Davenport, Iowa, was part of the Louisiana Purchase. In 1814, during the War of 1812, the British military along with the Sauk and Meskwaki peoples fought against the Americans near Davenport. In August, Major Zachary Taylor, later the 12th President, fought a battle east of what is now Credit Island Park in Davenport.Svendsen, p. 10 An outpost was set up at Fort Armstrong and George Davenport and Antoine LeClaire were stationed there.
Davenport was established in 1836 by Antoine Le Claire 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 tough economic 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.
19th century Early 19th century
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 given 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.Svendsen, p. 11 He also aided in establishing plans for the first railroad bridge to cross the Mississippi River.
County seat dilemma In 1837, shortly after Scott County 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.Svendsen, p. 19 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 Le Claire'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
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: 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 made up Davenport's largest settlement group. By 1858, more than one-fifth of Davenport's nearly 11,000 residents were Germans. Before a bridge was built, privately owned ferryboats transported passengers, wagons, and cargo across the Mississippi River. The growing city had a need for a railroad bridge to cross into Illinois. In 1856, the first railroad bridge was 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 later 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.Svendsen, p. 25 Five camps were set up in Davenport during the war. Camp McClellan was the largest camp, located on the eastern edge of the city. Thousands of Iowa troops trained here.Svendsen, p. 26 Camp McClellan contained twenty wooden barracks, a stockade building, headquarters buildings, and hospitals. A Davenport neighborhood, McClellan Heights is named after the camp. On February 11, 1861, a group of armed secessionists took Fort Armstrong and raised a Palmetto flag but soon left when they heard news that soldiers from Davenport were heading their way.
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.Svendsen, p. 54 The first 150 children arrived from Keokuk, Iowa. Starting in 1876, children from broken homes as well as orphans from all of Iowa's 99 counties were taken in at the home. The home was a self-contained community, containing residences, a school, a tailor shop, and a chapel. The home had three separate fires during its course. The first fire occurred in 1877 when the engine room of the laundry building ignited, destroying it and an adjoining school room. In 1880, the second fire destroyed the kitchen, bakery, and dining hall. On November 9, 1887, at three o’clock in the morning, the third fire was started when lightning struck the main building which housed staff and students. The lightning bolt went through the roof of the teacher's bedroom, who was then able to raise the alarm and evacuate everyone safely. The building burned 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.