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Tag Archives: Mississippi River
A History Mystery Solved: The Disappearance of the Lindsay Lagoon
Once upon a time, there was a Mississippi River lagoon in the area near Lindsay Park Marina in the Village of East Davenport. The lagoon was used for swimming and fishing. Pretty nice place, from what we hear. It’s not … Continue reading
Flood of Images: the West End Perspective
As we keep a watchful eye on the river levels around here, it might be interesting to look back at the last few times it rose up to shake hands with Davenport. Here are a some of our favorite flooding … Continue reading
Riverboats We Have Known: The W.J. Quinlan
After something of a delay, it’s finally looking like spring in the Quad-Cities: the weather is warmer, the boats are on the Mississippi . . . and the orange construction barrels are in full bloom. The promise of bridge delays … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged ferryboats, Local History, Mississippi River, riverboats, transporation, W. J. Quinlan
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Bridge Appreciation and the Diary of Benjamin F. Gue
While walking my dog along the Duck Creek Bike Path recently, I stopped on the little bridge that crosses the creek near our house and listened to the ice creaking and cracking as it was thawing. That brought to my … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Benjamin F. Gue, Davenport, Diaries, Iowa, Local History, Mississippi River, Primary Sources
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The Little Engine that Did—another first for Davenport!
This week, we are celebrating the upcoming anniversary of the first locomotive in Iowa, which arrived in Davenport on July 19, 1855. This was a pretty big deal—most people were counting on reliable overland transportation to be as much of … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Antoine LeClaire, Blackhawk Treaty, Bridge, Locomotive, Mississippi River, Train, Treaty House
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Remembering the Effie Afton
Today is the anniversary of the first time a riverboat hit the railroad bridge between Davenport and Rock Island, Illinois. Why is this more significant than any other Mississippi River disaster, or any other time (and there were several) when a boat … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Accidents, Bridge, Effie Afton, Fire, Mississippi River, riverboats, Train
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A Flood of Images
In honor of this year’s flooding (which surprised us as much as anyone), we pulled a few of our images of Floods Past from our Historical Photograph Collections for your enjoyment: The 1940s: This photos were taken during the same flood in the early … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Floods, Mississippi River, Photographs, weather, Weather Records
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Floods we have known
The “Flood of the Century”–well, the one in 1965, anyway April showers may bring May flowers, but in Davenport, winter precipitation traditionally brings April flooding. As neither the Mississippi nor Duck Creek appears to be approaching major flood … Continue reading
The Mississippi Ice Jam of 1868
March 13, 1868 tells the story of the massive ice gorge that occurred on the Mississippi as the rain and spring thaw caused the ice to go out. The ice gorged above the bridge and at the bend in the … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Bridges, Floods, Ice Jams, Mississippi River, weather
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