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Category Archives: Local History
This Day In History: Roller coaster crash at Forest (Schuetzen) Park
On Sunday, June 17th, 1923, a near record crowd of 3,640 people attended the annual basket picnic of the Davenport lodge No. 28, Loyal Order of Moose at Forest Park. Attendees enjoyed a program of games and outdoor sports, including … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Accidents, amusement park, Disasters, Forest Park, roller coaster, Schuetzen Park
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Celebrating the Figge Art Museum for Quad Cities Museum Week
Happy Quad Cities Museum Week! The Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center celebrates the Figge Museum of Art (the Davenport Public Library’s partner in this year’s Read Wild Summer Reading Program) by sharing these examples of its commitment to local artists and art … Continue reading
Investigate the Past: Annie Wittenmyer Complex Program
Have you ever been curious about the Annie Wittenmyer Complex (the former Iowa Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home) on Eastern Avenue in Davenport? This coming Tuesday, June 5, 2018, at 4:30 p.m., the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center of the Daveport Public Library … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Annie Wittenmyer Home, Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home, Programs
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A Memorial Day Remembrance: Private Arthur C. Franz
Memorial Day 1918 was a somber day in Davenport. Not only were local citizens remembering those fallen in wars past, they were also mourning the first soldier from Davenport to be lost (only weeks earlier, in France) in the current … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Arthur C. Franz, Arthur H. Beck, Memorial Day, Myrtle Beck, World War I, WWI
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Fun-Size Fire Insurance Maps of Davenport
In anticipation of this coming Tuesday’s program, “Genealogical Perspectives on Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps” (6:30pm on 5/22 at our 321 Main Street location) we are featuring a recent addition to our collection of these sources that consistently prove valuable to … Continue reading
Lost but Not Forgotten: A Brief History of the H. H. Andresen Residence, 726 West 6th Street
Although a suspicious fire destroyed the historic home at 726 West 6th Street in Davenport’s Gold Coast neighborhood last Thursday morning, it will not be lost to memory: sources available here at the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center preserve the story … Continue reading
Sources for the Study of Davenporters’ Experiences in WWI
A century ago, in the spring of 1918, the first soldiers from Davenport to see foreign service in the conflict that would later become known as the First World War arrived safely in France. The Davenport Democrat and Leader and the Daily Times published … Continue reading
Posted in Genealogy, Library, Local History
Tagged #throwbackthursday, Alice French, Homefront, Selective Service, World War I
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40 Years Ago: The Annie Wittenmyer Branch of the Davenport Public Library
The former administration building of the Annie Wittenmyer Home, at 2800 Eastern Avenue, opened as a branch of the Davenport Public Library on Monday, April 3rd, 1978. That’s forty years ago this month! The City of Davenport’s improvements to the … Continue reading
Tracking the Tracts: Researching the World War I Government Housing Project in Davenport
As a follow-up to Alma Gaul’s story “Homes for the Homefront: 600-plus homes were built for war workers” in the Quad-City Times this past Sunday, we would like to share these two panoramic photographs of the Black Hawk Addition (or … Continue reading
