Rockford Pilot succeeds Star and is printed on the same press. Other early newspapers in the county are the Forum, the Democrat, the Republican and the Free Press. In 1844, a convention of Congregational and Presbyterian clergymen in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin had decided that a college should be built in Beloit and a seminary in Rockford. Charter is issued for Rockford Female Seminary. Birth of the city of Rockford.
Residents vote to graduate from the village designation to the status of city.
First mayor of Rockford is Willard Wheeler. Cornerstone for the first building, Middle Hall, is laid on the Rockford College campus, just south of the city's downtown core. It is pulled by a Pioneer engine. First Swedish settlers arrive by train to make their permanent homes in Rockford. City is divided into five wards.