Hamburg Historic District (Davenport, Iowa)
Encyclopedia
Hamburg Historic District is located on a bluff north of downtown Davenport, Iowa
, United States
. It is listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties and on the National Register of Historic Places
. The historic district is where the city’s middle and upper income German community lived in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Germans were the largest ethnic group to settle in Davenport.
German immigrants started moving into the city in noticeable numbers starting in the late 1840s. In 1848, 250 Germans came to Davenport and by 1850, that number rose to close to 3,000, or 20% of the city’s population. German immigration remained strong through the 1880s. The Iowa census of 1890 showed that a quarter of Scott County
's residents were natives of Germany
. A disproportionate number of those immigrants came from Schleswig-Holstein
, which was in a border and personal rights dispute with Denmark
in the 1840s. German “free thinkers” from the two states were leaving in large numbers and many came to Davenport. Their political and philosophical thinking tended to be anti-clerical and secular. It would eventually dominate Davenport politics and set the city apart from communities of similar size in the Midwest. Other German immigrants to Davenport came from Bavaria
, Hamburg
, Hanover
, and Mecklenburg
. Davenport’s small Hungarian community, refugees from the revolution against Austria
in the 1840s, generally lived in the German neighborhoods, as well.
Initially, the native-born citizens of Davenport resented the large numbers of Germans coming to the city and the influence they were asserting. They were also opposed to separate German societies, schools, cultural organizations, and events. Supporting the Temperance movement was one way opponents expressed anti-German sentiments. In 1855, the Know Nothing
movement emerged with the goal of keeping local politics to native-born people. By the end of the Civil War
, with the sons of both Germans and non-Germans dying for a common cause, there was a sense of acceptance even though the numbers of Germans coming into the city continued to increase.
Because of the size of Davenport’s German population, their customs dominated the city’s economic, cultural, and political life. Many of those who were leaders in civic life lived in the Hamburg District. The lower income Germans tended to live below the hill and above the factories along the Mississippi River
. Their neighborhoods are collectively known as the West End, although they were not all German, and included the West Third Street Historic District
. Harrison Street is generally the dividing line between the Germans on the west and the non-Germans on the east side. German influence in Davenport started to wane in the early decades of the 20th century, especially with the onset of World War I
. The war, coupled with the younger generation’s lack of a distinct German identity, led to the decline of German influence.
Prominent Davenport citizens who lived in the Hamburg District included Henry Lischer, who published the influential. German-language newspaper Der Demokrat; merchants August Steffen and his son August as well as F. Max D. Peterson, who was a partner in the J.H.C. Petersen's Sons' Store
; brewers Henry Frahm and Henry Koehler; the Mueller’s who owned a large lumber mill; H.H. Andressen who founded the German Savings Bank, which was later renamed American Commercial and Savings Bank
; politician and German-American leader Hans Reimer Clausen; grocer Charles Beiderbecke; and financier William H. Weise. All of the above named men had roots in Schleswig-Holstein, they built significant houses in the Hamburg District, and many of their children married a son or daughter from one of the other’s families.
homes. Other homes in the district include large Victorian
homes in the Gothic Revival, Second Empire, Italianate, and the Queen Anne
styles built in the 19th century. Many of these homes crown the bluff and offer vistas overlooking the river valley below. There are also examples of early 20th century Georgian Revival and Craftsman
homes. The historic district is rounded out by smaller and more simple late 19th and early 20th century homes and a few modern dwellings.
The Hamburg Historic District is largely a residential area today. Institutional architecture that existed has largely been torn down or converted to residential use. One such building on West Seventh Street was built for Iowa College, which moved from the area in the 1850s to the present College Square Historic District
. The former German Methodist Episcopal Church also remains on West Sixth Street, while Zion and Trinity Lutheran Churches built new buildings outside of the district in the 20th century. Many civic, cultural, religious, and commercial buildings that served the German citizens of the city were not built in the Hamburg District.
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties and on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The historic district is where the city’s middle and upper income German community lived in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Germans were the largest ethnic group to settle in Davenport.
History
Scott County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 165,224 in the county, with a population density of . There were 71,835 housing units, of which 66,765 were occupied.-2000 census:...
's residents were natives of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. A disproportionate number of those immigrants came from Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
, which was in a border and personal rights dispute with Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in the 1840s. German “free thinkers” from the two states were leaving in large numbers and many came to Davenport. Their political and philosophical thinking tended to be anti-clerical and secular. It would eventually dominate Davenport politics and set the city apart from communities of similar size in the Midwest. Other German immigrants to Davenport came from Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, and Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
. Davenport’s small Hungarian community, refugees from the revolution against Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
in the 1840s, generally lived in the German neighborhoods, as well.
Initially, the native-born citizens of Davenport resented the large numbers of Germans coming to the city and the influence they were asserting. They were also opposed to separate German societies, schools, cultural organizations, and events. Supporting the Temperance movement was one way opponents expressed anti-German sentiments. In 1855, the Know Nothing
Know Nothing
The Know Nothing was a movement by the nativist American political faction of the 1840s and 1850s. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to Anglo-Saxon Protestant values and controlled by...
movement emerged with the goal of keeping local politics to native-born people. By the end of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, with the sons of both Germans and non-Germans dying for a common cause, there was a sense of acceptance even though the numbers of Germans coming into the city continued to increase.
Because of the size of Davenport’s German population, their customs dominated the city’s economic, cultural, and political life. Many of those who were leaders in civic life lived in the Hamburg District. The lower income Germans tended to live below the hill and above the factories along the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Their neighborhoods are collectively known as the West End, although they were not all German, and included the West Third Street Historic District
West Third Street Historic District (Davenport, Iowa)
West Third Street Historic District is located on the west side of downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic district connects the central business district with the working-class neighborhoods of the West End. Its...
. Harrison Street is generally the dividing line between the Germans on the west and the non-Germans on the east side. German influence in Davenport started to wane in the early decades of the 20th century, especially with the onset of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The war, coupled with the younger generation’s lack of a distinct German identity, led to the decline of German influence.
Prominent Davenport citizens who lived in the Hamburg District included Henry Lischer, who published the influential. German-language newspaper Der Demokrat; merchants August Steffen and his son August as well as F. Max D. Peterson, who was a partner in the J.H.C. Petersen's Sons' Store
J.H.C. Petersen's Sons' Store
The J.H.C. Petersen's Sons' Store also known as the Redstone Building, is a four-story building in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties and on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed after the Rookery Building in Chicago, this...
; brewers Henry Frahm and Henry Koehler; the Mueller’s who owned a large lumber mill; H.H. Andressen who founded the German Savings Bank, which was later renamed American Commercial and Savings Bank
American Commercial and Savings Bank
American Commercial and Savings Bank is located at 201-209 Main Street, Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building is known locally as the Wells Fargo Bank building.-History:...
; politician and German-American leader Hans Reimer Clausen; grocer Charles Beiderbecke; and financier William H. Weise. All of the above named men had roots in Schleswig-Holstein, they built significant houses in the Hamburg District, and many of their children married a son or daughter from one of the other’s families.
Architecture
The geographical location of the Hamburg District is a fairly steep bluff north of the downtown area. The side walk on Ripley Street is replaced by steps as it climbs the hill. The area has the largest concentration of historically significant houses in Davenport. As with other areas of the city, the simple Greek Revival style was the first to appear in Hamburg. These homes are generally at the base of the hill. The style is realized in cottages and the more popular two-story, 3-bay front gableGable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
homes. Other homes in the district include large Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
homes in the Gothic Revival, Second Empire, Italianate, and the Queen Anne
Queen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
styles built in the 19th century. Many of these homes crown the bluff and offer vistas overlooking the river valley below. There are also examples of early 20th century Georgian Revival and Craftsman
American Craftsman
The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...
homes. The historic district is rounded out by smaller and more simple late 19th and early 20th century homes and a few modern dwellings.
The Hamburg Historic District is largely a residential area today. Institutional architecture that existed has largely been torn down or converted to residential use. One such building on West Seventh Street was built for Iowa College, which moved from the area in the 1850s to the present College Square Historic District
College Square Historic District
College Square Historic District is located on a bluff north of downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places...
. The former German Methodist Episcopal Church also remains on West Sixth Street, while Zion and Trinity Lutheran Churches built new buildings outside of the district in the 20th century. Many civic, cultural, religious, and commercial buildings that served the German citizens of the city were not built in the Hamburg District.
See also
Contributing properties:- Frank & John Bredow HouseFrank & John Bredow HouseThe Frank & John Bredow House is an historic home located in the Hamburg Historic District in Davenport, Iowa, United States. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The house was individually listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in...
- Christian Jipp Home & GroceryChristian Jipp Home & GroceryThe Christian Jipp Home & Grocery is an historic structure located in the Hamburg Historic District in Davenport, Iowa, United States. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983...
- Henry Lischer HouseHenry Lischer HouseThe Henry Lischer House is an historic home located in the Hamburg Historic District in Davenport, Iowa, United States. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The house was individually listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1993...
- Dr. Heinrich Matthey HouseDr. Heinrich Matthey HouseThe Dr. Heinrich Matthey House is an historic home located in the Hamburg Historic District in Davenport, Iowa, United States. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The house was individually listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1993...