Tag Archives: Scott County

Small Towns of Scott County: Read Beyond the Beaten Path

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 … Continue reading

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Scott County Valentines

As we continue to catalog negatives in the Free-Hostetler collection, we were tickled to discover that the young man in this image was born on February 14, 1897 and given the first name of “Valentine!” Valentine was born in Lincoln … Continue reading

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Poetry and Politics: Scott County, Iowa, 1896

In recognition of April as National Poetry Month, we look to a Davenport newspaper’s use of a famous German poem to make a point about Scott County voters in early 1896. Heinrich Heine’s Die Lorelei recounts the legend of a … Continue reading

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Davenport and the Democratic “Reform Caucuses” of 1972

It seems you can’t swing a dead cat in Davenport prior to the start of the presidential primary season without hitting a hopeful come to drum up support among voters. Candidate visits, with their attendant media coverage, are such a common … Continue reading

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Scott County’s Rotten Bridge

If you read this blog, you already know how much we love solving local history mysteries around here. Our latest one, featuring a peculiar epitaph referring to a tragic death, is perfect not only for this chilly month known for … Continue reading

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Mission Accomplished: Census Mortality Schedules

A few weeks ago, we mentioned the addition of two new indexes to our collection of searchable databases.  One of these was the Mortality Schedules for Scott County, Iowa. Mortality Schedules are the section of each Federal Census that provides … Continue reading

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The Freaks and Follies of a Frontier Life II

Or, the finale to the slightly shady story of how Davenport became the county seat.  Part Two: The Election(s)  The 1837 legislature had made an effort to appoint county seats, but it was discovered that bribery had heavily influenced the nominations, so … Continue reading

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The Freaks and Follies of Frontier Life

Or, the slightly shady, two-part story of how Davenport became the county seat. Part One:  the Mystery of the Missing Townships If you take a look at the outline of Scott County, you’ll see that a township or two appears to … Continue reading

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