Rock Island

Cordova Township, Illinois The town of Cordova lies in the extreme northeast end of the county. It is a fractional township, lying well up on the bluffs, and commands one of the finest views on the Mississippi River. The earliest settler was Herdman East, who built a log cabin in 1836 on the present site of the village of Cordova. Other settlers coming that year and in 1838 were J. S. Phillips and John Marshall from New Jersey; Guy W. and Amazi Rathburn, Nelson and Chauncey M. Tripp from New York; William Kelley, Dudy Buck, Peter Beardsley, A. G. Adams, … Read more

Coal Measures In that portion of the county lying west of Rock Island the coal measures are found as “outliers “, overlaying and resting unconformably upon the Devonia and Upper Silurian limestone, as far north as the vicinity of Port Byron, where it finally terminates. The most northerly point where a workable bed of coal has been found on this side of the river, is at Rapids City, where the seam is from four to five feet thick, and overlies the Niagara limestone, with only a few feet of thickness of shales and fire clay between. Two miles east of … Read more

Coal Valley Township And Village, Illinois Coal Valley dates its staple history from the spring of 1857. Large deposits of coal in the vicinity, and the opening of mines, fixed its location. The first small coal mine was known as the “Bailey Coal Bank.” In 1856 Ben Harper, S. S. Guyer and David Hakes acquired a large tract of land containing large deposits of coal; they organized a company to mine coal and construct a railroad to get it to market-the railroad being completed from Coal Valley to Rock Island in October, 1857. The first coal loaded on a railway … Read more

Coe Township, Illinois Coe, surrounded by the townships of Canoe Creek, Port Byron, Zuma and Cordova, is considered one of the best agricultural portions of the county. John Walker was the first settler in 1835, followed shortly by John Butcher; his brother, Burrall Butcher, coming in 1836, and in 1851 locating on his brother’s section, his brother having left for California, but died on his way there. Samuel Allen came in 1837, moving from what was afterwards the village of Port Byron. Samuel Ennison came shortly after from Indiana. Henry Smith, Henry M. Stockton and Isaac Hollister also coming in … Read more

City of Moline, Illinois Appropriate, indeed, is the above quoted appellation to the City of Moline, for nowhere between Chicago, east, and San Francisco, west, nor between St. Paul, north, and St. Louis, south, is there a city which can so fittingly disport the magnitude of her industries and her products, or demonstrate more rapid growth. Why Moline has been enabled to win so many manufacturing establishments in the industrial field is merely a matter of supposition-either because of’ the utility of the water power, or that the thrifty hands and fertile brains which established them considered her future more … Read more

City Of Rock Island, Illinois The City of Rock Island is a well laid-out and substantially built town, containing a population of about 32,000. In our recently issued city directory is given 14,055 names; which by the usual multiple of 2 1/4 would give us a population of 31,624. It is situated on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, at the foot of the Upper Rapids, and just below the western extremity of Rock Island, from which it derives its name. The situation of the city is one of the most beautiful that can be imagined. The bluffs on … Read more

Charles J. Searle Oration Mr. President, Citizens of Rock Island County, Ladies and Gentlemen: I feel highly flattered at being accorded the privilege of taking part in the important ceremony of laying the corner stone of your new “Temple of Justice,” and while the nature of a statistical paper for permanent preservation, requires me to indulge in a greater use of statistics than is conducive to present any temporary interest, I have striven, in the very limited time I have had to bestow upon the task, to cull out of the records and traditions of the county such statistical information … Read more

Churches of Rock Island County, Illinois Despite the early Catholic missionaries in Illinois, their church had almost totally disappeared from the state by the time of the American Revolution. Later migration of English-speaking Catholics reestablished the church in the state. In 1850 the largest religious denomination in Illinois was the Methodists. Baptists, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Congregationalists followed. Episcopalians had organized in the state in 1835, the Disciples of Christ were in Illinois prior to 1830, and the Lutherans grew in numbers with the German and Scandinavian emigration of the 1840s. Some of the local genealogical societies have published … Read more

The Cause of Indian Wars Every so called Indian war in this country originated in a desire on the part of the white man to possess the home and the hunting grounds of the Native American. Discovery by the European nations was considered a right to extinguish the Native American’s title. England’s policy then as now was to claim that all title to land was vested in the crown, that her subjects might occupy the soil, but could not alienate it except to her own people. England treated the Indians as she did her own subjects. When the United States … Read more

Canoe Creek Township, Illinois It was about seventy years ago that white people first settled in what became Canoe Creek Township. These first settlers were Jonas Carter, John M. Walker and Joseph Martin. They came with ox teams from Wayne County, Illinois, and landed at Canoe Creek on the 26th day of August, 1835. Their first work was to cut down some small trees and make a pen for their stock, and then to cut some larger ones and split them up to make a rude shelter for themselves. Mr. John M. Walker is the only one of the three … Read more