Quad Cities:
Davenport, Bettendorf, Moline, Rock Island, E. Moline
The Quad Cities is a geographic region of the Mid-Mississippi Valley of the United States that includes several communities in the states of Iowa and Illinois. As of 2008, the population is 377,625. The five most populous cities in the region are: Davenport, Iowa, Moline, Illinois,
Rock Island, Illinois, Bettendorf, Iowa, and East Moline, Illinois. Before World War I, the area was known as the "Tri-Cities", and included only Davenport, Rock Island, and Moline. With the growth of Rock Island County, East Moline was eventually given "equal status," and the region became known as the "Quad Cities" during the 1930s. With the opening of an Alcoa plant in 1948, Bettendorf grew such that many people in the community openly discussed the adoption of the name "Quint Cities". Eventually Bettendorf passed East Moline in size. The "Quad Cities" name is now technically a misnomer, as the area includes five cities each with a population of over 20,000 and many other contiguous or nearby communities. Before European settlers came to inhabit the Quad Cities, it was a home and principal trading place of the Sauk and Fox tribes of Native Americans. Black Hawk State Historic Site in Rock Island preserves part of historic Saukenuk, the principal village of the Sauk tribe and birthplace of its war leader, Black Hawk. In 1832, Sauk chief Keokuk and General Winfield Scott signed a treaty to end the Black Hawk War in Davenport. The treaty resulted in the United States gaining 6 million acres (24,000 km²) of land. The history of urban settlements in the Quad-Cities hails back to the earliest days of the riverboat. For fourteen miles (21 km) between Le Claire, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois, the Mississippi River flowed across a series of finger-like rock projections protruding from either bank. As the Industrial Revolution developed in the United States, many enterprising industrialists looked to the Mississippi River as a promising source of water power, and the combination of energy and easy access to river transportation made the Quad Cities a natural location for industrial development. In 1848, John Deere moved his plough business to Moline. His business was incorporated as Deere & Company in 1868. The first railroad bridge built across the Mississippi River connected Davenport and Rock Island in 1856. It was built by the Rock Island Railroad Company.
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, along the Mississippi River has an area of 64.9 square miles (168 km2), and according to a 2007 estimate, the city had a population of 98,975. One of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Bettendorf and the Illinois cities of Moline, East Moline and Rock Island, Davenport is the county seat of Scott County. The city was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire following the signing of a peace treaty ending the Black Hawk War. LeClaire named the city after his friend Colonel George Davenport. The mayor is Bill Gluba. The city has two main universities, Saint Ambrose University and Palmer College of Chiropractic which is the birthplace of chiropractic and wellness technique. Several well-known annual music festivals take place including the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, The Mississippi Valley Fair, and the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival which is dedicated to native Bix Beiderbecke. An internationally known seven-mile (11 km) foot race called the Bix 7 is run during the festival. The city has a Class A minor league baseball team, the Quad Cities River Bandits. The city has 27 parks and over 12 miles (19 km) of recreational paths for biking or walking. Three interstates and two major United States highways serve the city. Davenport has a low crime rate and a low rate of unemployment. In 2007 Davenport, along with neighboring Rock Island, won the City Livability Award. Davenport has a number of notable natives including jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke and NFL running back Roger Craig. In 1832 Sauk Indian tribe chief Keokuk and United States Army 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 Indian tribe 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 on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and named after his good friend Colonel George Davenport. The "Treaty House" was built at the exact location Chief Keokuk and General Winfield Scott signed a treaty to end the Black Hawk War in 1832. The house has since been moved to another location. The house was completed in 1833 by Antoine LeClaire.In 1837, shortly after Scott County was formed, Davenport and rival neighbor Rockingham both campaigned to become the county seat. 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.
Moline, Illinois
Moline is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, with an estimated population of 43,016 in 2007. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The corporate headquarters of Deere & Company is located in Moline, as is Quad City International Airport, Black Hawk College, and the Quad Cities campus of Western Illinois University. According to the Rock Island County Historical Society, the first established inhabitants of Moline are thought to be the Sauk and Fox Indians, who established the village of Saukenuk in 1720 along the Rock River not far from its confluence with the Mississippi. This tribe saw the land between the Rock and Mississippi Rivers as ideal for farming and fishing. By the early 1800s, this once peaceful area became a site of violent confrontations between white settlers and the Sac Fox Tribe. In 1832 Chief Black Hawk declared war on the United States, initiating the Black Hawk War. When the war ended later that year, Black Hawk and his people were forced to leave the area and go north, paving the way for more settlers to enter the Mississippi Valley. In 1837, David B. Sears and a group of associates built a 600-foot (180 m) stone and brush dam across Sylvan Slough, thereby connecting the southern bank of the Mississippi River to what is today called Arsenal Island. The dam not only served as an access road between the island's settlements and the mainland, but it also fueled a mill that Sears built for sawing wood, grinding corn, and carding wool. The water power generated by this dam also attracted many industrialists, and over the next seven years, a number of factories sprouted up along the shoreline, and a factory town was platted in 1843 on the Illinois shore under the working name of "Rock Island Mills". The name did not stick, however, and when one of the primary landowners in the area, Charles Atkinson, was offered the choice of naming the town “Moline” ("City of Mills", from the French "moulin", as suggested by a local surveyor P.H. Olgilvie) or “Hesperia” (meaning "Star of the West"), he chose Moline. The town of Moline was incorporated on April 21, 1848 under Illinois state law and granted a charter for a trustee form of government.
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 39,684 at the 2000 census. It is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The original Rock Island, from which the city gets its name, is the largest island in the Mississippi River and is now known as Arsenal Island. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad was founded here in 1851 and was known as the Rock Island Line. The railroad was liquidated in bankruptcy in 1980.
Rock Island is also home to the Rock Island Arsenal on Arsenal Island. It is an active factory producing ordnance and weapons components for the U.S. Army. The Arsenal provides 6,000 civilian jobs for the local area. The south shore of Rock Island, on the Rock River, is where the former village of Saukenuk was located, the birthplace of the warrior Black Hawk. The Black Hawk State Historic Site includes much of the site of the original village of Saukenuk. The park includes a museum and a number of hiking trails along the Rock River and in surrounding woods. The first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River was built between Arsenal Island and Davenport in 1856. Steamboat pilots of the day, fearful of competition from the railroads, considered the new bridge “a hazard to navigation”. Two weeks after the bridge opened, the steamboat Effie Afton rammed part of the bridge and set it on fire. Legal proceedings ensued with a young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln defending the railroad. The lawsuit was appealed went to the Supreme Court, and was decided in favor of Lincoln and the railroad. Although the original bridge is long gone, a monument exists on Arsenal Island marking the Illinois side. Bridge Street, in Davenport, is the location of the Iowa side.
Lock and Dam No. 15 and the Government Bridge are now located just southwest of the original bridge site. The Government Bridge, completed in 1896, is notable for having two sets of railroad tracks above the car lanes. It is one of only two bridges in the world with this feature. Lock and Dam No. 15, completed in 1934, is the largest roller dam in the world. The dam is only designed for navigation, not flood control. During flood season, the rollers are raised, unleashing the full flow of the water. Three other bridges span the river between Rock Island and Davenport. The Crescent Rail Bridge is a railroad-only bridge, completed in 1899. The Centennial Bridge was completed in 1940 for autos only. The newest bridge is the Interstate 280 bridge, completed in 1973. On the south side of the city, overlooked by the Black Hawk State Historic Site, is a crossing of the Rock River to Milan, Illinois. This set of bridges also crosses the historic Hennepin Canal. A new bridge was completed in 2007 between 3rd Street Moline/southeast Rock Island and Milan, Illinois. It expedites the trip to Milan, the airport, and points south on U.S. Route 67.
Bettendorf, Iowa
Bettendorf is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. The population was 32,445 at the 2008 census estimate. Bettendorf is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Davenport and the Illinois cities of Moline, East Moline and Rock Island. Bettendorf lies in the original Wisconsin Territory, which was bought from the Sac and Fox Indians in the Black Hawk Purchase of 1832. The first white settlers established a village named Lillienthal, commemorating an early tavern and dance hall. The village of Gilbert developed alongside Lillienthal in 1858, honoring Elias Gilbert, who plotted the original site. At that time, the residents were predominantly German and were employed as farmers, skilled laborers, and small business owners. The two villages eventually combined to become the town of Gilbert.
Around 1900, William and Joseph Bettendorf were gifted 70 acres (280,000 m2) of riverfront land on condition that they move their iron wagon business from Davenport to Gilbert. In 1903, the town of 440 citizens petitioned for incorporation, requesting to change the town's name to honor the brothers whose factory was a major influence in the early development of the city.
In the late 1940s, a site adjacent to Bettendorf, known as Riverdale, was chosen by the Aluminum Company of America (A.L.C.O.A.) to be the site of the world's largest aluminum rolling mill. This, and the attendant spin off developments from it, caused Bettendorf to enter a period of explosive growth in population which has sustained itself to the present day.
The first modern day riverboat casinos in the United States were launched in Bettendorf on April 1, 1991[2] by local businessman Bernard Goldstein who would go on to found Isle of Capri Casinos. Goldstein had operated Alter Companies which was a scrap metal, barge and towboat company operating on the river waterfront.
East Moline, Illinois
East Moline is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,333 at the 2000 census. East Moline is one of the Quad Cities along with the neighboring cites of Rock Island, Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.0 square miles (23.4 km²), all of it land.
Attractions:
Brady Street Stadium, a major high school sports venue along Davenport's Brady Street (U.S. Route 61).
Davenport Skybridge
Figge Art Museum, in Davenport.
Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge, along Interstate 80, connecting Le Claire and Rapids City.
Government Bridge, connecting Rock Island Arsenal and Davenport.
Great Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, a fair and exposition venue in Davenport.
i wireless Center - arena center in Moline. (formerly the Mark of the Quad Cities)
I-74 Bridge, connecting Bettendorf and Moline.
John Deere Pavilion, a small museum and showcase for John Deere equipment.
John Deere World Headquarters, in Moline.
Lock and Dam No. 15, on the Mississippi River.
Modern Woodmen Park, the home of the St. Louis Cardinal A-Ball affiliate Quad Cities River Bandits, Davenport. (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium)
Putnam Museum and IMAX Theater in Davenport
Quad City Botanical Center in Rock Island.
River Music Experience
Rock Island Arsenal
Rock Island Centennial Bridge, connecting Rock Island and Davenport.
Vander Veer Botanical Park