Author Archives: SCblogger

Hostetler’s Houses: West 8th and Vine Streets (cont’d)

This is a follow-up to the November 9, 2024 post identifying the four residences on West 8th and Vine Streets shown in this J.B. Hostetler panoramic photograph. As promised, information about the families who first lived in these homes is … Continue reading

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2024: An Overview!

The Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center had a wonderful 2024! From our in person events to our virtual offerings, we have encouraged our community and beyond to learn about Davenport, Scott County and Quad Cities history. Programming We visited the Palmer … Continue reading

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Happy New Year!

Wishing all our readers a wonderful 2025!

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Happy Holidays from the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center!

We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season! Please enjoy this wintery wonderland photo of Duck Creek Park from our photograph collection! (posted by Kathryn)

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The Central Junior High School Fire of 1949

It was an unusually warm, but windy evening on Sunday, December 11, 1949. It was shortly before 7:00 p.m. when Ruth Ann Brasnar and Merline Frost were walking near Central Junior High (607-611 21st Street) in Rock Island, Illinois. The … Continue reading

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Victor Animatograph Company of America

Davenport and the other Quad Cities have a robust and vibrant industrial history. This region saw the development of many new technologies that have impacted the rest of the country and the world. One such example is the Victor Animatograph … Continue reading

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The Claus Groth Gilde Jahrmarkt

“Thanksgiving tide” in turn-of-the-twentienth-century Davenport brought not only family turkey meals and church services, but a popular event known as the “Jahrmarkt.” This fair was a fundraiser for the Claus Groth Gilde, a local benevolent society named in honor of … Continue reading

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Turkey Notes: Our 2024 edition

Since we began this blog in 2008, we have revisited the unique local tradition of the Turkey Note many times over the years. This short poem using three- or four-lines along with the word “Turkey” in the first two lines … Continue reading

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QC Architecture: The Chicago Connection

Join the Scott County Historic Preservation Society (https://www.scottcountyiowa.gov/history/historic-preservation-society) for their November meeting featuring Ellen Shapley, an Iowa native, architectural historian, and a former guide for the Chicago Architecture Center and the Architectural Heritage Center in Portland, OR. She will be … Continue reading

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Hostetler’s Houses: West 8th and Vine Streets

In addition its large number of portrait photographs, the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center’s J.B. Hostetler Studio Collection includes many panoramic images of Davenport and the surrounding area. A few of these feature houses. While Oak Knoll and the World War … Continue reading

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