Category Archives: Local History

Hostetler Hotties

Posted on February 25, 2022 by SCblogger

We’ve been uploading thousands of images from our Hostetler Studio glass negative collection to the Upper Mississippi Valley Digital Image Archive since 2004! Yes, thousands of images ranging from the mid-1890s through the mid-1920s. Did we mention thousands of images … Continue reading →

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Caregivers of Color in Davenport

Posted on February 19, 2022 by SCblogger

In celebration of this year’s Black History Month theme, “Black Health and Wellness,” we tell the stories of three African American healthcare providers who practiced in Davenport: General Houston, Charles William Bates, and Robert Shannon Taylor, M.D. We have elsewhere … Continue reading →

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Who speaks for a Calico Ball?

Posted on February 11, 2022 by SCblogger

What is a Calico Ball you ask? I did too when I came across this in a May 1883 local newspaper. Turns out, a Calico Ball (alternately referred to as a Calico Dance or Party) stems from an 1855 New … Continue reading →

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Sibling Saturday!

Posted on February 5, 2022 by SCblogger

As we perused our digitized images on the Upper Mississippi Valley Digital Image Archive, we wondered how many images of siblings we had in our collections. We are highlighting a sample of them below. Catherine Coan or Coon These images … Continue reading →

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Recipes We Have Loved: Schauder’s Hungarian Goulash

Posted on January 29, 2022 by SCblogger

It has been 14 years since we started writing blogs for our Special Collections Department. After all these years, it is still exciting when you come across an interesting story from our past. This week’s blog was intended to go … Continue reading →

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Upper Davenport

Posted on January 15, 2022 by SCblogger

By now we are familiar with the fact that the 1857 Map of the City of Davenport and its Suburbs, Scott County, Iowa by James T. Hogane and Henry Lambach contains many features that were aspirational for the city’s developers. … Continue reading →

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Happy 175th Birthday, Iowa!

Posted on December 28, 2021 by SCblogger

Today, December 28, 2021, marks the 175th anniversary of Iowa’s admission into the Union as a state in 1846. During the 28th Congress in the Second Session, the elected House of Representatives passed “An Act for the admission of the … Continue reading →

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Happy Holidays from Special Collections: The Santa Version

Posted on December 23, 2021 by SCblogger

We are officially in the winter season meaning the holidays are fast approaching! This holiday season, we thought we would share some of our favorite images of Santa for those visitors celebrating Christmas. It is fun to see how our … Continue reading →

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Happy Birthday, Bill of Rights!

Posted on December 15, 2021 by SCblogger

The original 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791. For its 200th birthday, the original copy of the Bill of Rights went on a tour of the United States, … Continue reading →

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“Printed In Germany” Holiday Postcards

Posted on December 10, 2021 by SCblogger

In our collection, we have a number of postcards documenting local areas of interest, people, and business. The postcards have been postmarked, unused, and sometimes unsent. As we approach the upcoming holidays, we perused our collection for Christmas postcards made … Continue reading →

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