Rock Island

History of the Industrial Commission Following a wide spread movement among cities and towns to develop their commercial and manufacturing importance and recognizing that this could best be attained through an organization whose efforts would be con-fined to this field of activity the Industrial Commission of Rock Island was created. The first step necessary thereto was accomplished through the contribution of a fund of $10,000 intended to meet the expenses incidental to the work for a given period, and upon the attainment thereof an organization was effected by the creation of five committees, namely: The manufacturers, the railroads, the jobbers, […]

General Rodman’s Plans General Rodman’s plans were submitted to Congress during the session of 1865 and approved. An appropriation was made to begin work on the new buildings; and from that time forward steady progress has been made until now Rock Island Arsenal is the fore-most in the United States. A portion of the Island had been sold under a special act of Congress. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company had located their track across the island and built upon its banks the abutments for their bridges. When the Government decided to utilize the island for a permanent

The Governor’s Proclamation April 16, Governor Reynolds received General Atkinson’s letter, asking the assistance of the state militia. Promptly on the same day the Governor issued the following proclamation: “TO THE MILITIA OF THE NORTHWESTERN SECTION OF THE STATE. “Fellow Citizens : “Your country requires your services. The Indians have assumed a hostile attitude and have invaded the state in violation of the treaty of last summer. The British band of Sacs and other hostile Indians, headed by Black Hawk, are in possession of the Rock River country to the great terror of the frontier inhabitants. I consider the settlers

Geology of Rock Island County The soil of the Rock River and Meredosia bottoms is the rich alluvial deposit that is found in the neighborhood of all streams in this part of the Mississippi basin. The small portion of the county lying north of the bluff line is level sand prairie. This level stretch assists the imagination in calling up a vision of a mightier Mississippi than the one with which the earliest inhabitants of the valley were acquainted. In those earlier ages of the earth’s history when the river divided at this point with its main channel in the

Governor Reynolds Acts “Belleville, 26th May, 1831. “Sir: In order to protect the citizens of this state, who reside near Rock River, from Indian invasion and depredations, I have considered it necessary to call out a force of militia of this state of about seven hundred strong,. to remove a band of the Sac Indians who are now about Rock Island. The object of the government of the state is to protect those citizens by removing said Indians, peaceably if they can, but forcibly if they must. Those Indians are now, and so I have considered them, in a state

General Atkinson Comes to Fort Armstrong On June 31, 1831, a war party of nearly 100 Sacs and Foxes had attacked a camp of Menominees situated about one half a mile about Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien and killed twenty-five. Black Hawk says the killed were Sioux and Menominees. Between the former and the Sacs and Foxes there had always been a bitter and hostile feeling. April 1, 1832, General Henry Atkinson, then commanding Jefferson Barracks at St. Louis, received orders to proceed up the Mississippi and demand from the Sacs and Foxes the principals engaged in the murder

General Clark to the War Department “Superintendency of Indian Affairs, “St. Louis, May 30, 1831. “Sir: On the 28th inst. I had the honor of receiving a letter from the Governor of Illinois dated the 28th, informing me of the measures which he had considered it necessary to pursue for the protection of the citizens of his state from Indian invasion and for the purpose of removing a band of Sacs then about Rock Island. A copy of his letter and my answer herewith enclosed. “Deeming the information received from’ the Governor of Illinois important, I immediately communicated it to

General Gaines Reply to Gov Reynolds ” H. Q. Western Department, May 29, 1831. “His Excellency, Governor Reynolds. “Sir: I do myself the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yesterday’s date, advising me of your having received undoubted information that the section of the frontier of your state near Rock Island is invaded by a hostile band of Sac Indians headed by a chief called Black Hawk. That in order to repel said invasion, and to protect the citizens of the state, you have called on the militia to the number of 700 militiamen to be in

Fort Armstrong About the time the fort was completed the Indians began crossing to the island and would watch the soldiers in its construction. They would often sing and go. through some of their dances to amuse the soldiers, and the latter began to think that the Indians were peaceful. The Hon. Bailey Davenport de-scribed an incident during this time that shows that the Indians had not become reconciled to the erecting of the fort. He said: “One day a small party came over to dance, and after the dance the colonel in command gave them presents. In a few

Gaines Asks Aid From The Governor After the council, General Gaines at once sent by special messenger the following letter to Governor Reynolds: ” Headquarters, Rock Island, June 5, 1831. “John Reynolds, Governor of Illinois. “Sir: I do myself the honor to report to Your Excellency the result of my conference with the chiefs and braves of the band of Sac Indians settled within the limits of your state near this place. “I called their attention to the facts re-ported to me of their disorderly conduct towards the white inhabitants near them. They disavow any intention of hostility but at

First Hotels The records also furnish the following, respecting the first licenses for hotels: To Jonah H. Case, July 1833. His tavern was the first licensed within the corporate limits of Rock Island, though travelers had been kept at Barrell’s house in Farnhamsburg. In June, 1836, Jonathan Buffum was licensed to keep a tavern in Stephenson. At the same session of the Court a tavern license was also granted to Henry Powars and Company, who built the old Rock Island House, which was opened July 4, 1837 with a big ball, and torn down in 1875, to make room for

First Marriages The first marriage solemnized in the County, so far as the records show, was by John W. Spencer, one of the County Commissioners, the parties being James L. Burtis and Angeline Beardsley. The license was issued July 13, 1833, and the marriage ceremony immediately followed. The second license was issued to Benjamin Goble and Barbary Vandruff, August 22, 1833. The third was issued April 1, 1834, to Adrian H. Davenport and Harriet Sibley, who were married the same day by Colonel Davenport, County Commissioner. The first seven years of the County’s legal existence, the issue of marriage licenses

First Settlers of Rock County The first white settler in this county was George Davenport, who came to the Island of Rock Island in the spring of 1816 with Colonel William Lawrence and the Eighth Regiment of United States regulars at the time Fort Armstrong was built. In 1817 Davenport built a double log cabin on the Island of’ Rock Island at the place where the “Old Davenport House” now stands, one part of which he used as a store in which he carried on the business of an Indian trader. The old ruin now standing on the north shore

First Flag in the Upper Mississippi Valley On August 9, 1805, Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike, an officer in the United States Army, in command of twenty soldiers, left St. Louis under instructions from the government to trace the sources of the Mississippi River. ascertain the condition of the Indians, create a better feeling between them and the Americans and to select certain sites upon which to erect forts. The party made the voyage in a keel boat seventy feet long, and on August 27, 1805, the party arrived at the mouth of Rock River. Black Hawk in his autobiography says:

First Entries of Land Colonel George Davenport and Russell Farnham, on October 19, 1829, entered land -section two, seventeen North, two West-which was the first land registered in Rock Island County. The south half of this ground including that land east one mile from the old Fair Grounds was sold to Jonah H. Case. The north half of the Davenport-Farnham land formed a part of the possessions of the late Bailey Davenport. On October 19, 1829, was also entered the north half of section eleven, by William T. Brasher, upon a portion of which land Chippiannock Cemetery is situated. Colonel

The First Expedition On May 1, 1814, William Clark, governor of Missouri Territory, with a detachment consisting of sixty United States regulars of the Seventh Infantry, and one hundred and forty Illinois and Missouri rangers or volunteers, left Cap au Gris in five fortified keel boats for the mouth of the Wisconsin River. there to erect a United States fort. At the mouth of the Rock River they had a slight skirmish with a party of Sauk (Sac) braves. About the middle of April, Colonel Dickinson left Prairie du Chien, taking with him most of the British forces, together with

First Ferries In looking over the records, we find that licenses for ferries were granted as follows: To George Davenport and Joshua Vandruff, for a ferry across Rock River, March, 1834; at the same date to George Davenport for a ferry across the Slough, and to Rinnah Wells for a ferry across Rock River. Jonah H. Case, Antoine LeClaire and W. F. Brashar were granted a license to run a ferry across the Mississippi to the Iowa shore in March, 1835. Nathaniel Belcher was granted a license to establish a ferry across the Mississippi at Port Byron in March, 1837.

Famous Crimes Of Rock Island County Since the mills of justice have been established in this County there have been numerous murders committed. For most of the cases the guilty parties were punished, six men in all having been hung for four separate crimes. Some served terms in the penitentiary, and one cheated the gallows by committing suicide. Of course there have been a number of mysterious murders for which the guilt was never placed. From an historical standpoint, the most conspicuous crime committed in the County was the murder of Colonel George Davenport, which occurred July 4, 1845, on

Early History – Farnhamsburg And Stephenson, Illinois The City of Rock Island was preceded by the Town of Farnhamsburg, the first settlement on this side of the river within the present City limits. Here the first house was built by Colonel Davenport and Russell Farnham, partners in the Indian trade, in 1826. It stood near the landing from old Fort Armstrong, about a block south of the southern approach to the present railroad bridge over Sylvan Water, and on an elevated lime stone knoll. The county road from the east ran in front of it, and turned from the Moline

Edward D. Sweeney Oration Mr . Chairman and Fellow Citizens : We celebrate today the laying of the corner stone for the new court house, and the occasion is an event which awakens in us emotions of the deepest interest. While it is true that this vast assemblage of citizens are of divers nationalities, of varied political faiths, and of many religious beliefs, we all stand before this mute block of granite as before the throne of the Eternal on equal footing, no special privilege of nobility or preference places one before the other. The significance of this great gathering

Events Of Early Days The original proprietors of the water power, in 1841-42, laid out some lots on the south side of Main Street, now Second Avenue, opposite the grounds now occupied by the Plow Works, and formerly occupied in part by the old grist mill, which was built in 1841 by David B. Sears, John W. Spencer and Spencer H. White, as was also the dam, and named the place “Rock Island Mills.” The plat, however, was never recorded. In 1843 Charles Atkinson, 1). B. Sears and others purchased of Huntington Wells a portion of his farm lying east

Establishment of Rock Island County, Illinois In 1828 and the early part of 1829 George Davenport and Russell Farnham entered the lands upon which the old fair grounds were located, and which extended from there about one mile east. William T. Brashar entered the lands upon a portion of which is now located Chippianock Cemetery. These and other pre-emptions were upon lands that had for nearly a century been the village and the cornfields of the Sacs. These entries were within the letter, but contrary to the spirit of the treaty of 1804. These lands were not open to settlers,

Early Slavery in Rock County At this time in the southern part of the the state Negroes were held in bondage, under what was known and recognized as the indentured or registered servant’s act. This was contrary to the ordinance of 1787 which governed the admission of Illinois into the union as a state, but our Legislature enacted laws which our courts upheld, by which slavery existed in Illinois. In May, 1829, a man named Stephens from St. Louis settled on. the Mississippi where Walker Station now is, two miles east of Moline, bringing with him twenty black slaves, and

Edgington Township, Illinois This is one of the oldest settlements in the county. Three score and ten years have gone into the past since the first white settlers set foot upon its soil. The first white children born here are now among the old men and women of our times. They are the Dunlaps, Edgingtons, Titteringtons, Montgomeries, Parks, Parmenters and Eberharts. Only a few of them reside here now to tell the story of their childhood days. Many have removed to other parts of the globe, and some have passed the bourne whence none return, and so the name of

Early Rock Island Businesses The first brick store in Rock Island was built by Lemuel Andrews, and is still in existence, just east of the Court House, and now occupied by Mrs. Roessler, adjoining the old frame house built and occupied by Mr. Andrews, and long occupied by Mrs. Benjamin Cobb. This old brick building was a general store, kept by Andrews and Mc-Masters. Mr. Andrews later building on the site of the present E. P. Reynolds’ homestead, a good brick residence with a large porch around three sides, and facing the slough, beside the county road, where the railroad