About The Patchwork Inn

James V. Gale built the first home in Oregon, Illinois in 1835. As part of the Northwest Territory settlement, settlers from the East were moving West creating communities and small towns like Oregon along the way. One of Oregon’s early settlers was William Moore. In the mid 1840's, he along with his wife and six children traveled from Pennsylvania to settle in Oregon. His home, which is now the front portion of the Inn, was constructed of brick, and consisted of four large rooms with a central staircase. This architectural style has become known as Greek Revival. In 1848 Mr. Moore opened and operated a grocery store, later he established the first hotel for our city. According to the 1850 census Mr. Moore is listed as an Innkeeper. On the front page of Oregon’s first newspaper published in 1851, the now Patchwork Inn was listed then as "Moore's Hotel". It was during this early period that Abraham Lincoln played an important part in Northern Illinois history. Lincoln traveled and spent time here before becoming President. It was during the mid1850's that Mr. Lincoln visited the "Moore Hotel" for lunch and lodging.

During its' life the Inn has experienced various owners and names, including: Moore Hotel, Oregon House, Rock River House and The Blackhawk Hotel. In 2009, the Inn was purchased by Patchwork Vision LLC (dba Patchwork Inn) and has undergone countless hours of restoration and refurbishment. Our goal is to provide an exceptionally clean and comfortable stay using environmentally friendly practices and products.

Sustainability Efforts

Patchwork Inn uses soft organically grown cotton towels. We use recycled paper products and earth-friendly cleaning supplies. Patchwork Inn prides itself in being casually elegant AND environmentally conscious. Patchwork Inn strives for sustainability.

Linens are not the only eco-friendly part of a good night’s sleep. Our guests often tell us they slept amazingly well here and we’d like to think our mattresses contributed to that. Many manufacturers today use formaldehyde as a fire retardant in their bedding. Our mattresses are made with wool. Additionally, there is no stain or varnish on the box springs making your sleep chemical free. Our bed linens are purchased from the Comphy Company and are 100% recyclable. If you are interested in buying a set or two for your home, we participate in their retail program which allows us to make them available to you at a reasonable cost.

We partner with Clean the World to recycle our bar soaps and bottled amenities so those less fortunate can benefit from the practice of good personal hygiene.

Patchwork Inn is a completely “smoke-free” environment and does not allow smoking inside or outside the property (porches, decks, etc.). We believe in reducing, reusing and recycling. There are recycling bins located in common areas for guest use.  We regularly donate our gently used linens and other items to local organizations.

We ask for your help with water usage and energy conservation while you are our guests. Rooms are refreshed on a daily basis. Beds are neatened, towels are replaced, trash is removed and amenities are restocked. Not laundering bed linens daily results in dramatically less electricity and water being used each year. Contrary to some lodging providers, ALL bed and bath linens are removed when each guest departs and the room and bathroom are thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. The cleaning staff is not given any constraints on the length of time it takes to carry out these procedures.

All guest bathrooms are equipped with a low flow massaging showerhead.

We are committed to using only low VOC paints and finishes for maintenance and renovations.

During your stay, we hope you can enjoy sitting on our patio furniture made from recycled plastic bottles.  While we appreciate the low maintenance and durability of this wonderful product, we hope you will enjoy its comfort and style.

As appliances age they are replaced with Energy Star rated equipment. Light bulbs are replaced with today’s energy savers.

Repurposing antique headboards and footboards have resulted in rooms with king-sized beds in five of the guest rooms. A local craftsman married full bed footboards to headboards in rooms two, four and five creating one of a kind, king-sized beds. In rooms six and eight, welding two twin metal headboards together accomplished a similar result.

Illinois produces so many fine fruits and vegetables, allowing us to purchase fresh local produce whenever possible. We raise a small vegetable garden each year and incorporate freshly picked items into our menus.

Patchwork Inn is located within walking distance to almost anything and we encourage you to enjoy a pleasant walk to the grocery store, drug store, Conover Square Mall, the Rock River or local restaurants. Just a block away you can rent a bicycle for the day at a reasonable rate.