Category Archives: Local History

Unusual Collections: The Davenport Police Department “Lodgers” Books

The Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Department has shelves filled with the amazing history of Davenport and Scott County, Iowa. One small collection is from the Davenport Police Department (1990-04) and includes ledgers for police blotters, roll call, and Matron’s Records. A … Continue reading

Posted in Local History | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Unusual Collections: The Davenport Police Department “Lodgers” Books

Party in the Park 2023 Edition: Lafayette Park

This week kicks off more summer activities encouraging the community to get outdoors together to explore the world around us. For the last few years, the City of Davenport has been hosting “Party in the Park” in neighborhood parks to … Continue reading

Posted in Local History | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Party in the Park 2023 Edition: Lafayette Park

Special Collections Closed Until Further Notice – Exciting events at our Eastern and Fairmount branches!

For the safety of our staff and patrons, the Davenport Public Library – Main Street Branch will be closed until further notice as the City of Davenport deals with the unexpected partial collapse of the Davenport Apartments located across the … Continue reading

Posted in Genealogy, Library, Local History | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Special Collections Closed Until Further Notice – Exciting events at our Eastern and Fairmount branches!

Closed for Memorial Day, Open for New Hours

The Davenport Public Library will be closed on Memorial Day. Please join us in remembering those who gave their lives so that we could have the opportunity to live ours in freedom. We will open on Tuesday, May 30th—and remind … Continue reading

Posted in Library, Local History | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Closed for Memorial Day, Open for New Hours

Invented In Davenport: Examples of Davenport ingenuity

We came across this unusual ad from the Davenport Democrat and Leader from September 12, 1922. We researched and found a John Flanagan of Davenport, Iowa applied for a patent for his Lifting-Jack on June 9, 1919, with the application … Continue reading

Posted in Local History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Invented In Davenport: Examples of Davenport ingenuity

Jewish Americans in the Quad Cities

Celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month 2023 at the Davenport Public Library by exploring the resources on the history of the local Jewish community available at the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center at Main|Library. The Jews of Iowa by Simon Glazer (1904) … Continue reading

Posted in Local History | Comments Off on Jewish Americans in the Quad Cities

Preservation Week 2023: Building Resilient Communities

Each year, we participate in Preservation Week sponsored by Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures with the objective to inspire action “to preserve personal, family, and community collections in addition to library, museum, and archive collections.” Preservation Week offers us a time … Continue reading

Posted in Local History | Comments Off on Preservation Week 2023: Building Resilient Communities

Happy National Library Week: There’s More to the Story!

Join us in celebrating National Library Week from April 23-29. This year’s theme is “There’s More to the Story.” The story of libraries in Davenport, Iowa began in 1839 with a library in the LeClaire Hotel. In the following decades, … Continue reading

Posted in Local History | Comments Off on Happy National Library Week: There’s More to the Story!

Give a Hoot for History

Here in Special Collections, we Give a Hoot for History! Saturday, April 22, 2023, is Earth Day. In observance of the event here are some photographs and clippings representing our commitment to preserving Davenport’s history of caring for Mother Earth. … Continue reading

Posted in Local History | Comments Off on Give a Hoot for History

Opening Our Collections: Schmidt Family – Crescent Macaroni and Cracker Company

We recently received additional items to the Schmidt Family – Crescent Macaroni and Cracker Company Collection – 2016-46 that we had to blog about this week. First, a brief history of the company. In 1875, Hugo Schmidt, Sr. along with … Continue reading

Posted in Local History | 1 Comment