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Category Archives: Local History
Riverfront Development: August 5, 1912
The creation of the Davenport Levee commission in 1911 changed the face of the city’s waterfront. By 1912 sewer projects and a new levee wall were being installed. The above photo is dated August 5, 1912 and shows a sewer installation … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Levee, Levee Commission, Levee Wall, Main Street, Riverfront, Sewers
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Closing the three-year-gap: 1947 – 1949 Abstracted Names
As our regular patron know, one of our Center’s best indexes for early twentieth-century newspaper announcements is the set of Abstracted Names from the Davenport, Iowa, Democrat (SC 977.769 Abs) which covers 1898 to 1946. This resource was compiled by … Continue reading
Living History Photos: Aluminum Drive July 24 – 25, 1941
While looking through our collections this week we came across this picture labelled “National Defense Program” Aluminum Drive – July 24 -25, 1941 We thought we would we share the memory. The photo appears to be of Boy Scouts and … Continue reading
A Panoramic Peek: The Oak Knoll Mansion
Those of you who subscribe to the Quad-City Times may have seen the recent articles by Alma Gaul concerning the historical Oak Knoll mansion and its designer Jens Jensen. The articles (here and here, if you missed them), include several … Continue reading
An Anniversary and an Assumption
This month marks the 145th anniversary of the time A. L. Mossman swam across the across the Mississippi River from the foot of Perry Street in Davenport to the ferry dock in Rock Island in seventeen minutes. Both the Davenport … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged A. L. Mossman, Davenport Democrat, Davenport Gazette, Local History, Louis Hirschel, Swimming
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Latest News By Telegraph: Pickett’s Charge
Latest News Headquarters Army of the Potomac, July 3 Semi-Official Report The decisive battle has been fought to-day, and the enemy repulsed with terrific loss. At daylight Lee’s right wing batteries opened upon our left, and shortly after those … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Battle of Gettysburg, Civil War, Latest News By Telegraph, Pickett's Charge, Telegraph
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Latest News By Telegraph: The Impending Battle of Gettysburg
By the mid-nineteenth century, newspapers were beginning to regularly use information passed through the telegraph for news stories. It was not unusual for some breaking stories to contain misinformation, but that must have been a minor inconvenience compared to the benefit of receiving … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Battle of Gettysburg, Civil War, Latest News By Telegraph, Telegraph
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First National Bank of Davenport: 150 years of memories and architecture
This June marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of the First National Bank of Davenport. Although it is no longer with us, its legacy lives on in the architecture of the building that stands at 201 West Second Street. … Continue reading
Platting the Past
Maps are fascinating glimpses into the past—but not always for the obvious reasons. Take this 1940s era plat book for example, which shows us what a modern and attractive home looked like at the time: This set of plat maps … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged 1940 Plat Map, Davenport (Iowa), Local History, Maps, Plat Maps, Resources
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