Tag Archives: George Davenport

A Beautiful Place: A Letter about Davenport of July 1842

This newsy July 1842 letter addressed to “Aunt” Elizabeth B. Langdon from Ellen Harris describes her ten-day journey along the Ohio River, then to the mighty Mississippi River as Ellen, husband William, her mother, and perhaps other family made their … Continue reading

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Before the Arsenal

As many of you may have seen in the newspapers, this month marks the 150th anniversary of the Rock Island Arsenal, though the Mississippi River Island it sits on has been part of the history of the Quad-Cities since a … Continue reading

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What’s in a Name?

The city of Davenport was named after Colonel George Davenport.  This is fairly well known—at least to most residents of the Quad-Cities—although every once in a while, we still receive a question concerning the invention and manufacturing of long, squared-off … Continue reading

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