History of Davenport, Iowa
Encyclopedia
Davenport, Iowa
, was part of the Louisiana Purchase
. In 1814, during the War of 1812
the British
military, along with the Saux
and Fox Indian tribes fought against the Americans near Davenport. In August, Major Zachary Taylor
, later President, fought a battle east of what is now Credit Island
Park, in Davenport. An outpost was set up at Fort Armstrong
and George Davenport
and Antonie LeClaire were stationed there.
Davenport was established in 1836 by Antoine LeClaire
and named after his good friend Colonel George Davenport
. The first settlers of Davenport were mostly Germans. After a county seat dilemma with neighboring town Rockingham in 1840, Davenport was established as the county seat of Scott County
. Davenport was declared to be Iowa's first military headquarters just before the Civil War
by Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood
. In November 1865, the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home
was opened in Davenport to take in children left orphaned by the Civil War. In 1895, the city hall was built, and in 1897, the first chiropractic school in the world, Palmer Chiropractic College was opened.
Davenport experienced an economic and building boom in the 1920s and early 1930s. The Kahl Building and the Capitol Theatre, the baseball stadium, the Parker Building, and the Blackhawk Hotel
are a few of the buildings built during this time period that are still standing. The Great Depression
brought economic tough times to the city. The inclusion of new factories in the 1940s and 1950s helped turn the economy around after World War II
. Davenport was on hard times once again with the farm crisis of the 1980s, when the Caterpillar
Plant closed, costing 35,000 jobs. The city was rejuvenated once again in the 1990s and present by renovations and building additions.
In 1832, Chief Keokuk
and General Winfield Scott
signed a treaty to end the Black Hawk War
. Antoine LeClaire, who was part French
and part Pottawattamie, served as translator. A generous portion of land was gifted by Chief Keokuk to Marguerite LeClaire, Antoine's wife, as she was the granddaughter of a Sac chief. Keokuk stipulated that Antoine build their home on the exact spot where the treaty was signed or forfeit the land. Antoine did so, finishing the Treaty House in the spring of 1833. Davenport was established in 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and named after his good friend Colonel George Davenport.
Colonel Davenport arrived in 1816 with the establishment of Fort Armstrong
. He acted as a "sutler", or supplier, for the army's Fort Armstrong. Fort Armstrong was located on the northwestern tip of Arsenal Island
with the purpose of monitoring fur trade traffic in the area and keeping the peace between local Native American tribes. He contributed to the organization and mapping out of the community, now known as the Quad Cities
. He also aided in establishing plans for the first railroad bridge to cross the Mississippi River
.
was formed Davenport, and rival neighbor Rockingham both campaigned to become the county seat. As stated by the Iowa Territory
, the city with the most votes at the February 1838 election, would become the county seat. On the eve of the election, Davenporters secured the temporary service of Dubuque
laborers so that they could vote in the election. Davenport won the election. Rockingham supporters however, did not like this. They protested the elections to the territorial Governor. The Governor of the territory refused to certify the results of the election. A second election was scheduled for the following August. To avoid another import of voters, the Governor set a sixty day residency requirement. Both cities proved to be corrupt as the second election drew near. Davenport, was again the victor, by only two votes. A third election was set by the Territorial Legislature for the summer of 1840. As the August election drew nearer, Rockinghamers grew tired of the county seat cause. Antoine LeClaire
's $3,000 contribution, and the efforts of other Davenporters were difficult to challenge. Davenport easily won the third election. To ensure the question of county seat would not arise again, Davenport built the first county courthouse.
Colonel Davenport arrived in 1816 with the establishment of Fort Armstrong
. He acted as a "sutler", or supplier, for the United States Army
garrisoned at Fort Armstrong. Fort Armstrong was located on the northwestern tip of Arsenal Island
with the purpose of monitoring fur trade traffic in the area and keeping the peace between local Native American tribes. He contributed to the organization and mapping out of the community, now known as the Quad Cities. He also aided in establishing plans for the first railroad bridge to cross the Mississippi. On July 4, 1845, Colonel Davenport was assaulted in his home by the Banditti of the Prairie
men who thought he had a fortune in his safe. Beaten and left for dead, he survived long enough to give a full description of the criminals before he died that night. Five men were charged with the murder of George Davenport, and all but one, who escaped before the trial, were hung for the murder. Three more men were charged with accessories to the murder. One man was sentenced to life in prison, but escaped and was killed three months later, one man served one year in prison, and the charges were dropped against the third man, who left the area.
On June 9, 1849, Maj. William Williams visited Davenport and provided a brief description in his journal:
In the 1850s, Germans
made up Davenport's largest settlement group. By 1858, more than one-fifth of Davenport's nearly 11,000 residence were Germans. The growing city had a need for a railroad bridge to cross into Illinois
. Before a bridge was built, privately owned ferryboats transported passengers, wagons, and cargo across the Mississippi River
. In 1856, the first railroad bridge built across the Mississippi River connecting Davenport and Rock Island, IL. It was built by the Rock Island Railroad. Steamboaters saw nationwide railroads as a threat to their business. On May 6, 1856, just weeks after it was completed, a steamboater crashed the Effie Afton steamboat into the bridge. The owner of the Effie Afton, John Hurd, filed a lawsuit against The Rock Island Railroad Company. The Rock Island Railroad Company selected Abraham Lincoln
as their trial lawyer.
The case, "Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Company" was argued by Lincoln in the U.S. Circuit Court
in Chicago
before Judge John MacLean, on September 8, 1857. The jury deliberated for a few hours and ended up as a hung jury so the case was dismissed. In 1858, the Committee on Commerce of the United States House of Representatives
conducted an investigation to decide if the Rock Island Bridge was a serious obstruction to the navigation of the river. The committee concluded that the bridge was a hazard because of the length of the pier, the angle of the bridge, and the swift current under the bridge. The committee believed, however, that the courts should settle the matter and therefore did not recommend any action by the United States Congress
. In May 1858, Ward filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
asking the court to declare the bridge a nuisance and order its removal and restore the river to its original capacity for all purposes of navigation. The judge declared the bridge a nuisance and ordered the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad
to remove the three piers and their superstructure that lay on the Iowa side. The judge reasoned that if this bridge was not stopped, many other bridges would follow. The piers were not torn out, because the railroad company appealed the case to the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, reversed the decision of the district court and allowed the bridge to remain.
Just before the start of the Civil War
, Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood
declared Davenport to be Iowa's first military headquarters. Five camps were set up in Davenport during the war. Camp McClellan
was the largest camp, on the eastern edge of the city. Thousands of Iowa troops trained here. Camp McClellan contained twenty wooden barracks, a stockade building, headquarters buildings, and hospitals. A Davenport neighborhood, McClellan Heights is named after the camp.
Hundreds of Iowa children were left homeless by the Civil War. On November 16, 1865, the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home
(renamed the Annie Wittenmyer Home in 1949) was opened. The first 150 children arrived from Keokuk, Iowa
. Starting in 1876, children from broken homes as well as orphans from all of Iowa's ninety-nine counties were taken in at the home. The home was a self-contained community, containing residences, a school, tailor shop, and a chapel. The home had three separate fires during its course. On November 9, 1887, at three o’clock in the morning, the third fire started. The building burnt to the ground. The next day’s Morning Democrat Gazette pointed out that if home was not set up with several different buildings as houses, all 350 children at the time would have been homeless, and some may have not survived the fire. After 110 years of service, the home closed in 1975. It is estimated that well over 12,000 children were helped by the Home during its operation.
In 1872, Phebe Sudlow
was appointed principal of Davenport High School
. She was the first female principal in the United States. On June 19, 1874, Phebe Sudlow
was then unanimously voted to the position of Superintendent of Davenport Schools. She was also the first woman in United States history to be a public school superintendent.
In 1895, the Davenport City Hall was constructed, at a price of $100,000. Architectural journals poked fun at city leaders, due to the small amount budgeted for the project. In 1897, Palmer College of Chiropractic
was founded by Daniel David Palmer
. It is the first chiropractic school in the world.
On July 25, 1901, a large fire erupted on Davenport's east side. The fire burnt itself out late in the day, instead of being brought under control. Eight blocks of buildings were destroyed causing one million dollars of damage. No lives were lost during the fire.
The 1920s brought an economic and building boom. The city's skyline began to form, with the construction of commercial buildings like the Kahl Building and the Capitol Theatre, the Parker Building, and American Commercial and Savings Bank
. Large national department stores also arrived downtown, Montgomery Wards, Sears and J.C. Penney
. The Blackhawk Hotel
was built in downtown in 1915. The original hotel was seven stories. Four floors were added in the 1920s, giving a total of 400 rooms. The Blackhawk has been host to several high-profile people including Carl Sandburg
, Herbert Hoover
, Richard Nixon
, and Jack Dempsey
. The hotel named rooms 412-414 the "Nixon Suite". Big bands such as Guy Lombardo
and Stan Kenton
played at the Blackhawk on many occasions
On Christmas
day in 1920, 10,000 people turned out to see the opening of Davenport's new, elegant theater, the Capitol Thatre
. The Capitol Theatre featured a classical interior, an orchestra pit and a full-scale theater organ. The third balcony extended five full stories. The theater's 2,000 seats were regularly filed. On February 18, 1922, WOC Radio made its local broadcasting debut. WOC was the second radio station licensed in the country. In 1933, WOC hired future President Ronald Reagan
as a staff announcer.
In 1930, efforts began to turn a city dump into a landmark. The project was to construct a municipal stadium (now called Modern Woodmen Park). The project was financed by bonds, and cost more than $150,000. Special features included reserved seats, box seats, and night lighting. The stadium was home to the Saint Ambrose University
football games, and boxing matches. Today the stadium is home to the Quad Cities River Bandits baseball team. By 1932, thousands of Davenporters were on public relief due to the Great Depression
. A shantytown grew in the west end of the city along the Mississippi River
. Sickness, hunger, and unsanitary living conditions plagued the area. Through county and municipal government, the federal Civil Works Administration
gave employment to thousands of men. They worked to extend the seawall along the riverfront. More than 200 jobs were created by the construction of Lock and Dam 15 project, in 1932. Hundreds of state employees worked on completing the Kimberly Road Outerbelt Bypass in 1936.
decided to build a new rolling mill east of Davenport in Riverdale, Iowa
. With the construction, concerns about postwar unemployment ended. Retailing in Davenport was changed by the inclusion of the automobile into mainstream America. In the late 1940s, parking meters were installed in downtown to encourage rotation of space between different users. Soon there were more cars then the street parking spaces could handle. In 1953, the first multi-story ramp was completed in the state, on the corner of Fifth Street and Brady Street. The large variety of shops kept downtown a retail leader even after the opening of the Village Shopping Center in 1956. Another first for Iowa.
Davenport experienced a post-war economic and population boom after World War II
. Oscar Mayer
, Ralston Purina, and other companies all built plants in west Davenport. 1956 brought the Interstate highway network
to Davenport. Local transportation planning took on a new design after World War II
. Paved state and federal highways built to and through Davenport in the 1930s were expanded to handle new truck shipping patterns. In 1960 a second span was constructed to help with the increased traffic on the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge.
By 1959, more than 1,000 homes a year were being constructed. By the late 1970s, the economic growth was over for both downtown and local businesses and industries. The farm crisis of the 1980s hit Davenport and the rest of the Quad Cities
hard, with high unemployment and financial hardships. 35,000 workers lost their jobs throughout the entire Quad Cities area. The Caterpillar Plant
on the cities north side closed, causing many jobs to be lost.
In the late 1970s, Davenport city leaders, began plans to construct a civic center in downtown. The center would become a focus for the revitalization of downtown's sagging property values. In December 1983, following sixteen months of construction, the civic center was opened. After a public naming contest, it was named the RiverCenter a short time later. The adjacent Orpehum Theatre was renamed the "Adler Theater" and was placed under the management of the RiverCenter.
The 1990s brought the beginnings of an economic turnaround for the city. Many renovations and building additions have occurred to revitalize downtown. Including fixing up Modern Woodmen Park, building the Skybridge
, and the Figge Art Museum
, along with many other projects.
Davenport (along with neighboring Rock Island, Illinois
) won the "2007 City Livability Award" in the small-city category from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Tom Cochran, Executive Director of the Conference, stated that the award "gives the Conference a chance to highlight mayoral leadership in making urban areas safer, cleaner and more livable." The award acknowledges achievements from the "RiverVision" plan of Davenport and Rock Island.
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...
, was part of the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
. In 1814, during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
the British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
military, along with the Saux
Sac (tribe)
The Sacs or Sauks are a group of Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands culture group. Their autonym is The Sacs or Sauks are a group of Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands culture group. Their autonym is The Sacs or Sauks are a group of Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands culture...
and Fox Indian tribes fought against the Americans near Davenport. In August, Major Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
, later President, fought a battle east of what is now Credit Island
Credit Island
Credit Island is an island in the Mississippi River on the south west side of Davenport, Iowa within the Quad Cities area. Its name was derived by the use of the island as an early Indian trading post. Credit could be obtained on the promise of hides and skins to be delivered at a later time -...
Park, in Davenport. An outpost was set up at Fort Armstrong
Fort Armstrong
Fort Armstrong , was one of a chain of western frontier defenses which the United States erected after the War of 1812. It was located at the foot of Rock Island, Illinois, in the Mississippi River between present-day Illinois and Iowa. It was five miles from the principal Sac and Fox village on...
and George Davenport
George Davenport
Colonel George Davenport was a 19th-century American frontiersman, trader and US Army officer. A prominent and well-known settler in the Iowa Territory, he was one of the earliest settlers in Rock Island and spent much of his life involved in the early settlement of the Mississippi Valley and the...
and Antonie LeClaire were stationed there.
Davenport was established in 1836 by Antoine LeClaire
Antoine LeClaire
Antoine LeClaire was a US Army interpreter, landowner in Scott County, Iowa and Rock Island County, Illinois, businessman, philanthropist and principal founder of Davenport, Iowa-Early life:...
and named after his good friend Colonel George Davenport
George Davenport
Colonel George Davenport was a 19th-century American frontiersman, trader and US Army officer. A prominent and well-known settler in the Iowa Territory, he was one of the earliest settlers in Rock Island and spent much of his life involved in the early settlement of the Mississippi Valley and the...
. The first settlers of Davenport were mostly Germans. After a county seat dilemma with neighboring town Rockingham in 1840, Davenport was established as the county seat of Scott County
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:...
. Davenport was declared to be Iowa's first military headquarters just before 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...
by Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood
Samuel J. Kirkwood
Samuel Jordan Kirkwood , was an American politician best known as Iowa's American Civil War Governor. He also served in the U.S. Senate and as U.S. Secretary of the Interior.-Early life and career:...
. In November 1865, the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home
Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home
-External links:*...
was opened in Davenport to take in children left orphaned by the Civil War. In 1895, the city hall was built, and in 1897, the first chiropractic school in the world, Palmer Chiropractic College was opened.
Davenport experienced an economic and building boom in the 1920s and early 1930s. The Kahl Building and the Capitol Theatre, the baseball stadium, the Parker Building, and the Blackhawk Hotel
Blackhawk Hotel
The Blackhawk Hotel is an eleven-story brick and terra cotta building located in Downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has returned to its original name Hotel Blackhawk. The hotel is located next to the north building of the RiverCenter, Davenport's convention center, and across the street...
are a few of the buildings built during this time period that are still standing. The Great Depression
Great Depression in the United States
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement...
brought economic tough times to the city. The inclusion of new factories in the 1940s and 1950s helped turn the economy around after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Davenport was on hard times once again with the farm crisis of the 1980s, when the Caterpillar
Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...
Plant closed, costing 35,000 jobs. The city was rejuvenated once again in the 1990s and present by renovations and building additions.
Early 19th century
Keokuk (Sauk chief)
Keokuk was a chief of the Sauk or Sac tribe in central North America noted for his policy of cooperation with the U.S. government which led to conflict with Black Hawk, who led part of their band into the Black Hawk War...
and General Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
signed a treaty to end the Black Hawk War
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....
. Antoine LeClaire, who was part French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
and part Pottawattamie, served as translator. A generous portion of land was gifted by Chief Keokuk to Marguerite LeClaire, Antoine's wife, as she was the granddaughter of a Sac chief. Keokuk stipulated that Antoine build their home on the exact spot where the treaty was signed or forfeit the land. Antoine did so, finishing the Treaty House in the spring of 1833. Davenport was established in 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and named after his good friend Colonel George Davenport.
Colonel Davenport arrived in 1816 with the establishment of Fort Armstrong
Fort Armstrong
Fort Armstrong , was one of a chain of western frontier defenses which the United States erected after the War of 1812. It was located at the foot of Rock Island, Illinois, in the Mississippi River between present-day Illinois and Iowa. It was five miles from the principal Sac and Fox village on...
. He acted as a "sutler", or supplier, for the army's Fort Armstrong. Fort Armstrong was located on the northwestern tip of Arsenal Island
Rock Island Arsenal
The Rock Island Arsenal comprises , located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It lies within the state of Illinois. The island was originally established as a government site in 1816, with...
with the purpose of monitoring fur trade traffic in the area and keeping the peace between local Native American tribes. He contributed to the organization and mapping out of the community, now known as the Quad Cities
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...
. He also aided in establishing plans for the first railroad bridge to cross 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...
.
County seat dilemma
In 1837, shortly after Scott CountyScott 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:...
was formed Davenport, and rival neighbor Rockingham both campaigned to become the county seat. As stated by the Iowa Territory
Iowa Territory
The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Iowa.-History:...
, the city with the most votes at the February 1838 election, would become the county seat. On the eve of the election, Davenporters secured the temporary service of Dubuque
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....
laborers so that they could vote in the election. Davenport won the election. Rockingham supporters however, did not like this. They protested the elections to the territorial Governor. The Governor of the territory refused to certify the results of the election. A second election was scheduled for the following August. To avoid another import of voters, the Governor set a sixty day residency requirement. Both cities proved to be corrupt as the second election drew near. Davenport, was again the victor, by only two votes. A third election was set by the Territorial Legislature for the summer of 1840. As the August election drew nearer, Rockinghamers grew tired of the county seat cause. Antoine LeClaire
Antoine LeClaire
Antoine LeClaire was a US Army interpreter, landowner in Scott County, Iowa and Rock Island County, Illinois, businessman, philanthropist and principal founder of Davenport, Iowa-Early life:...
's $3,000 contribution, and the efforts of other Davenporters were difficult to challenge. Davenport easily won the third election. To ensure the question of county seat would not arise again, Davenport built the first county courthouse.
Mid-Late 19th century
Fort Armstrong
Fort Armstrong , was one of a chain of western frontier defenses which the United States erected after the War of 1812. It was located at the foot of Rock Island, Illinois, in the Mississippi River between present-day Illinois and Iowa. It was five miles from the principal Sac and Fox village on...
. He acted as a "sutler", or supplier, for the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
garrisoned at Fort Armstrong. Fort Armstrong was located on the northwestern tip of Arsenal Island
Rock Island Arsenal
The Rock Island Arsenal comprises , located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It lies within the state of Illinois. The island was originally established as a government site in 1816, with...
with the purpose of monitoring fur trade traffic in the area and keeping the peace between local Native American tribes. He contributed to the organization and mapping out of the community, now known as the Quad Cities. He also aided in establishing plans for the first railroad bridge to cross the Mississippi. On July 4, 1845, Colonel Davenport was assaulted in his home by the Banditti of the Prairie
Banditti of the Prairie
The Banditti of the Prairie also, known as "The Prairie Bandits," "Pirates of the Prairie," "Prairie Pirates," or simply "The Banditti," in the U.S. state of Illinois, were a group of loose-knit outlaw gangs during the early-mid-19th century...
men who thought he had a fortune in his safe. Beaten and left for dead, he survived long enough to give a full description of the criminals before he died that night. Five men were charged with the murder of George Davenport, and all but one, who escaped before the trial, were hung for the murder. Three more men were charged with accessories to the murder. One man was sentenced to life in prison, but escaped and was killed three months later, one man served one year in prison, and the charges were dropped against the third man, who left the area.
On June 9, 1849, Maj. William Williams visited Davenport and provided a brief description in his journal:
Davenport is situated on the Iowa site of the river on a very extensive flat of land, gently rising from the River Mississippi for a mile back, when the bluff rises to considerable height affording most beautiful sites for improvements. This is a charming place; buildings good but in some part scattered; streets very wide and beautified with trees on each side; some very pretty residences; a great deal of taste displayed. We have a fine view of the river both up and down. The population is from 1,100 to 1,200. The town has the appearance of a more ancient town than any I have seen on the Mississippi... Davenport is the county seat of Scott county. Supports two lawyers, four doctors, has seven churches... No cholera here- a healthy place. ...Two large steam flouring mills that manufactures 620 barrels of flower per week, one steam saw mill. ...Eight or ten stores here, good ones, some groceries, 3 drug stores, one regular hotel- 2 doggeries... A very fine college [Iowa College] at Davenport under the direction of the Congregationalists; a very fine building, beautifully situated on the bluffs in rear of the town.
In the 1850s, Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
made up Davenport's largest settlement group. By 1858, more than one-fifth of Davenport's nearly 11,000 residence were Germans. The growing city had a need for a railroad bridge to cross into Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Before a bridge was built, privately owned ferryboats transported passengers, wagons, and cargo across 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...
. In 1856, the first railroad bridge built across the Mississippi River connecting Davenport and Rock Island, IL. It was built by the Rock Island Railroad. Steamboaters saw nationwide railroads as a threat to their business. On May 6, 1856, just weeks after it was completed, a steamboater crashed the Effie Afton steamboat into the bridge. The owner of the Effie Afton, John Hurd, filed a lawsuit against The Rock Island Railroad Company. The Rock Island Railroad Company selected Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
as their trial lawyer.
The case, "Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Company" was argued by Lincoln in the U.S. Circuit Court
United States circuit court
The United States circuit courts were the original intermediate level courts of the United States federal court system. They were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. They had trial court jurisdiction over civil suits of diversity jurisdiction and major federal crimes. They also had appellate...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
before Judge John MacLean, on September 8, 1857. The jury deliberated for a few hours and ended up as a hung jury so the case was dismissed. In 1858, the Committee on Commerce of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
conducted an investigation to decide if the Rock Island Bridge was a serious obstruction to the navigation of the river. The committee concluded that the bridge was a hazard because of the length of the pier, the angle of the bridge, and the swift current under the bridge. The committee believed, however, that the courts should settle the matter and therefore did not recommend any action by the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. In May 1858, Ward filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa has jurisdiction over forty-seven of Iowa's ninety-nine counties. It is subject to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa (in case citations, S.D. Iowa) has...
asking the court to declare the bridge a nuisance and order its removal and restore the river to its original capacity for all purposes of navigation. The judge declared the bridge a nuisance and ordered the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad
Mississippi and Missouri Railroad
The Mississippi and Missouri Railroad was the first railroad in Iowa and was chartered in 1853 to build a line between Davenport, Iowa on the Mississippi River and Council Bluffs, Iowa on the Missouri River and was to play an important role in the construction of the First Transcontinental...
to remove the three piers and their superstructure that lay on the Iowa side. The judge reasoned that if this bridge was not stopped, many other bridges would follow. The piers were not torn out, because the railroad company appealed the case to the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, reversed the decision of the district court and allowed the bridge to remain.
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...
, Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood
Samuel J. Kirkwood
Samuel Jordan Kirkwood , was an American politician best known as Iowa's American Civil War Governor. He also served in the U.S. Senate and as U.S. Secretary of the Interior.-Early life and career:...
declared Davenport to be Iowa's first military headquarters. Five camps were set up in Davenport during the war. Camp McClellan
Camp McClellan (Iowa)
Camp McClellan is a former Union Army camp in the U.S. state of Iowa that was established in Davenport in August 1861 after the outbreak of the American Civil War. The camp was the training grounds for recruits and a hospital for the wounded. In 1863 it became a prison camp called Camp Kearney...
was the largest camp, on the eastern edge of the city. Thousands of Iowa troops trained here. Camp McClellan contained twenty wooden barracks, a stockade building, headquarters buildings, and hospitals. A Davenport neighborhood, McClellan Heights is named after the camp.
Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home
-External links:*...
(renamed the Annie Wittenmyer Home in 1949) was opened. The first 150 children arrived from Keokuk, Iowa
Keokuk, Iowa
Keokuk is a city in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Iowa and one of the county seats of Lee County. The other county seat is Fort Madison. The population was 11,427 at the 2000 census. The city is named after the Sauk Chief Keokuk, who is thought to be buried in Rand Park...
. Starting in 1876, children from broken homes as well as orphans from all of Iowa's ninety-nine counties were taken in at the home. The home was a self-contained community, containing residences, a school, tailor shop, and a chapel. The home had three separate fires during its course. On November 9, 1887, at three o’clock in the morning, the third fire started. The building burnt to the ground. The next day’s Morning Democrat Gazette pointed out that if home was not set up with several different buildings as houses, all 350 children at the time would have been homeless, and some may have not survived the fire. After 110 years of service, the home closed in 1975. It is estimated that well over 12,000 children were helped by the Home during its operation.
In 1872, Phebe Sudlow
Phebe Sudlow
Phebe W. Sudlow was a pioneer for women in the education field and was the first female superintendent of a public school in the United States. Sudlow also became the first female professor at the University of Iowa in 1878, despite having no formal college degree.-Biography:Phebe W. Sudlow was...
was appointed principal of Davenport High School
Davenport Central High School
Davenport Central High School is a four-year comprehensive high school located in Davenport, Iowa. Opened in 1907 as "Davenport High School," Central is one of three public high schools part of the Davenport Community School District. The school, whose western side is located along U.S...
. She was the first female principal in the United States. On June 19, 1874, Phebe Sudlow
Phebe Sudlow
Phebe W. Sudlow was a pioneer for women in the education field and was the first female superintendent of a public school in the United States. Sudlow also became the first female professor at the University of Iowa in 1878, despite having no formal college degree.-Biography:Phebe W. Sudlow was...
was then unanimously voted to the position of Superintendent of Davenport Schools. She was also the first woman in United States history to be a public school superintendent.
In 1895, the Davenport City Hall was constructed, at a price of $100,000. Architectural journals poked fun at city leaders, due to the small amount budgeted for the project. In 1897, Palmer College of Chiropractic
Palmer College of Chiropractic
Palmer College of Chiropractic is a chiropractic school located in Davenport, Iowa. It was established in 1897 by Daniel David Palmer and is considered "The Fountainhead" as it was the first school of chiropractic in the world. For many years, Palmer College of Chiropractic was the world's largest...
was founded by Daniel David Palmer
Daniel David Palmer
Daniel David Palmer or D.D. Palmer was the founder of chiropractic. Palmer was born in Pickering, near Toronto, Canada. While working as a magnetic healer in Davenport, Iowa, United States he encountered a janitor, Harvey Lillard, whose hearing was impaired...
. It is the first chiropractic school in the world.
Early 20th century
The 1920s brought an economic and building boom. The city's skyline began to form, with the construction of commercial buildings like the Kahl Building and the Capitol Theatre, the Parker Building, and 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:...
. Large national department stores also arrived downtown, Montgomery Wards, Sears and J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a chain of American mid-range department stores based in Plano, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. The company operates 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. JCPenney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many...
. The Blackhawk Hotel
Blackhawk Hotel
The Blackhawk Hotel is an eleven-story brick and terra cotta building located in Downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has returned to its original name Hotel Blackhawk. The hotel is located next to the north building of the RiverCenter, Davenport's convention center, and across the street...
was built in downtown in 1915. The original hotel was seven stories. Four floors were added in the 1920s, giving a total of 400 rooms. The Blackhawk has been host to several high-profile people including Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
, Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
, Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, and Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
. The hotel named rooms 412-414 the "Nixon Suite". Big bands such as Guy Lombardo
Guy Lombardo
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "The Sweetest...
and Stan Kenton
Stan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator....
played at the Blackhawk on many occasions
On Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
day in 1920, 10,000 people turned out to see the opening of Davenport's new, elegant theater, the Capitol Thatre
Kahl Building
The Kahl Building, also known as Kahl Building and Capitol Theatre is a building located in Downtown Davenport, Iowa, USA, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building is ten-stories tall and constructed with a steel frame. Louis Sullivan’s Wainwright Building, in St. Louis,...
. The Capitol Theatre featured a classical interior, an orchestra pit and a full-scale theater organ. The third balcony extended five full stories. The theater's 2,000 seats were regularly filed. On February 18, 1922, WOC Radio made its local broadcasting debut. WOC was the second radio station licensed in the country. In 1933, WOC hired future President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
as a staff announcer.
In 1930, efforts began to turn a city dump into a landmark. The project was to construct a municipal stadium (now called Modern Woodmen Park). The project was financed by bonds, and cost more than $150,000. Special features included reserved seats, box seats, and night lighting. The stadium was home to the Saint Ambrose University
Saint Ambrose University
St. Ambrose University is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport. It is located in a residential area of Davenport, Iowa.-History:...
football games, and boxing matches. Today the stadium is home to the Quad Cities River Bandits baseball team. By 1932, thousands of Davenporters were on public relief due to the Great Depression
Great Depression in the United States
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement...
. A shantytown grew in the west end of the city 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...
. Sickness, hunger, and unsanitary living conditions plagued the area. Through county and municipal government, the federal Civil Works Administration
Civil Works Administration
The Civil Works Administration was established by the New Deal during the Great Depression to create manual labor jobs for millions of unemployed. The jobs were merely temporary, for the duration of the hard winter. Harry L. Hopkins was put in charge of the organization. President Franklin D...
gave employment to thousands of men. They worked to extend the seawall along the riverfront. More than 200 jobs were created by the construction of Lock and Dam 15 project, in 1932. Hundreds of state employees worked on completing the Kimberly Road Outerbelt Bypass in 1936.
Mid-Late 20th century
In 1946 AlcoaAlcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
decided to build a new rolling mill east of Davenport in Riverdale, Iowa
Riverdale, Iowa
Riverdale is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. The population was 656 at the 2000 census.Alcoa has a giant aluminum rolling mill in Riverdale that employs about 2,000 people. The city site is surrounded on three sides by the far larger city of Bettendorf, and on the fourth by the...
. With the construction, concerns about postwar unemployment ended. Retailing in Davenport was changed by the inclusion of the automobile into mainstream America. In the late 1940s, parking meters were installed in downtown to encourage rotation of space between different users. Soon there were more cars then the street parking spaces could handle. In 1953, the first multi-story ramp was completed in the state, on the corner of Fifth Street and Brady Street. The large variety of shops kept downtown a retail leader even after the opening of the Village Shopping Center in 1956. Another first for Iowa.
Davenport experienced a post-war economic and population boom after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Oscar Mayer
Oscar Mayer
Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut production company, owned by Kraft Foods, known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon and Lunchables products.-History:...
, Ralston Purina, and other companies all built plants in west Davenport. 1956 brought the Interstate highway network
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
to Davenport. Local transportation planning took on a new design after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Paved state and federal highways built to and through Davenport in the 1930s were expanded to handle new truck shipping patterns. In 1960 a second span was constructed to help with the increased traffic on the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge.
By 1959, more than 1,000 homes a year were being constructed. By the late 1970s, the economic growth was over for both downtown and local businesses and industries. The farm crisis of the 1980s hit Davenport and the rest of the Quad Cities
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...
hard, with high unemployment and financial hardships. 35,000 workers lost their jobs throughout the entire Quad Cities area. The Caterpillar Plant
Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...
on the cities north side closed, causing many jobs to be lost.
In the late 1970s, Davenport city leaders, began plans to construct a civic center in downtown. The center would become a focus for the revitalization of downtown's sagging property values. In December 1983, following sixteen months of construction, the civic center was opened. After a public naming contest, it was named the RiverCenter a short time later. The adjacent Orpehum Theatre was renamed the "Adler Theater" and was placed under the management of the RiverCenter.
The 1990s brought the beginnings of an economic turnaround for the city. Many renovations and building additions have occurred to revitalize downtown. Including fixing up Modern Woodmen Park, building the Skybridge
Davenport Skybridge
The Davenport Skybridge is a pedestrian cable-stayed bridge that spans River Drive in downtown Davenport, Iowa. It connects LeClaire Park and Rhythm City Casino to a courtyard and parking ramp on 2nd Street, located right next to the River Music Experience. The bridge is 50 feet tall and 575 feet...
, and the Figge Art Museum
Figge Art Museum
The Figge Art Museum is an art museum in Davenport, Iowa. The Figge, as it is commonly known, has an encyclopedic collection and serves as the major art museum for the eastern Iowa and western Illinois region...
, along with many other projects.
Davenport (along with neighboring Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...
) won the "2007 City Livability Award" in the small-city category from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Tom Cochran, Executive Director of the Conference, stated that the award "gives the Conference a chance to highlight mayoral leadership in making urban areas safer, cleaner and more livable." The award acknowledges achievements from the "RiverVision" plan of Davenport and Rock Island.
List of mayors of Davenport
- 1839 Rodolphus Bennet
- 1840 John H. Thorington
- 1841 Jonathan W. Parker
- 1842 Harvey LeonardHarvey LeonardHarvey Leonard is the chief meteorologist on WCVB-TV Channel 5 in Boston, Massachusetts. For 25 years, Leonard was previously best known as a meteorologist at WHDH-TV in the same city, a role that brought him much prominence....
- 1843–1846 James ThoringtonJames ThoringtonJames Thorington was a frontiersman, lawyer, judge, and one-term U.S. Representative from Iowa's 2nd congressional district.-Biography:...
- 1847–1848 James Bowling
- 1849 Jonathan W. Parker
- 1850 James Hall
- 1851 Charles Weston
- 1852 John Jordan
- 1853 John A. Boyd
- 1854 James Grant
- 1855 Enos Tichenor
- 1856 G.C.R. Mitchell
- 1857 George B. Sargent
- 1858–1859 Ebenezer Cook
- 1860 James B. Caldwell
- 1861–1862 George H. French
- 1863 John E. Henry
- 1864 Robert Lowry
- 1865–1866 John L. Davies
- 1867–1868 M. Donohue
- 1869 James Renwick
- 1870 J.M. Lyter
- 1871 John C. Bills
- 1872 A.H. Bennett
- 1873 J.H. Murphy
- 1874 J.W. Stewart
- 1875–1876 Roderick Rose
- 1877 T.T. Dow
- 1878 John W. Thompson
- 1879 Jerrie Murphy
- 1880 Roderick Rose
- 1881 John E. Henry
- 1882 John G. Bills
- 1883 John W. Thompson
- 1884–1889 Ernest Claussen
- 1890–1891 C.A. Ficke
- 1892 John C. Bills
- 1893–1896 Henry VollmerHenry VollmerHenry Vollmer was an attorney, the mayor of Davenport, Iowa, and a Democratic U.S. Representative from Iowa's 2nd congressional district. Winning a special election in 1914, he served just over one year in Congress....
- 1897 S.F. Smith
- 1898–1899 George T. Baker
- 1900–1901 Fred Heinz
- 1902–1903 Walko Backer
- 1903–1905 Harry W. Phillips
- 1906–1907 Waldo Becker
- 1908–1910 George W. Scott
- 1910–1916 Alfred C. Mueller
- 1916–1918 John Berwald
- 1918 C.M. Littleton (Partial Term, Not Qualified)
- 1918–1920 L.J. Daugherty
- 1920–1922 C.L. Barewold
- 1922–1924 Alfred Muller (sic)
- 1924–1928 Louis Roddewig
- 1928–1930 Harold Metcalf
- 1930–1934 George Tank
- 1934–1938 Merle Wells
- 1938–1942 John Jebens (Died in Office, March 8, 1942)
- 1942–1944 Edwin Frick
- 1944–1954 Arthur Kroppoch
- 1954–1957 Walter Beuse (Died in Office, August 26, 1957)
- 1957–1961 Donato (Don) Petruccelli
- 1961–1966 Ray T. O'Brien
- 1966–1971 John H. Jebens
- 1971–1975 Kathryn Kirschbaum
- 1975–1977 Robert DuaxRobert DuaxRobert Duax, Sr., is the former basketball coach of St. Ambrose University of Davenport, Iowa. Those familiar with his contributions to coaching regard him as the inventor of the full court press. Patriarch of the notorious Duax family of the same city, he is the father to eleven, grandfather to...
- 1977–1981 Charles WrightCharles Wright (mayor)Charles J. Wright was Mayor of Davenport, Iowa from 1977-1981 for two terms. He was responsible for getting the Ground Transportation Center and the RiverCenter off the ground while serving as mayor....
- 1982–1986 Charles Peart
- 1986–1991 Thomas Hart
- 1992–1998 Patrick Gibbs
- 1998–2002 Phil Yerington
- 2002–2006 Charlie Brooke
- 2006–2008 Ed Winborn
- 2008–Present Bill GlubaBill GlubaBill Gluba is the current mayor of Davenport, Iowa. Born in Davenport, he received a bachelor's degree in political science from St. Ambrose University in Davenport. He received a master's degree in political science from the University of Iowa. In 1963, he took part in the historic March on...