FATT CAT CAFE'
LEARN ABOUT OUR HISTORIC SITE
WHERE WE ARE
...And Where We've Been
We played a role in changing America!
Long a pillar in our Community!
Where it all started!
How we found each other
Fatt Cat Café
We welcome you to our unique dining experience at the Fatt Cat Café in historic Rockton! Originally christened Pecatonica, meaning “slow water” or “winding river”, Rockton was renamed in 1847. Native Americans called this home until the conclusion of the Black Hawk War in 1832, and Stephen Mack, the first white settler in Winnebago County arrived around 1835, and later married Hononegah, one of the local natives. William Talcott and his family were the first settlers of the village, drawn by the fertile soils, bountiful waters, and productive woodlands.
James Gray, born in Vermont in 1816, originally owned the stone home at our location, where he kept a lumbar yard from 1856-1859. When one of the outbuildings was dug up years ago, a room was found under the floors with a heating stove from the 1850’s, suggesting this location was part of the underground railway before the civil war. David Hudson, born in Scotland in 1823, came here from Canada in 1856, built this house in 1877, and was a blacksmith. In 1883, the house was sold to Charles Hyatt, who came to Rockton with his family in 1842, for $7000. A Victorian barn was matched to the house, and used as a blacksmith shop. The Hyatt’s established the first hotel and brick yard in Rockton.
In 1918, Rockton’s new doctor, Dr. Zwaska, bought the farm, and was one of the first to have indoor plumbing. In the late 1920’s, the Crocketts moved in, and established a dairy farm, with milk delivery in glass bottles. The next owner, George Barker, raised race horses—one of his world champions, Old Mose, is buried nearby. In 1960, Dr. and Mrs. Clark bought the property.
Purchased in 1985 by Patricia Mannino, the house is filled with splendor and unique décor: a magnificent oak carved staircase, stained glass windows, beveled glass, brass and stained light fixtures, curving, coved, and arched walls, and 3 fireplaces. When listed for sale, the desire was for “someone who will fit the house in with Rockton. When that person is found, the grand house with the great past will become a grand house with a greater future.”