A new school year is upon us! Fresh pencils, new beginnings, stomach butterflies, and of course….
NEW SHOES AND CLOTHES!
Here is a century of back-to-school fashion from 1900-2000 available from our local business establishments!
The 1900s
The 1910s
The 1920s
The 1930s
The 1940s
The 1950s
The 1960s
The 1970s
The 1980s
The 1990s
The 2000s
We hope all the students have a great 2022-2023 School Year!
(posted by Karen)
We were saddened to learn of the passing of longtime Davenport Public Library Children’s Librarian, Miss Rochelle Murray, who died on Sunday, July 31, 2022, at the age of 85.
Rochelle Ann Murray was born December 14, 1936, at Mercy Hospital in Davenport, Scott County, Iowa. She was the only child of Walter Raymond Murray, a truck driver for Mengel’s Meat Market, and Lila Bernice Kroeger, a private duty nurse. The family lived at 522 Cedar Street in the West End of Davenport.
Rochelle attended Hayes School, Frank L. Smart Jr. High School, and graduated from Davenport High School in 1955. She was in the French Club, Spanish Club, Girl’s Glee Club, Band, Student Council, and Semester Honor Roll. She graduated from Marycrest College in 1959 where she majored in Speech and minored in Library Science. She received her Master in Library Science degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1968, after taking Summer classes for 5 years.
Miss Murray started shelving books at the Davenport Public Library when she was 13 years old. She conducted her first puppet play entitled “Meet George and His Friends” on January 13, 1951, when she was just 14 years old. She worked as a Library Page until graduating from college, then was named Young People’s, Film, and Records Librarian in 1959, and was Director of Adult Services in 1964. She became the Children’s Librarian when Mrs. Vira Blankenburg retired in 1965.
She was a founding member of the Davenport Chapter of Kappa Gamma Pi, a national honor society for graduates of Catholic women’s colleges in 1959. Along with local author David R. Collins, she began the Mississippi Valley Children’s Literature Festival and the Midwest Writing Center in 1980. She had a radio program on WOC for 18 years and was the host of the TV show “Conversations with Rochelle,” which ran on the city’s public access TV station.
Miss Rochelle Murray retired from the Davenport Public Library on December 31, 2003. At her retirement party, the Library Board of Trustees named the Rochelle A. Murray Children’s Center in her honor. After retiring she continued to volunteer and organize literary programs and festivals for children and adults in the Quad Cities.
Rochelle’s genuine love for children and reading was evident to anyone who had the pleasure of meeting or working with her. We remember her fondly and will miss her dearly.
(posted by Cristina)
We’re over halfway done with our Summer Reading Program for 2022! If you are looking for other activities to check off your reading log, we have a couple options for you! The two activities are “Read a book with a location in its title” and “Read a book about the Quad City area”. It doesn’t mean you can’t use these books for other activities on the list either!
We selected a lineup of books with Scott County small town names in their titles. We encourage you to explore and learn about the communities that make up Scott County. They are rich in history and full of interesting characters.
This is a map produced by Dickerson Map Service 208 Nineteenth Street, Rock Island, Illinois, and sponsored by Joe Wagner Realty Co. Davenport, Iowa – H.F. Roggenkamp Farm Broker.
This souvenir booklet celebrates the centennial of Blue Grass’s platting in 1853. First settlers arrived in 1836! It provides a history of the town, a list of early settlers, and photocopied images of the town, its buildings, and its people.
America’s Bicentennial in 1976 was a wellspring for reflecting and writing about one’s community history! In our collections, we have a number of similar titles like this one that covers the 140-year history of Blue Grass. This book contains histories of the town, township, and its people. It also includes expanded sections on transportation methods, lists of past leadership roles such as a list of mayors, notable firsts for the town, and information about social life and businesses. Another unique characteristic of this book is that it features advertisements from Blue Grass and the surrounding cities’ businesses and organizations.
Catherine Guy wrote this fascinating repository of facts, images, and stories for the sesquicentennial of Blue Grass. She spans the history of Blue Grass from prehistory to 2003! There is something to interest everyone in the book!
Buffalo, one of the river towns in Scott County, started as a land claim by Captain Benjamin W. Clark born in Virginia in 1797. In 1833, he and his family crossed the Mississippi River from Andalusia, Illinois to begin developing this inviting land. In May 1836, the town of Buffalo was platted and named after Buffalo, New York where Dr. Pillsbury a recent landowner was a former resident. This history of Buffalo by the resident, Reverend Ronald D. Larson, shows that every town no matter how small has a history worth telling.
This history of Dixon was first written by Roger Dahms for the town’s centennial celebrations in 1954 and was continued and expanded by Amy Flynn for its sesquicentennial in 2004. Amy’s research included adding more historical photos of Dixon’s history. Roger’s history of Dixon gathers together family histories of early settlers, information about the early industry, education, and religious organizations as well as about their sports teams and boom years.
The town of Durant lies in three counties: Scott, Cedar, and Muscatine. At the time this history was published the authors state that it was a Cedar County community. This history covers the history of Durant from its platting in 1854 by Benjamin B. Brayton to 1954, a hundred years latter. It features a historical overview of the town and its peoples.
Jacob M. Eldridge arrived in Davenport in 1845. He worked as one of the first land agents and had dealing with railroad companies. Eldridge was surveyed in 1870 by Tom Murry and laid out by Jacob Eldridge. In 1871, Eldridge was established and was first know as Eldridge Junction. It was developed because the railroad passed through that area.
This history shares information about who the first settlers were, what they did for their livings, and how they socialized and created the community which is still thriving.
Dorothy Lage’s history of Le Claire is a valuable resource for anyone interested in this river town’s past. It shares Le Claire’s beginnings starting in 1833 with a planned townsite by Antoine Le Claire with the assistance of George Davenport, Enoch March, and John Reynolds. The town was not laid out officially until 1836. Nearby the village of Parkhurst was already being developed. It would later be incorporated into the city of Le Claire.
Dorothy writes about Le Claire’s charming and pastoral history including its river pilots, Buffalo Bill, and the Green Tree! She provides access to those topics and much more in this book!
This fourteen-page history is not short of information about the small town of Long Grove. Each page is overflowing with information about Long Grove. A particularly interesting story is about the James Brownlie house. It was constructed in 1830s from blocks of mud mixed with prairie grass also known as sod! It was a rare construction for this area. The building is still standing and can be visited by the public.
Eleanor shares the community’s involvement in Scott County’s growth in the late 1800s and early 1900s as well as national events such as the Civil War and the world wars.
The town of Maysville began as a communal established by six Schleswig-Holstein army officers who dreams of starting a cooperative farming venture. This was called Amity. After a few years, the communal was disbanded, and in 1851, Captain James May purchased land in Section 15 of Hickory Grove township. W. P. Campbell, a surveyor, platted the town of Maysville in August 1856.
Maysville grew and flourished similarly to other towns in Scott County. This area was full of valuable farmland which sustained and nourished a rich agrarian culture of 4H clubs and nature activities.
This history captures the town’s past and current history! It provides a number of intriguing images and stories about the area.
This study of the onion industry which dominated the farming industry in Pleasant Valley was published in 1925. It surveyed its early history, the reasons why this land was chosen to grow onions, the effects of insects and diseases on onion crops, and a general overview of production associated with this crop.
This history is unlike the others in the list, because although it discusses the people who settled this area, it is focus on the industry that made the area well-known.
Dorothy Lage wrote this history of Princeton after her history of Le Claire, its neighboring river town. Princeton was first settled in 1836. The town grew as the area around it was settled and developed. Dorothy writes about the many stories and people associated with Princeton. She devotes most of the book to the late 1800s and early 1900s. She shares images of the town and its people as well as maps of the land.
Riverdale is a small community nestled between Bettendorf and Pleasant Valley. It was incorporated on December 27, 1950. Its incorporation was spurred by the City of Bettendorf’s plans to annex the land that make up Riverdale. With a blend of agriculture and industry, this community developed and grew.
This history covers the early days of this area and its development into the town of Riverdale.
Published in 1954 in celebration of Walcott’s Centennial anniversary, this book provides readers with a general overview of Walcott’s first 100 years. It features images of residents, building, and much more. Similar to other histories, it documents the town’s industrial growth and changes in transportation, communication and everyday life. The book offers lists of various business and important people in the community.
This history of Walcott spans only a few more than the one above, but it was commission to commemorate the United States’ Bicentennial in 1976. It contains similar information to the book above. It does differ by including poem submissions from residents as well as spotlights of prominent social organizations of the time.
Walcott: The Early Years, 1854-1954 is a pictorial history emphasizing images of its residents and their activities, its buildings, and its businesses.
We hope this inspires you to visit the towns that make up Scott County and learn about our area’s vibrant and interesting history.
(posted by Kathryn)
Architectural historians have firmly placed the Gordon-Van Tine Company of Davenport, Iowa among the leaders of the mail-order “kit-house” business of the early 20th century. [1] [2] From the 19-teens through the Second World War, customers all over the United States could order a design from a Gordon-Van Tine catalog and receive the blueprints and specifications, pre-cut lumber, millwork, cabinetry, hardware, finishes, roofing, and other building materials necessary (and desired) to complete an entire home directly from the company, eliminating the “middle man.” The RSSC Center is fortunate to have several of these catalogs in its collection; they have been used to identify some of the estimated 1000+ Gordon-Van Tine “Ready-Cut” houses built in the Quad-Cities area and elsewhere. [2]
But did you know the Gordon-Van Tine Company also sold ready-made kit barns to its customers?
Yes! Barns and several other types of farm buildings, too.
Included in the final pages of the company’s very first catalog, the 1907 Book of Plans for Everybody, were 7 different barn designs as well as the “Inexpensive Barn,” and the “Residence Barn” pictured above. Plans for a hog house, cattle shed, chicken house, duck house, granary, corn crib, and an ice house were also on offer.
Gordon-Van Tine’s Building Materials catalogs also included products of interest to farmers. These metal items, batten and ventilators “especially for barns,” were available in the 1915 Architectural Details :
The 1918 Building Materials catalog included this advertisement for the Barn Equipment Booklet:
The earliest Gordon-Van Tine mail-order catalog devoted exclusively to farm buildings (we believe) was published in 1917. It touted the “carefully, painstakingly”-assembled Farm Building Department, headed by the “Barn Man,” Mr. Kirkpatrick.
As with the houses, the Gordon-Van Tine Company’s barns and farm buildings were designed to be easily built by the average person:
The company advertised extensively in the local newspapers, as well as farm journals and magazines:
The testimonials in the booklet Photographs and Letters: Some Gordon-Van Tine Barns and What Their Owners Think of Them (SC 728.92 GORDO VAN 1919? and online) told of just how successful the barn and farm building line had become for the company in a short period of time.
Kit-barn enthusiast Robert J. “Bob” Kisken* has photographed some of these still-standing Gordon-Van Tine models and matched them with those in the book:
We are grateful to him for donating copies of his photographs and research files to the RSSC Center (Gordon Van Tine Barns Collection, #2017-26 and the Kisken Kit Barn Research Collection, #2018-26)! There are more to view at the Iowa State University Special Collections.
Stop by to peruse our original copy of the Gordon-Van Tine 1923 Farm Buildings catalog (SC 728.92 Gor) to compare with the plans from earlier years and understand more about the development of the ready-cut system.
And please let us know if you spot any Gordon-Van Tine farm buildings in our area!
(posted by Katie)
—————————————————————————————-
[1] Hunter, Rebecca L. “Historical Architectural Research,” kithouse.org.
[2] Wolicki, Dale Patrick. Gordon-Van Tine Company. Bay City, MI: D. Wolicki, c2002. (SC 728 Wo)
With the arrival of the first stagecoach in 1837, the state of Iowa welcomed its second kind of public transportation after steamboats, which first began cruising the Upper Mississippi River in 1827. They carried mail, passengers, and their baggage.
The first routes centered around Burlington, Iowa, which was the largest village in southeastern Iowa and became the 2nd capital of the Territory of Wisconsin in 1836. The Federal government made contracts for delivering mail through designated post roads when demand called for it. Getting mail and news to and from the territorial government was the priority.
Stagecoach routes usually followed the same trails used by Native Americans, bypassing creeks and wet or swampy land and marshes. Early settlers used the same routes with their ox carts or wagons, cutting deep ruts into the soil with their wheels. These dirt roads eventually became highways.
Drivers made stops at 10-mile stations, exchanging their tired horses for a fresh set of horses ready to go on the next leg of the journey. The change could be made in a minute or two. There were stations at the post office in Center Grove, the post office in Lackton west of Durant, a hotel in Round Grove west of Plainview, a tavern in Maysville (or Amity as it was called then), and one east of Blue Grass on Highway 61 South, north of the Jamestown Road.
Morton M. McCarver won the contract for the mail route from Burlington to Davenport – 81 miles in 37 hours – which began running in January 1838, with stops at post offices in Jacksonville (Yellow Springs), Florence, Black Hawk (Toolsborough), Wapello, Harrison, Grand View, “Mouth of Pine”, Muscatine (Bloomington), Geneva, Wyoming, Iowa (Montpelier), and Clark’s Ferry (Glendale/West Buffalo). This route connected at Stephenson (Rock Island) with a stage line to Galena, Illinois, which linked with the Chicago stages at Dixon’s Ferry.
According to Rudy Bluedorn, Walcott rural mail carrier who researched and traced stagecoach lines in Scott County in 1962, there were 7 stagecoach lines in Davenport between 1837 and 1856:
It took 10 hours to travel from Davenport to Iowa City. The average speed was between 5 and 8 miles per hour. Fares cost anywhere between 5 and 10 cents per mile, depending on the season and if there was competition from other lines.
The 2,500 pound Concord stagecoach cost between $1,200 and $1,500. They were made of oak, with iron bands, and brass, and were mounted on oxhide leather strips. They were painted in bright colors, either olive green or vermillion red, and the inside had panels with landscapes or historical characters. The windows had shutters or blinds instead of glass. They were oval-shaped with a flat top for baggage and had a triangular leather-covered space in the back called the “boot” that held more baggage. Inside were 3 seats large enough to seat 3 passengers each, the front seat facing the rear. The driver sat in front, high above the horses, holding the reins with his left hand and using his right hand to control the slack and wield the whip. They were drawn by 4 horses.
Smaller, less comfortable, lighter spring mud wagons with white muslin cloth tops and no doors. Up to 4 Passengers entered through an opening above the lower paneling and sat on benches with no backs. They had broad, high wheels held by wooden pins, designed to drive through mudholes. If the pins broke off or slipped out passengers were expected to help dig them out of the mud using a fence rail.
On May 26, 1854, the Western Stage Company bought Frink & Co. They ceased operations in Iowa on June 30, 1870.
3 factors helped the success of stagecoach travel in Iowa: The Gold Rush and influx of emigrants passing through the state in the 1850s, the need to transport passengers to and from the railroad, and the disruption of railroad construction caused by the Civil War.
The stagecoach was an uncomfortable and inconvenient mode of transportation. It was more expensive than traveling on a steamboat. They were very slow and needed to leave very early in the morning to get as much daylight as possible. It was bumpy, muddy, and freezing cold. Once the railroads expanded their service, there was no looking back.
(posted by Cristina)
Sources:
Arpy, Jim, “Stagecoach Routes,” Times-Democrat. July 8, 1962
Briggs, John Ely, “Exploring the History of Iowa,” Davenport Democrat. January 7, 1935
Briggs, John Ely, Iowa Old and New. [The University Publishing Co. : 1939]
Burrows, John McDowell, Fifty Years in Iowa. [Davenport, Iowa : 1888]
Colton, Kenneth E., “Stagecoach Travel in Iowa,” Annals of Iowa vol. 22, no. 3. January 1940
Colton, Kenneth E., “The Stagecoach Comes to Iowa,” Annals of Iowa vol. 35, no. 3. Winter 1960
Corbin, Bernie, “Joseph Albin Carried Mail in 1850,” Iowa City Press-Citizen. July 10, 1951
Grahame, Orville Francis, “Stagecoach Days,” The Palimpsest vol. 5, no. 5. May 1924
Hoffman, Mildred Albin, “Stagecoach and Pioneer Mail Carrier,” The Cedar County Historical Review. July 1965
Iowa Sun. August 11, 1838; December 25, 1839; March 5, 1842; June 25, 1842
Pratt, LeRoy, “Ten Cents a Mile and a Fence Rail,” Annals of Iowa vol. 39, no. 8. Spring 1969
Scovel, Donald, Tips for Stagecoach Travelers: Explorations in Iowa History Project. [1970-?]
Tanner, Halpin, & Co., Davenport, Rock Island, & Moline Directory, 1858-9.
This newsy July 1842 letter addressed to “Aunt” Elizabeth B. Langdon from Ellen Harris describes her ten-day journey along the Ohio River, then to the mighty Mississippi River as Ellen, husband William, her mother, and perhaps other family made their way from Cincinnati, Ohio to their new Davenport, Iowa home.
“When we left the Ohio river it was night but we all got up to see the meeting of two mighty rivers the effect was quite sublime seen by the light of moon just rising – it is as a place where three ways meet__ On entering the Mississippi the scene changed to bold and rocky shores on Sunday we passed some magnificent rocks (at least to my unpracticed eye) some that appeared to rise perpendicular to the height of 150 to 200 feet some with snug cottages perched upon the utmost summit and the majestic river washed the base-others with tall shot towers on their top looking as if the wind might prove too powerful although built of solid rock-on the same day we passed an Island composed of rock rearing its head high in the midst of the waters we also passed his Satanic majesty’s tea-table and bake-oven and several other curiosities equally as well named.”
Quote from the Letter of Ellen Harris.
“Satanic majesty’s tea table and bake oven” were unfamiliar landmarks to me. No luck with the tea table, but a bit of digging revealed that below St. Louis on the Mississippi there is a spot called Devil’s Bake Oven, and nearby is an island that may be the one she describes as “composed of rock rearing its head high”. It is called Tower Rock.
Tower Rock is a small, rocky limestone island on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River. Growing from the top of the rock is a small forest of beech, pine, oak, and hickory. The rock has long been feared by riverboat captains because of the rapid current that swirls at its base, but when water levels drop, the island is easily accessed by walking over the dry limestone riverbed. Tower Rock was used as a navigational point for early explorers. It was visited by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, with Lewis writing about this location in his journal over 200 years ago.
Well, Ellen Harris wrote about it 180 years ago, just 20 years later. We have proof!
Mrs. Harris then moves on to her present life in Davenport sharing descriptions of the burgeoning city, its surroundings, neighbors, and daily affairs. The family was living in a house with nine rooms at Third and Main Streets.
Mrs. Harris goes on to mention the healthy environment, Methodist religious affairs and describes a picnic held on the island providing an extraordinary historic primary source description of Davenport, Iowa in 1842. The letter is folded carefully and sealed with a spot of wax that has long since peeled off, leaving only a red stain. Perhaps another of the city’s proprietors, Antoine LeClaire, (Davenport’s postmaster) carried the letter for Ellen Harris to be mailed.
The couple seems to have left Scott County in about 1858, moving to Adair County, Iowa, then Vincennes, Indiana. Both Ellen’s parents, Joseph and Mary Woodward, and brother, Benjamin Beckwith Woodward, settled in Davenport as well.
We hope you will explore this and the many other primary source materials available to you in the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center very soon.
Sources:
Accession 2018-18.0067 Ellen Harris correspondence
Historical Maps Book: A State-by-State Atlas of U.S. History, 1790-1900 by Dolan
John Caspar Wild: painter and printmaker of nineteenth-century urban America by Reps
https://www.greatriverroad-illinois.org/Tower-Rock
https://collection.crystalbridges.org/objects/2512/towerrock-view-on-the-mississippi#
http://southernmostillinoishistory.net/what-is-the-devils-backbone/
(posted by Karen)
With the approaching July 4th holiday, we decided to celebrate the endearing tradition of children’s sailor suits.
Introduced from England shortly before the U.S. Civil War, these small outfits were designed to resemble uniforms worn by Navy sailors. By the 1870s, the sailor suit had begun to rise in popularity for younger boys. By the early 1900s, styles included knickers or short pants. The younger the boy, the shorter the pants. The sailor suit stayed popular for boys through the 1930s.
Girls also had a style of sailor suit. The sailor dress or suit became popular for females around 1900 inspired by tailor Peter Thomson. Unlike boys who usually moved away from sailor suits around the ages of 10 – 12; the sailor dress or suit might be worn by younger women as well as girls. The popularity of the sailor dress lasted through World War II before falling out of favor.
Sailor suits were frequently made of linen fabric for summer and wool for winter. Short socks, sometimes with designs on the cuff, or wool or cotton stockings kept legs seasonably cool or warm. An undershirt or dicky was commonly worn underneath, but sometimes removed for warmer weather. While only one of our photographs shows a sailor hat, we do see them listed in advertisements for the time period to help complete the outfit.
These images are from the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Hostetler Collection of glass negatives. They may be found online at www.umvphotoarchive.org on the Davenport Public Library’s website.
We hope you enjoy this look back in time!
Young Alfred H. Eckman is featured in a sailor suit c. 1918. The longer pants with wide bottoms and U.S. Navy hat are meant to resemble uniforms worn by sailors. This more military style became popular during World War I. The long pants make the outfit unusual.
The children of Frank W. Bahnsen are pictured with an older adult female about 1910. Two of the three boys wear sailor suits. The boy in front appears to be wearing knicker pants with dark cotton or wool stockings. The older boy in back looks about 12 or 13. We can’t see his pants, but his shirt, collar, and tie is a replica of those worn by adult men of the time period. The younger boys have matching stripes on their collars and cuff along with the anchor detail on their shirt or dickey.
While we don’t know who these children are yet, we can see the two younger girls in front have variations of the sailor dress, or middy dress as it was also known. The shorter girl’s dress features side buttons down the front. Both have matching embroidery on the dress and the dicky or shirt underneath. Though it would have been in fashion, the tallest girl is wearing a different style dress from the shorter girls.
Frederic G. Homer was about 6 or 7 years old in 1910 when this portrait was taken. This sailor suit shows a heavier fabric than the summer linen suits, but remains traditional with a white dickey or shirt underneath with the anchor emblem. The sleeves also have tucks which make it more elaborate than the traditional straight sleeves we usually see with boys’ sailor suits. It appears there were dark buttons on the front of the outfit as well supporting the elaborate feeling.
DPLVolume269. Images dpl17457b and dpl17457. Laurence B. Morrissey c. 1918.
Laurence B. Morrissey was about 3 when these pictures were taken in 1918. With the bare legs and no dickey or undershirt it gives the feel of a warmer weather photo. The straight short pants most likely falling to his knees or slightly above. The cuffs, back of the collar (or tar flap), and portions of the sleeves and pant legs show color. The buttons around the front waist of the outfit may be ornamental or functional in nature. It is hard to tell from the image.
Miss Erna Reistein was about 12 or 13 years old when this picture was taken. It appears to be for a graduation or Confirmation. This is a lovely example of the sailor suit. The suit jacket appears to have a loose belt round the middle and the collar features a bow in front. The longer length of skirt fits a young girl moving from the shorter dresses of childhood, but not yet needing the longer dresses of an adult. On a side note, we love her shoes!
We thought we would end with this image taken about 1912. While this might be a husband, wife, and son. The young appearance of the man and woman lead us to feel it might possibly be a sibling portrait. We do not see a wedding ring on the woman’s hand, but we might also not be able to see it clearly. We thought this image gave a good view of styles from the time period. It provides a nice look at the knicker shorts of the boy’s sailor suit along with the length of the collar in back. His look is completed by socks and high top shoes.
(posted by Amy D.)
The Quad Cities have a number of structures imbued with an aura of their time, the residence located at 1125 Pershing Avenue was one of those. The setting for this historic home was the late 19th century when the City of Davenport was showing the benefits of industrialization and western migration. The home was nestled in LeClaire’s 8th Addition to the city which is now a part of the Cork Hill Historical District. Constructed between 1888-1890 based on evidence from local city directories, county assessors office, research found in the Architectural/Historical Survey research compiled by Wehner, Nowysz, Pottschull, and Pfiffner of Iowa City. In the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center collections, we were unable to find an abstract of title for the property, thus we are unable to confirm the veracity of precise dates.
The residence was designed in overarching themes of Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles. In the Architectural/Historical Survey, it states,
“This well-preserved house is a good example of late-Victorian eclecticism, […] The typical irregular plan and roofscape, complete with corner tower, is embellished with shallow oriels, a full-height gabled pavilion with bowed facade, little roof dormers, and a porch supported by pairs of slender columns on high pedestals”
(Wehner).
The home was built for the Moritz family. It was on the corner of East 12th Street and Rock Island Ave. The precise location of the home was in the LeClaire’s 8th subdivision, block 095, parcel 008 and the W 30′ Lot 7 & all of 51-118-03. The residence was built with a wood frame, brick, and stone.
According to his obituary published in the Davenport Morning Star on February 5, 1891, Abraham Moritz was born near Frankford, Hessen, Germany on December 19, 1846. He arrived in the United States through New York when he was 18 years old.
He was first noted in Davenport city directories in 1868-1869 boarding near 4th Street. He worked at 14 West Second Street as a Clerk at the stores of L. Lowenstein. He and his brother Solomon Moritz became proprietors of A. Moritz & Bros Clothier store located at 121 West Second Street. The were known as a clothing and gents furnishing store.
In the 1888 City Directory, Abraham Moritz resided at 303 East 12th Street. Today, the 300 block of East 12th is on the north side of 1125 Pershing Avenue residence. He lived there until his death on February 4, 1891 according an obituary published in the Davenport Democrat and Leader on that date. His wife, Caroline (Hamburger) whom he married on April 11, 1869 in Davenport, Scott County, Iowa, and their five children (Edwin, Sidney, Harry, Jesse, and Manny) lived in the home after Abraham’s death. Abraham is buried in Mount Nebo Hebrew Cemetery. He has a brief history of his life and accomplishments written in Biographical History and Portrait Gallery of Scott County, Iowa in our collections.
According to Caroline’s obituary published in The Daily Times on December 16, 1901, she lived at “the old home on Twelfth and Rock Island Streets, rebuilding in a few years and erecting the elegant home which now stands there” (Moritz 2). According to Land Records-Grantor/Grantee Index, Caroline lived in the home until 1899 when she moved to be closer to two of her children in Denver, Colorado. In her obituary it states, Caroline was born in 1849 to Abraham Hamburger in Frankford, Germany. She died on December 13, 1901, and she is buried at Mount Nebo Hebrew Cemetery near Pine Hill Cemetery.
Charles Shuler purchased 1125 Rock Island Street in 1899. He is listed as living there from 1900-1906 in the Davenport city directories. According to his obituary published in The Davenport Democrat and Leader on May 28, 1948, he was born in Rock Island, Illinois on April 5, 1856 to David and Mary (Hauck) Schaechter. They moved to Rapids City, Illinois when he was an infant. On October 25, 1877, he married Jane Renton Gilchrist who born on June 10, 1859 in Wanlockhead, Scotland to Hugh M. and Mary (Weir) Gilchrist. They were the parents of six children: Hugh M., Dr. Anne Mary Rendleman, Jane Elspeth, Sophia Caroline, Charles Jr., and John.
Charles was known for his work in the coal industry until his retirement in 1926. In addition to that work, he was president of the Iowa National Bank of Davenport for 15 years.
They lived in the home until they moved to 1516 East River Drive according to the 1906-1907 city directories. Charles Shuler (Schuler) had Davenport architect Frederick G. Clausen design and built “Hillside” house located at 1 Prospect Drive.
Peter Alfred Bendixen purchased the home in 1908. Dr. P. A. Bendixen was born in Davenport on October 8, 1881 to Peter and Catherine (Beenk) Bendixen. On October 8, 1907, Peter married Jane Elspeth Shuler at the Outin Club according to local newspapers. Miss Shuler was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Shuler who lived in the home before Mr. Bendixen.
P. A. Bendixen was a well known physician in the area and member of the community.
In 1919, the Davenport City Council voted and approved the name change of Rock Island Street to Pershing Avenue in honor of General John J. Pershing, the commander of American Expeditionary Forces during World War I.
After the Bendixen family moved to 204 Prospect Terrace, George W. Duvall moved into 1125 Pershing Avenue. He lived there with his wife, Pearl, from 1919 until the 1940s. George Duvall was the vice-president of Modern Broom Machinery Company and Superintendent of the Lee Broom Company at the time when he moved in to the home according to the 1919 City Directory.
Around 1944, Edward E. and Helen K Nicholson purchased the home. They lived in the home until 1949. The home was then sold to John and Isabel Bloom in 1949. They converted it to six apartments. Many people called this building their home from 1949-2022.
The life of this over 100 year old home came to an end this past week due to a fire accident. One may read more about the event here from the Quad City Times: “Watch Now: Fire destroys apartment building on Pershing Avenue“.
(posted by Kathryn)
Bibliography
Moritz. The Daily Times (Davenport, Iowa) 1901, 2.
Davenport residents have long been passionate about gardening. In June of 1913, nearly 400 people were hard at work preparing their properties for the first of the Rotary Club of Davenport’s “City Beautiful” contests. This dedication to beautification attracted young landscape architect Leonidas Willing Ramsey to Davenport. He and his partner, H. T. Reeves, after investigating twenty U.S. cities, “…decided that opportunities in their line were better here than elsewhere.” The pair opened their practice in the Putnam Building the following year. [The Daily Times, July 6, 1914, page 7]
Ramsey had recently graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he studied under the first-ever Professor for Civic Design, the noted urban planner Charles Mulford Robinson. Born May 22, 1891, in Hazelhurst, Mississippi to Jacob Leonidas and Carrie Willing Ramsey, his early education included the Marion Institute and Millsaps College.
Interrupted briefly by his service (Navy ensign, late 1918-1919) in the First World War, “Buck” Ramsey’s career as a landscape architect was an active one. In 1914, the Reeves & Ramsey firm designed the waterfront park between Main and Scott Streets for the Levee Commission; Ramsey then wrote up the project for American City magazine with the title “The Improvement of the Davenport River-Front.”
His design for the grounds of the Mississippi Valley Fair and Exposition garnered praise from landscape experts, whose “universal verdict,” according to the Democrat and Leader of August 1920, was that it was “the best planned and best laid out fairgrounds in the entire West.” American City magazine again published Ramsey’s article about this project, “A New Era for the District and County Fair” in May of 1920.
Ramsey was a regular contributor to House Beautiful, House and Garden, Garden Magazine, The American Home, The Ladies Home Journal, and other popular periodicals of the time; he also served as the Landscape Editor for the Democrat and Leader newspaper, 1915- 1916.
Ramsey spoke frequently on the City Beautiful Movement, landscape gardening, and city planning topics to popular and university audiences all over the Midwest, as well as to local organizations and clubs. The Davenport and Rock Island Rotary Clubs, the Woman’s Clubs in both cities, and the Tri-City Garden Club invited him often.
Some of Ramsey’s other clients included Augustana College, the City of Ottumwa, and many private residences in Illinois and Iowa. In 1923, Ramsey and his associate Charles Lawrence did gratis work for the Lend-A-Hand Club.
In early 1921, Ramsey founded the Garden Press in Davenport “for the purpose of printing and distributing literature pertaining to gardening and landscape architecture.” [Democrat 7 Jan 1921] The RSSC Center has recently acquired The Landscape Garden Series, a boxed set of ten illustrated booklets issued by the Garden Press that same year. Ramsey authored four of these: “Planning the Home Grounds,” “Architectural Features,” “Beauty in the Vegetable Garden,” and “The Home and the City.”
The Garden Press soon grew into the L. W. Ramsey Co., a tremendously successful advertising agency with offices in Chicago and Hollywood, CA. Ramsey remained devoted to Davenport, however; the main office stayed here in the Union Bank building.
The busy advertising executive did not abandon his love for landscape architecture, either. He continued to write on the subject, publishing first Landscaping the Home Grounds (SC 712 Ram 1930) in 1930.
This was a re-working of many of the ideas first explored in the the Landscape Series of 1921. A photograph of J.J. Reimer’s Oak Knoll garden, and that of another McClellan Heights property are included.
The Outdoor Living Room (SC 712 Ram 1932), also published by MacMillan, was co-authored by Ramsey and fellow Davenport landscape architect Charles H. Lawrence.
Missing from the library’s collection of Ramsey’s works is Garden Pools, Large & Small (MacMillan, 1931), another collaboration with Lawrence. We hope to acquire a copy of it soon!
Ramsey’s most popular book was an account of his travels to Mexico with pal and illustrator J. Anthony Kelly, Time Out for Adventure: Let’s Go to Mexico (Doubleday, 1934)
Ramsey was very civic-minded. In addition to the Rotary Club and other business groups in Davenport, he was a Trustee of the Library and the Davenport Municipal Art Gallery. He also served on the Park Board.
Buck Ramsey lived at 834 Marquette Street in Davenport with his wife Norma (Klindt) and children Leonidas Willing Jr., George Klindt, and Julianne. He passed away in 1947 and was buried in Oakdale Cemetery.
(posted by Katie)
“L.W. Ramsey, Head of National Advertising Agency, is Dead at 55.” Davenport Democrat and Leader, January 2, 1947.
In honor of Quad Cities Museum Week, we’re looking back at previous collaborations by area museums, galleries, and other historical & cultural institutions.
12 major area museums and art galleries got together in 1986 to form the Quad Cities Museum Alliance. Mike Smith, director of the Putnam Museum, saw a “strong need” for cultural attractions to work together, publicize what they offer, and bring more public awareness and tourism.
The alliance organized a Museum Weekend on October 4-5, 1986. Participants could clip their “Adventure Passport” from the newspaper and get it stamped by visiting each location. They also celebrated Quad City Museum Day “Spring Into Summer” on May 30, 1987.
These images are from the informational booklet published by the alliance.
The Bettendorf Museum was established in 1974 at the former Washington School, 533 16th Street, as a city history museum. They added interactive children’s exhibits in 1985 and changed its name to The Children’s Museum in 1985. They later merged with the Lincoln Center for the Cultural Arts and changed the name to the Family Museum of Arts & Sciences. The Family Museum opened its current facility at the Learning Campus on March 2, 1997.
The Putnam Museum began as the Davenport Academy of Sciences in 1867. Read more about its history here.
The Davenport Municipal Art Gallery opened in 1924 and became the Figge Art Museum in 2005. Read more about its history here.
The Catich Gallery at the Galvin Fine Arts Center at St. Ambrose College opened in 1985. They continue to host contemporary art exhibits featuring the work of regional and national artists as well as faculty and seniors graduating with honors. You can learn more about its history here.
Centennial Hall Gallery is part of the Augustana Teaching Museum of Art.
The Fryxell Geology Museum is currently closed for summer break. You can learn more about its history here.
The Rock Island Arsenal Museum is currently closed for renovation. You can read more about its history here.
The Mississippi River Visitor Center, maintained & operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is located at Lock & Dam 15. Find out more information here.
The Colonel Davenport Home is one of the sites featured in this year’s Quad Cities Museum Week. You can read more about its history here.
Read more about the history of Vander Veer Greenhouse & Conservatory at Vander Veer Botanical Park here.
Read more about the history of Fejervary Park & Zoo here.
Read more about the history of Niabi Zoo here.
Thirty-six years later and our local museums, galleries, and similar institutions are still working together. Today, you can check out Community Experience Passes for the Putnam Museum, the Figge Art Museum, Niabi Zoo, the German-American Heritage Center, the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Quad City Botanical Center, The River Music Experience, and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra from any Davenport Public Library location.
(posted by Cristina)
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