home sites for those looking forward to living in woodland quiet.
Even though his home was on a Galena-Chicago stagecoach route, a trip in to Rockford was an all-day jaunt in George Tullock’s time. Today, his descendants reach State and Main in downtown Rockford in a mere fifteen minutes. On the west side of Owen Center Road, a mile north of Riverside, Tullock’s Woods is less than ten minutes away from the North End business districts, Auburn High School, and Rockford Memorial Hospital.
The woods, grown more beautiful with age, are of unspoiled beauty. Oaks, many at least 150 years old, stand proudly in meadows and on the tops of knolls. There are shagbark hickories, butternut trees, black walnuts, and elms. The land is rich and fertile and affords lovely home sites set either on gentle knolls beneath the big trees or on flat ground in full sun or partial shade. Many of the lots were set out, not in the usual, squared-off plans seen in many developments from the time, but irregular in shape in order to take best advantage of trees, views, and landscape.
To preserve the area Native American tradition, several totem poles, hand-carved by Chief Big Wind of the Lac Du Flambeau tribe, were originally erected near the entrance. Two newer totem poles stand today, one along Tullock’s Woods Trail and another on the hill overlooking the tennis courts and pond. Original carved-wood sculptures of Native Americans which originally graced poles in cul-de-sacs stand inside the clubhouse for protection from the elements. Many street names also harken back to the 1950’s era with Native American-sounding names. Other street names describe their original use (Stage Coach Trail), natural setting (Black Oak Tr., Red Fox Tr.), or land ownership (Tullock’s Woods Tr., Hoople Tr.)
Construction began on the first homes in the mid-1950s and continued through the early 80s. Today, the neighborhood boasts 159 homes, many on lots over an acre. With an active neighborhood association, residents enjoy a wide range of activities including pancake breakfasts, golf play days, picnics and dinners, children’s egg hunts, family corn boils, Independence Day celebration (complete with fireworks!), family camp outs, and winter luminaria and ice skating parties. Enjoying the natural setting and true community are what make us a unique and happy community.
Adapted from Carrico & Wilgus, Inc (developer) publicity booklet, 1955.
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