iiiirais HfsrniiicAi survey
 
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 9 
 
 Official Book 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Fort Armstrong Centennial 
 
 Celebration 
 
 1816 1916
 
 iLiiHiiis mmm mnvi
 
 OFFICIAL BOOK 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Fort Armstrong Centennial Celebration 
 
 June 18th-24th, 1916 
 
 Rock Island and Moline, Illinois 
 and Davenport, Iowa 
 
 1816-1916 
 
 Prepared by 
 
 The Rock Island County Historical Society 
 and The Historical Section of the Davenport Academy of Sciences 
 
 Rock Island, 111. 
 
 E. O. Vaile, Jr. 
 
 1916
 
 Copyright 1916 
 E. O. Vaii.e, Jr. 
 
 Engiav'ings by 
 
 Photo Art Engraving Co. 
 Rock Island, Illinois 
 
 Printing and Binding by 
 
 Fidlar 8c Chambers 
 
 Davenport, Iowa
 
 Copper Axe, covered with cloth 
 Curved-base Stone Pipe 
 
 Handwork of the JMound Builders 
 
 Flint Spearhead 
 Ornamental Pot 
 
 Stone Axe 
 Curved-base Stone Pipe 
 
 These specimens from local mounds are in the Davenport Academy of Sciences Museum
 
 ^.9^7, 
 
 K i 
 
 Before the White Man Came 
 
 liy lulward K. I'liliuiiii 
 
 JHEN the wliite man "discovered" America, the land 
 was already occupied by a red skinned race now 
 known in a f^eneral way as American Indians. The 
 first whites were pleased to call these people sav- 
 aLjcs, hut in reality thev had a civilization of their 
 own wliicli in four resjions on the two continents had reached a 
 remarkably high standard of culture. These four regions were 
 the AIississip])i and Ohio \'alleys, the home of the so-called 
 Mound lUiilders ; ?iIexico. of the Aztecs: Central America, of 
 the Mayas : and Peru, of the Incas. The region up and down 
 the Mississippi and Rock Rivers within fifty miles of Fort Arm- 
 strong contains hundreds of the earthen mounds built by these 
 early people. Just when they were built is difficult to say ; 
 more than that it was before contact with the whites. I'rom 
 the objects found in these mounds can be gained a good idea of 
 their culture, (jne of the largest collections of these objects is 
 found in the Museum of the Daven])ort Academy of Sciences. 
 The_\- belonged to the stone age, as shown 1)\- their stone axes, 
 flint spear heads and arrow heads, carved pipes, and many other 
 implements and ceremonial objects. They had developed the 
 art of poltery-niaking and also the making of bone and shell 
 articles. They wove clotli and mats. They worked in the 
 native copper by hammering it into form, although they did not 
 
 understand melting or hardening it. They had developed agri- 
 culture, hunting, and fishing. They were travelers or traders, 
 because in a single mound might Ije found copper from Michi- 
 gan, shells from the (julf of Mexico, mica from Eastern Ten- 
 nessee, and obsidian from the Black Hills. They had a sen,se 
 of the artistic, especirdb; in the use of ornament, and it seems 
 an appreciation of landscape as shown by their selection of 
 high bluff^s with a wide outlook for their groups of mounds. 
 
 l'rol)abh' a jiart of the same race were tiie Indians who still 
 inhabited the country when settled by the whites. The special 
 tribe of Indians associated with this immediate locality was the 
 "Sacs and h'oxes," or more ]irobably the Sauks and .Meskwakis. 
 The term Reynards or I'oxes was used erroneously by the 
 French. The two tribes were so closely allied as to be regarded 
 as practicalh' one tribe. They belonged to the .\lgonf|uin stock. 
 These Indians had come from the Green Bay region and at the 
 end of the eighteenth century had their large settlement at the 
 junction of the Rock River with the Mississijipi. This was the 
 tribe of Black Hawk, Keokuk, Poweshiek, and many famous 
 chiefs. When finally moved to the Indian Territory and Kan- 
 sas, part of the trilie, chiefly the Meskwakis or Foxes returned 
 to Iowa and now live in Tama Count\-. 
 
 ■5 —
 
 Antoine Le Claire 
 
 Col. George Davenport
 
 To the Pioneers 
 
 li\ Alice I'iciicIk "Oclciir I'liaiicf^ 
 
 ;X s\iieral wt- think little i.nriii<;h of the makers of our 
 countiy, the men ami women to whose sacrifices and 
 whose courage we owe our days of luxury. But 
 once in a while our sloth is ])rodded into attention. 
 P'or a little space we remember. Then we recognize 
 something of the innneasurahle debt which we owe to the Pio- 
 neers. 
 
 A hundred years ago where were our great warehouses and 
 factories, or the mansions and the gardens full of delicate 
 jileasures and beauty which are on every hill? For one moment 
 let us pause to salute the vanished courage and endurance and 
 vision which gave them to us. 
 
 Let us think of the buiklers of h'ort Armstrong and of the 
 men and women who dared all the perils of the wilderness to 
 raise their log cabins where now are busy streets and marvels 
 of light and transit beyond their dreams of witchcraft. For a 
 moment let us salute the hard hands, the keen eyes, the swift 
 feet, the strong hearts of the past. 
 
 Do we realize what we owe these strong, inarticulate souls? 
 They did their amazing work unconscious, themselves, how 
 greatly they wrought. In the span of a single century they 
 transformed a wilderness into an empire. Rome had not its 
 power or its wealth. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln was a type of their sinewy force. He had 
 
 their l)roa<l Init kind.ly humor, their essenti;il cleanhncss of soul 
 if not always of speech, their indomi;;d)le cour;ige, their dogged 
 patience, their breadth of vision which came from solitary 
 living in wide spaces, their patriotism, and their deep tender- 
 ness of heart. 
 
 Perhaps from, some of the itinerant preachers of the time 
 Lincoln learned the eloquence which should become a i>art of 
 our habitual thought. These men often had a rude force of 
 speech : sometimes they rose to heights ; often their appeal was 
 permeated with the noblest and simiilest diction in the W'Orld, 
 that of the Bible. 
 
 The life of the pioneers was bare and rugged. They had 
 toil, privation, danger. They died unlended in lonely forests: 
 they had no easement of pain in their wounds of battle or am- 
 bush ; there were Init meagre medicaments of herbs for the 
 fevers that came out of the swamp; the ghastly stories of 
 massacre and torture which were told at every fireside any time 
 might have ghastly confirmation. There were few pleasures 
 and those of the rudest. Vet on the whole it may be questioned 
 if their life was not happier than ours. It was a full life. It 
 had the joy of work and accomplishment. It was interesting. 
 If it had not the beauty of art, it had the beauty of nature to 
 sweeten it. And it had all the primitive happiness of family 
 love and conn\'ideship. It hail the throbbing excitement of 
 
 — 7 —
 
 Earlv Moline. about 1840 
 
 Showing the Sears' mills, the first factories, and the brush dam. the first dam to be built in the Mississippi River
 
 combat with man or nature, and the exultant tln'ill of victory. 
 Probably the Pioneers wasted little time or misery on analyzing 
 their own emotions, and less on uplifting their neighbors. 
 Their imagination and their invention took the practical lane of 
 better cultivation of their fields and better ways of travel. 
 When it did wander into the fields of beginning finance and 
 started banks antl paper money which should pay itself out of 
 future prosperity it went th.e usual rapid pace to misfortune. 
 But this is really a later story. 
 
 In time men of lineage and education came to Illinois and to 
 Iowa. It will be interesting to lowans to learn that Illinois 
 settlements had a sad reinitation, even so early as the days of 
 Richard Flower, who settled in .-Mbion in the first half of the 
 nineteenth century. A lady of Philadelphia said to him : 
 ''Friend Flower, wilt thou take thy family to that infidel and 
 wicked settlement in Illinois?" 
 
 Nevertheless Flower, an Fnglish gentleman, did settle in 
 Illinois and prospered and was happy. 
 
 A score of names will instantly come to us, among the later 
 Pioneers, names still honored on both sides of the great river. 
 Clark, the explorer : Edwards, the first Illinois governor : Dun- 
 can, the far-sighted : Ford, who saved the honor of Illinois. 
 Locally there were the Wells. Spencer, the Case families ; Sears, 
 
 who developed the local water power: Stephens, Deere, \\'eyer- 
 hauser, and Denkmann, great pioneer manufacturers; Buford, 
 the soldier; \'an Sant. Cable, Alitchell, and many more, and 
 over the river the Davenport, Antoine Le Claire, who kept 
 faith alike with while man and red; the Cooks, Price, \'an 
 Tuyl, Grant, Alitchell, Allen, Burrows, Eldridge, Stibolt, Claus- 
 sen, Alueller, (daspell, merchants, hankers, lawyers, statesmen, 
 farmers, alike staunch and true of heart. Xor should we forget 
 the priests and the ministers of religion, the Iowa band of the 
 Congregationalists, the circuit riders of the Methodists, the 
 first Bishops of Illinois and Iowa, Kemper, Lee, Cosgrove, 
 alike soldiers of God whatever their banner, Father IVla- 
 mourgues, the intrepid Sisters of St. IMary — these are but a 
 few of the makers of the three cities. 
 
 And behind the leaders are the strong and silent manv who 
 fought without flinching, hostile man and liostile nature : and 
 to whose obscure heroism, resoiuTefulness, and self-sacrifice we 
 owe what we have today, not only a material prosperity but in 
 the fiber of soul which beneath our seeming softness has their 
 iron strain, and shall the need come will enable ns like them to 
 give all we have and all we are to our country. 
 
 Therefore, we, inheritors of their blood or of their works, 
 irratefulh' and reverentlv salute them. 
 
 — 9 —
 
 Fort Armstrong, about 1S45 
 
 From a Daguerreot>'pe
 
 The Story of Fort Armstrong 
 
 By On-ill S. Holt 
 
 h ) propurly coinprelieiid the liistorv of I'ort Arm- 
 strong and the locality in which it stoo;l, one must 
 go back to the time of the discovery of America to 
 get the sequence of events which had to do with its 
 building. Every maritime nation of the world en- 
 deavored to share in the results of the discovery of the new 
 cotitinent. 
 
 Spain sought treasure, tribute from the natives, and religious 
 concjuest. France sought commerce and religious converts, 
 while colonists from other countries sought homes and escape 
 from persecution. Spain conquered, robbed, and destroyed the 
 natives ; France preached to them, lived with them, and inter- 
 married with them ; while the colonists, who later became 
 known as Americans, ruthlessly pushed the Indians before 
 them, taking their lands for cidtivation and permanent settle- 
 ment. 
 
 Following a period of discovery, conquest, colonization, and 
 national rivalry, came a time wdien Mexico, including Texas, 
 the Southwest, ami California, was dominated by Spain ; the 
 thirteen original colonies by England ; and Canada and Louisi- 
 ana by France. The territory included in the Louisiana Pur- 
 chase, of wdiich Iowa was a part, after its savage ownership be- 
 longed first to France and then to Spain. Napoleon compelled 
 its relinquishment to France in 1801, but wdien he proposed to 
 
 — 11 
 
 occupy it the L'nited States objected with the result that the 
 United States acquired it by purchase in 1803. After the war 
 with .Mexico another immense piece of former Spanish territory 
 was accjuired by the United States, which included Texas and 
 California and the intervening territory. liut for these acquisi- 
 tions the L'nited States w-ould have been bounded bv the Mis- 
 sissippi River on the west and we should have had a powerful 
 neighbor with whom to divide honors. 
 
 Hand in hand religious zeal anrl commercial ambition lead 
 the I'^rench priests and explorers. In the wav of the St. 
 LawTence and the Great Lakes, far into the interior of North 
 .America when it was an unknown wilderness to the rest of the 
 world. In 1(108, twelve years before the landing at Plymouth 
 Rock, Champlain planted the first French colony at Quebec. 
 In 1(134 Jean Nicolet, the French explorer, reached Saulte Ste. 
 .Marie at the outlet of Lake Superior. Eventually French 
 priests and explorers endeavored to connect Canada and Louisi- 
 ana by means of a line of forts and missions. Alarquette and 
 Joliet, priest and explorer, opened the way in 1673. when they 
 made their memorable trip from Mackinac through Green Bay 
 and the Fox River, over the portage, and down the Wisconsin 
 River to its mouth. They arrived at the Mississippi River 
 June 17th and must have passed the island of Rock Island a 
 short time after. This explorer and his com])anion priest con-
 
 Fort Armstrong', Davenport, Rock island, and Aiolinc 1844 
 
 From a paintinfi by J. C. Wild
 
 tinned to the mouth of the Arkansas River, and returnin,;;', 
 passed up the Ilhnois River and entered Lake Michigan at the 
 present site of Chicago. In 1681 the ilhistrious I.a Salle traced 
 tlie Mississippi River to its mouth, and with him oriq'inated the 
 idea of circumventing' tlie colonies of iMigland on the Atlantic 
 shore with a band of French territory, which should enable 
 France to possess the great river valleys of the interior and the 
 better part of the continent. In this ambitious purjiose they 
 sought opportunity for missionary work and couuiiercial ad- 
 vantage rather than colonization. 
 
 England entertained views similar to those of France as to 
 the destiny of the interior. The King of England decreed that 
 it should be the perpetual home of the natives and forbade his 
 subjects to encroach beyond the territory whose waters flowed 
 into the Atlantic. The colonists, however, looked with covetous 
 eyes on the rich agricultural lands west of the Allegheny Moun- 
 tains, and in spite of the King's command began to seek homes 
 beyond the western frontier. The rival claims of England and 
 France to the interior, brought on a clash between the English 
 colonists and the Canadian-I'rench in which the mother coun- 
 tries, being hereditary enemies, naturally joined. When these 
 conflicts finally ended the claim of France to Canada was ex- 
 tinguished and England succeeded to her claims in the North- 
 west. The conquest of Canada by England failed to settle the 
 controversy over the possession of the interior. The Revolu- 
 tionary War broke out soon after and at its termination the 
 English colonists became a new and independent nation, suc- 
 ceeding to England's original claim to the interior, while Eng- 
 land had succeeded to that of b'rance. The same contest con- 
 tinued with a new alignment of parties. 
 
 — 13 
 
 The l'"rench liad fraternized with the Indians aiul generally 
 were at peace with them. When luigland con(|uere(l New 
 b'rance the h'rench frontier-men remained as F.ritish subjects 
 and England succeeded to some extent to the good will of the 
 Indians toward the l-"rench. The .\mericans, however, being 
 colonists and desiring land possessions, were cordially hated 
 and distrusted by the natives. These facts explain to some ex- 
 tent the attitude of the Indians in the controversy which fol- 
 lowed over the possession of the valle}- of the Mississippi in 
 1812-1814. It was the pro-British attitude of the Indians that 
 called for the building of I'^ort Armstrong. 
 
 That the territorv now occupied by Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
 Michigan, and Wisconsin is a part of the Ihiited States and not 
 of Canada, is due largely to the enteriirise and militar\' skill of 
 Cicn. George Rogers Clark. Ilis success as the representa- 
 tive of the commonwealth of \'irginia in gaining possession of 
 the Illinois country, put America in a position to maintain the 
 ( ireat Lakes as her northern boundary at the close of the next 
 important military event in our history, the second war with 
 (ireat IJritain, the War of 1812. During Clark's conquest of 
 the Illinois territory, which was coincident with the War of 
 the Revolution, Clark sent a detachment under Col. John Mont- 
 gomery in 1780 to sulidue the Sac and Fox Indians which re- 
 sulted in the burning of the Indian town of Saukenuk. This 
 was a local event of the Revolutionary War. 
 
 In 1805, following the Louisiana 1 'urcha.se of 1803, Zebulon 
 Pike, after whom Pike's Peak was named, made a tour of ex- 
 ploration through the west in the interest of the government. 
 A part of his mission was to conciliate the Indians ;md win 
 their allegiance from Great l!ritain. .\n interesting incident of
 
 Alonument on Campbell's Island 
 
 Major Zachary Taylor 
 
 In command ai the Battle of Credit Island
 
 his trip was the raisin^- of the first .\nierican flag in this part of 
 America, when he -s-isited the Indian town of Sankenuk, near 
 the mouth of Rock River. Here he found the (\a.g of England 
 flying. He presented the Indians with the .Stars and .Stripes, 
 which they consented to raise : hut th.ey refused to take down 
 their British flag, claiming to desire friendship with hoth 
 countries. 
 
 In this age of rapid transit and instantaneous communica- 
 tion, it taxes our imagination to realize the conditions existing 
 in the days when the west was the subject of controversy be- 
 tween the L'nited .States and Great Britain. It took bravery 
 an! patriotism of a high order to go hundreds of miles into the 
 Indian infested interior with no means of transportation, except 
 canoes and keel boats, with only Indian trails, and no means of 
 communication betwei.n distant points. Tl-ese conditions ex- 
 isted at the outbreak of the War of uSij, two battles of which 
 were fought near the island of Ivo:k Island in 1S14. 
 
 Governor William Clark, made famous by the Lewis and 
 Clark Expedition to the Pacific coast and a brotlnr of Gen. 
 George Rogers Clark, kft St. Louis in the spring of 1814 with a 
 military expedition for Prairie du Chien, captured that British 
 out-post, and built the first American fort north of Alton. L'poti 
 Clark's return to St. Louis an expedition was started under 
 the command of Capt. John Campbell to reinforce the garrison 
 left at Prairie du Chien. When the expedition got as far as 
 the mouth of Rock River, it fell in with Indians in considerable 
 numbers, who manifested no hostility, .\fter Campbell had 
 passed on up the river, a messenger from the British com- 
 mander in the north arrived and notified the Indians that it was 
 their duty as British allies to comijly with their promise to pre- 
 
 vent an\- Americans from ascending the river. Thereupon 
 Black Hawk and his band followed Campbell's boats, and over- 
 took them at an island about five miles above the island of l\(jck 
 Island, which, from this circumstance, has since been known as 
 Canipbell's Island. Finding the boats hampered by the swift 
 cm-rent of the ra]>ids and a high wind, one boat having been 
 driven ashore, the Indians attacked and defeated them, destroy- 
 ing one of Campbell's three boats, killing sixteen men. and 
 wounding others, including the commander, and compelleil their 
 return to St. Louis. U]ion their arrival, another and larger 
 expedition came up the river under command of Major Zachary 
 Ta}lor. who afterwards attained distinction in the Mexican 
 ^^'ar and as President of the United States. The purpose of 
 this expendition, which, consisted of 334 men in nine keel-boats, 
 was to jHinish the Indians for their attack on Campbell's i)art\- 
 and to establish a fort near the Indian village, which should 
 keep the Indians in check, and the line of communication open 
 to points u|) the river. In the meantime the British had re- 
 captured the post at Prairie du Chien and Lieut. c;raham 
 had descended to the island of Rock Island with British soldiers 
 and several cannon, to assist the Indians in blockading the river 
 at that point. When Major Taylor's expedition reached the 
 mouth of Rock Ri\Tr it encountered a wind storm so severe as 
 to make it necessary for him to l;ind. He chose as a landing 
 place a willow island near the Io\v;l shore about two miles be- 
 low the island of Rock Island, and about sixty yards above 
 Credit Island, now known as Suburban Island. Lieut. Gra- 
 ham, of whose presence 31ajor Taylor was ignorant, taking- 
 advantage of the storm and the darkness of the following night, 
 removed his men and canunn across the main channel of the 
 
 ■15 —
 
 
 rt 5 
 
 o o 
 
 o -
 
 ri\cr, tlirou,t;h what is now the husiiK'ss section of Davenport, 
 to an advanta,<;'eous point for an attack at <layH,i;lit. 'I"hc un- 
 expected onslaught by British regulars armed with canncm and 
 reinforced by 1,500 native warriors, was more than Major 
 Taylor was able to face, so be abandoned the purpose of his 
 mission, retreated as far as \\'arsaw. and built Fort Edwards 
 instead. 
 
 Three successive defeats in one year convinced the Americans 
 tliat all prospects of controlling the valley of the upper Missis- 
 sippi depended upon subduing these war-like natives. Con- 
 sequently in September, 1815, the lughtb United States In- 
 fantry, under command of C'ol. R. C Nicholas, was sent from 
 St. Louis to establish a fort on or near the island of Rock 
 Island. This expedition reached the mouth of the Des Moines 
 River in November where they were stopped by ice and re- 
 mained through the winter. Col. William Lawrence succeeded 
 to the command during the winter. The following April Brig. 
 Gen. Thomas A. Smith with his regiment arrived, took com- 
 mand, and proceeding up the river arrived at the island of Rock 
 Island, May 10, 1816. Gen. Smith endeavored to meet the Sac 
 and Fox Indians in council but they refused to attend. 
 
 There were about 11,000 Indians in the vicinity at that time. 
 Their principal village, Saukenuk, was on Rock River where 
 their council house stood. Their settlement and corn fields 
 covered the islands in Rock River and the point of land between 
 the rivers at their confluence, as well as both sides of the Mis- 
 sissippi River in the neighborhood of the island of Rock Island. 
 This was the largest Indian settlement in this part of the coun- 
 try- and one of the largest in North America. Their numbers 
 and [iro-British s\'mpathies made tlieni an important element in 
 
 the controversy over ])OSsession of the .Mississippi \'alle\. JMirt 
 .\rmstrong, which their presence niaile necessary, was of the 
 ordinary frontier tyiie, but usually striking in appearance, due 
 to its location on the precipitous ledge of rock, forming the 
 lower point of the island of Rock Island. 
 
 The name "Rock Island." which this island has borne since 
 it had a name, was ap])lied because of its striking contrast to 
 the other islands in the river which are generally alluvial with 
 low sloping shores. The island has been in the continuous 
 possession of the government of the L'nited States since the 
 Indians parted with it by treaty in 1804, although Col. George 
 Davenport and David B. Sears w'ere each allow-ed, by special 
 acts of Congress, to secure title to parts of it, in consideration 
 of services rendered to the goA'ernment. Subsequently their 
 holdings were appraised and taken back by the government 
 when it was determined to establish the Rock Island Arsenal. 
 
 Chief Black Hawk called Rock Islam 1 the most beautiful 
 island in the Mississippi, and white men L\-idently shared in his 
 opinion for its early history is a series of efforts by private in- 
 dividuals to get ]3ossession on every possible pretext. To 
 Teft'erson Davis belongs principal credit for the preservation 
 of the island to the L'nited States government for military pur- 
 poses. During the Black Hawk War he had abundant opixjr- 
 tunity to become familiar with it and its environment. He 
 thought, and many prominent men then and since agreed with 
 him, that the island was particularly adapted to the uses of the 
 government. They aijpreciated its advantageous location, its 
 water power possibilities, and the proximity of fuel and timber. 
 As an army officer, as a L'nited States Senator, and as Secre- 
 tary of War he championed its prcsen'ation ; and it seems the 
 
 17
 
 EXTENSIVE PRAIRIE 
 
 EXTENSIVE PRAIRIE 
 TOPOGRAPHICAL VIEW OF ROCK ISLAND IN THE MISSISSIPPI 1319- 5CALE 4 INCHES TO A MILE.
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF major m marston.of ihe sii^ infty 
 
 TO MAJOR GENL MACOMB— COMMANDING Sir MILITARY DEPARTMENT 
 DATED. FORT ARMSTRONG. ROCK ISLAND, 
 5EPT lOIi? 1619 
 
 ■THIS FORT 15 ABOUT 270 FEET SQUARE WITH THREE BLOCK H0USE5, MOUNTING 
 THREE 6 POUNDERS. THE BARRACKS ARE WELL CONSTRUCTED OF HEWN TIMBER-.AND 
 ARE SUFFICIENTLY EUTENSlVE TO QUARTER THREE COMPANIES, THE MAGAZINE IS 
 OF 5T0NE AND WELL BUILT THE COMMANDING OFFICERS QUARTERS CONSIST OF A 
 CENTER TWO STORY BUILDING ZB FEET IN LENGTH. WITH WINGS OF ONE 5T0RY 
 15 FEET IN LENGTH. AND PIAZZAS BUILT IN FRONT AND REAR. THE FORT IS BUILT 
 ON THE LOWER POINT OF ROCK ISLAND. AND UPON A PERPENDICULAR BANK OF 
 LIMESTONE OF ABOUT 25 FT IN HEIGHT. IT COMPLETELY COMMANDS BOTH 
 CHANNELS OF THE RIVER THE GARRISON IS A GREAT CHECK UPON THE INDIANS 
 IN THIS COUNTRY AND FROM ITS CENTRAL SITUATION, IT APPEARS TO ME TO BE 
 A STATION OF CONSIDERABLE IMPORTANCE AN EXPRESS COULD REACH THIS IN 
 TEN DAYS FROM COUNCIL BLUFFS. ON THE MISSOURI. AND IN THE SAME TIME 
 FROM THE MOUTH OF THE RiVER 5T PETERS, AND FROM FORT DEARBORN AND IN 
 FIFTEEN DAYS FROM FORT HOWARD. AND FIVE FROM STLOUIS THE SOIL OF THIS 
 ISLAND APPEARS TO BE GOOD. AND IT CONTAINS A GOOD SUPPLY OFWOOO FOR FUEL 
 AND OTHER PURPOSES. THE RE IS ALSO AN EXCELLENT SPRING OF WATER ABOUT 
 ONE HUNDRED YARDS FROM THE GARRISON, THERE IS ABOUT FORTY ACRES OF LAND 
 IN THE VICINITY OF THE GARRISON CLEARED AND FIT FOR CULTIVATION.' 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 MANOiNG officer's Quarters 
 2 hosprtal & surgeon s quaj^ters 
 319-company Quarters 
 5&7- store mouses 
 
 fc- MAGAZINE 
 )0-OFFICERS QUARTERS 
 It,ie.l3ftl4-5T0NE WOR^ 
 4 48-5ALLY PORTS 
 
 TRACED FROM A PHOTOSTAT 
 COPY OF ORIGINAL WHICH WAS 
 MADE IN (819 AND 15 NOW ON 
 FILE IN OFFICE OF CHIEF OF 
 ENGINEERS, U S A. 
 
 SCALE 64 FT TO AN INCH
 
 irony of fate that it sliould have hecn used during the Civil 
 War as the site of a prison for the confinement of his soldiers. 
 !-'ort Armstrong in shai>e was a rectangular parallelogram 
 with its four corners presented to the four points of the com- 
 pass. It measured 270 feet on each of its sides. It was pro- 
 tected on the north, east, and south angles by block houses, the 
 east one being the largest. The south one has now been re- 
 stored on its original location as the principal feature of this 
 celebration of its one hundreth anniversary. The block houses 
 were constructed of hewn timbers cut near the site of the fort. 
 They were two stories in height, the upper story being set so 
 that its sides came over the angle of the story below, thus pre- 
 senting fronts in eight directions. Each story was provided 
 with port holes for cannon and muskets, and their hipped 
 roofs were surmounted bv observatories or lookouts. The lines 
 between the north, east, and south block houses were occupied 
 bv barracks and other buildings in shed form with the high 
 point to the outside, so that the sloping roof could be protected 
 from within the enclosure. The spaces between these build- 
 ings and the block houses were closed by stone walls about four 
 feet high which were surmounted by hewn timbers placed one 
 ui)on the other to the height of the barracks buildings. The 
 other two sides of the enclosure were the precipitous shores of 
 the island. The west angle of the enclosure was occupied by 
 the headquarters building, lliis was about 20x30 feet in size, 
 and two stories high, flanked on each end by immense outside 
 stone chinmeys and outside of these were small one-story 
 wings. On the east and west fronts were large porches. The 
 one on the west, two stories high, afforded a beautiful view, 
 with tile liroad Mississippi in the foreground, .\side from the 
 
 building already described there were others for officers' quart- 
 ers and hospital purposes, also a stone powder magazine about 
 gxi2 feet insiile. It was sunken partly into the ground so that 
 the natural rock\ ledge formed its floor. A stone arched roof 
 covered it. In the center of the enclosure was a tall flag-staff. 
 Tliere were two sally ports opening on to the island to the 
 northeast and southeast. When the soliders arrived, the 
 island was covered bv a heavy growth of timber, but in the 
 vicinity of the fort it was all cleared away for the double pur- 
 pose of procuring material for the buildings and removing 
 shelter that might he used by the Indians in case of an attack. 
 
 With the troops that came to build the fort was Col. George 
 Davenport in the capacity of sustenance contractor's agent. He 
 built a house on the island which still stands. He became an 
 Indian trader and had his first trading post on the island. In 
 1824 Russell Farnham arrived on the scene and entered into 
 partnership with Col. Davenport. In 1826 they built a build- 
 ing on the main shore, at the present junction of 29th Street 
 and the C. K. I. & P. R. R. tracks as a trading post. This was 
 the first Iniilding on the main land and later was known as the 
 "House of John Barrel." In it was the first postoffice, hotel, 
 and stage station. Here were held the first court, first election, 
 and the first meeting of the county board. The settlement that 
 sprung up around it came to be known as Farnhamsburg, and 
 was the "metropolis" of the locality until the town of Stephenson 
 came into existence in 1835. This gave place to the city of 
 Rock Island in 1841. Col. Davenport continued to live on the 
 island of Kock Island until his mm-der on July 4, 1845. Col. 
 Davenport's two sons, George L. and Bailey, also passed their 
 lives here and reached prominence as citizens and land owners 
 on both sides of the Mississippi. 
 ■20 —
 
 AiitoiiK' Le L'lairc \v:is aiKjthcr of the party that landed in 
 i8t6, and stayed after the fort was ahandoned to become a 
 hitjlily respected and pictnresque member of the community at 
 Davenport. He was of Frencli and Indian blood (Potta- 
 wattamie). He was educated in languages at the expense of 
 the government to serve as official Indian interpreter, in which 
 capacity he was employed at bort Armstrong. His home was 
 in Davenport, which he laid out and named for his friend the 
 Indian trader. A part of the city of Davenport is laid out on 
 a section of land which was reserved by the Indians from the 
 tract conveyed by the treaty of 1832. This section of land the 
 Indians presented to Mrs. ^Vntonie Le Claire, the granddaughter 
 of a .Sac chief, and the wife of their trusted friend. 
 
 In Col. Davenport's employ was a Frenchman named 
 Antoine Goucpie, who was the first permanent settler in this 
 vicinity. He was a hunter and trapper who was here when die 
 troops arrived, having come down the river from the neighbor- 
 hood of Prairie du Chien. In dress, habits, and appearance he 
 was an Indian, but he w;is of [lure French blood. His wife 
 was a full blooded Fox Indian, fat and good natured, and very 
 popular with the whites. Couque and his family lived on the 
 island on land afterwards included within the military prison 
 enclosure during 1863-65. 
 
 Fort Armstrong, although no l:)attle ever was fought there, 
 occupied a prominent place during the Indian troubles of 1831 
 and 1832, and was the refuge of the early settlers from their 
 first arrival in 1828 until the close of the lilack Hawk War. It 
 would retpiire far more space than is here available to write a 
 history of this war. The causes of the Pilack Hawk War were 
 the refusal of lilack Mawk and his band to recognize the 
 
 vali(lit\' of the treaty of 1804. in which refusal tliey were to 
 some extent justified, and the love for their homes which they 
 and their ancestors had occupied for more than a century and 
 their veneration for the burial place of their dead. To this 
 was adiltd resentment of the impositions by the early white 
 settlers, who in violation of justice and treaty obligations 
 crowded in upon their fields, destroyed their crops, desecrated 
 the graves of their dead, and took possession of their bark 
 houses, while thousands of unoccupied acres of other land lay 
 open for settlement. There were five white settlers within the 
 Indian town of Saukenuk. when there were but two where the 
 city of Rock Island now stands, but one in iMoline, and none in 
 Davenport : all of these settlers being on land previously oc- 
 cupied bv the Indians, and at a time when miles of unoccupied 
 territory surrounded the Indian village in every direction. 
 
 When in 1831 the Indians resented the encroachments of the 
 whites on their village, and P.lack Hawk resented the demoral- 
 ization of his young men by the sale of whiskey to them by the 
 whites, some friction arose. The white settlers complained to 
 the (Governor of Illinois and the I'nited States authorities, and 
 the Indians were ordered to move across the i\Iississippi, which 
 thev refused to do. Thereupon the Governor of Illinois en- 
 listed 1,600 militia who joined with the I'nited States regulars 
 under Gen. Gaines, from St. Louis, to drive the Indians from 
 their ancient home. The Indians evaded the issue of battle by 
 ([uietlv slipping across the river in the night. Thinking the 
 trouble was over the militia were disbanded and the regulars 
 returned to Jefferson liarracks, but before doing so burned the 
 Indian town. 
 
 In 1832 I'llack Hawk anil the I'.ritish band, grieving over the 
 21 —
 
 Outline of the Foundation of tlie I'.lock House on the East Angle ot 1-nu 
 
 The depression in the foreground is plainly to be seen 
 
 Armstrong, 1916
 
 loss of tliL-ir ol<l hoiiK-, resenting; the trcatnuiU tlicy h;ul re- 
 ceived, and still seeking to evade the terms of the treaty of 
 1804, which they still insisted was invalid, recrossed the Mis- 
 sissippi River at Yellow JJanks and came hy the way of the 
 Indian trail to the mouth of Rock River. Xews of this move- 
 ment of the Indians having reache I the whites the ( lovernor of 
 Illinois again called out the militia, and in conjunction with 
 federal troops, followed them up the valley of Rock River. 
 After a series of battles and skirmishes, interspersed with fre- 
 quent efforts to surrender, to which the wliites gave no heed, 
 the Indians were driven to southern W isconsin where they 
 attempted to escape their pursuers hv crossing the Mississippi. 
 Then occurred the battle of Bad Axe. at which most of those 
 who had survived to that time were massacred without regard 
 to age or sex, and Black Hawk, his son, and some of the other 
 chiefs were captured. Black Hawk, in custody of Jefferson 
 Davis, was brought down to the island of Rock Island, at that 
 time the headquarters of Gen. W'infield Scott. Owing to a 
 cholera epidemic prevailing at that time he was not taken on 
 shore, but was sent on to Jeft'erson Barracks as a prisoner, in 
 the custody of Jeii'erson Davis, and from there to P'ortress 
 Monroe, where Davis was afterwards himself confined, and 
 after a trip through the principal cities of the east to show him 
 the strength of the American nation and to convince him of the 
 futilitv of opposing them, and incidentally for the amusement 
 
 of the white people, he was returned to Ruck Island, shorn of 
 his power as a chief, and placed in the custody of Keokuk, who 
 became responsible for his subsequent peaceful conduct. Chief 
 Keokuk had for a long time been disjxised to yield to the de- 
 mands of the Americans for the land which had belonged to 
 the Sac and Fox Indians in Illinois. The whites had great 
 confidence in him. He and Black Hawk had been leaders of 
 op[)Osing Indian factions and it was a great humiliation to 
 Black Hawk to have his defeat end in being subordinated to 
 his opponent. 
 
 The trouble with England ended with the Treaty of Ghent, 
 and the trouble with the Indians ended with the termination of 
 the I'.lack Hawk War, and Fort Armstrong became unneces- 
 sary. In 1836 the fort was evacuated and abandoned, and 
 thereafter allowed to fall into decay, and 1855 a part of it was 
 burned. The last vestige was removed when the railroad bridge 
 was remo\'ed to its present location. Its right of way, as well 
 as Fort Armstrong Avenue and the street railway tracks, pass 
 directly through the site of old Fort Armstrong. The island 
 of Rock Island, however, did not lose importance as years 
 passed, for during the Civil War it was occupied by a military 
 prison with a capacity of 12.000 prisoners, and at the close of 
 this war was selected as the site of the chief arsenal of the 
 United .States. There is every reason to believe that future 
 years will see its importance increase many fold.
 
 ""^-^^ 
 
 5». 's-^C*— ■ 
 
 -3 
 3 
 
 3 '-■ 
 
 O ^ 
 
 ° I 
 
 o ' 
 
 
 •r.
 
 Black Hawk's Vision 
 
 Spirit of Great Sac Chief Revisits Glimpses of tlie Moon and 
 Dreams of the Fighters of Yesterday 
 
 By Robert Rc.ulalc 
 
 Down the long, dim valleys that stretch away, 
 I dream of the fighters of yesterday. 
 
 And I see the light of tlie watch-fire's glow. 
 Where the rivers meet in tlieir onward llow ; 
 
 1 hear the wolf on the lonely hill. 
 
 And [he low, sweet song of the whip-poo'-will, 
 
 And out of the dark where the wigwams lie. 
 An arrow is flaming across the sky ! 
 
 The gray owl calls with a lond tu-whoo, 
 I-'roni the hattered prow of a war-canoe, 
 
 1 see the gleam at the water's hrink. 
 
 Where the game came down in the night to drink. 
 
 And far along hy the wooded shore, 
 
 1 watch for the foe where he lurked of yore, 
 
 As the stars fade hea\'enward one hy one. 
 And the hills ujilift to the rising sun! 
 
 Down the long, dim valleys a spirit croons 
 The deathless song of a thousand moons, 
 
 I see the fort on tlie rocky ledge, 
 
 \\'here the cave dips under the island's etlge. 
 
 And the l)Ugle sounding the reveille 
 Proclaims the dawn of the white man's day! 
 
 I see the path that his skill has hlazed, 
 
 And the works the might of his arm has raised. 
 
 His cliildrcn rule where my people trod. 
 
 And their harvests spring from the blood-stained so 1, 
 
 As the trail winds on over ])laiu and steep. 
 
 Through the hallowed ground where the fighters sleej)! 
 
 What matters it now where their bones may rest — 
 It was knife to knife, it was breast to breast, 
 
 I hear the twang of the bended bow, 
 And the nniffled shot in the rocks below; 
 
 Though the scalp-lock falls from the warrior's hand. 
 He died for his scpiaw and his native land, 
 
 For men were the hunters and men the prev, 
 And l)rave were the fiahters of vestcrdav! 
 
 25 —
 
 Rebuilt Block House, lyiO, on the Site of the South .\ugle of 
 
 :-"ort Armstrong
 
 PROGRAM 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Fort Armstrong Centennial Celebration 
 
 June 18th -24th, 1916 
 
 n n n 
 
 Sunday 
 
 MORNING 
 AFTERNOON 
 
 EVENING 
 
 HOME DAY 
 
 June 18th 
 
 Services in :ill tlic churches of the three cities with a|)])ro]iriate seniKiiis. |iarticiilarly im Home- 
 coming, Peace, Preparedness, and L'hin-ch I'rogreis (hiring the last liun(hed years. 
 
 Sacred I'land Concerts in — 
 
 l^'ejervary I'ark. Davenport. 
 
 Long \'ie\v Park. Rocl< Island. 
 
 l^rospect Park, Moline. 
 Services in many of the churches of the three cities, the jjastors of several churches exchang- 
 ing pulpits and delivering the morning's sermon. 
 
 — 27 —
 
 House of Col. George Davcnijort — Flnilt, 1831 ; restored, 1906 
 
 "This is probably the most historic house in Illinois or Iowa, and has given shelter and hospitality to more great men 
 than any other private residence of the United Stages."— A n/jsf ton }•
 
 Monday 
 
 SUNRISE 
 MORNING 
 
 FORT ARMSTRONG DAY 
 
 June 19th 
 
 Salute of one hundred guns on llie river at tlie lower end of Rock Island. 
 
 (_'elebration of the Founding of l'"ort Armstrong-, iSiO, and Dedication of the rebuilt Ijlock 
 House, on the lower end of the island and at the grandstand on Main Aveiuie. 
 
 HISTORICAL NOTE 
 
 l!rig.-Gen. Thomas A. Smith in command of a regiment of Rifles and the lughth I'. S. In- 
 fantry — the latter under the immediate command of Col. William Lawrence — landed on the island 
 of Rock Island May lo, 1816, 800 strong, for the purpose of establishing a fortification to protect 
 the line of communication, by way of the river, to the upper reaches of the Mississippi. General 
 Smith did not remain long, but with his Rifles proceeded up the river to P^ort Snelling, near St. 
 Anthony's Falls, leaving Colonel Lawrence and the Eighth Infantry to erect the fort. It was 
 named Fort Armstrong, in honor of the then secretary of war. The fort was in the form of a 
 square with its four corners presented to the four jjoints of the comi)ass. It measured 270 feet on 
 each of its sides. It was protected on the north, east, and south angles Ijy block houses, the east 
 one being the largest. The fort, though no battle was ever fouglit there, was the center of opera- 
 tions during the Indian wars of 183 1 and 1832. P'rom the time of the coming of the white settlers 
 in 1828, until the treat}- of September 21, 1832, which ended the Indian troubles, it was a place of 
 refuge for the pioneers. Thereafter, there being no further need for the fort, it was vacated in 
 1836 and permitted to fall into decay. 
 
 A replica of the block house which formerly stood on the south angle of the Fort Armstrong 
 enclosure has been erected upon its original site. The opening of the celebration is marked 1)\- the 
 unveiling of this block house upon a signal given by President Woodrow Wilson, transmitted by 
 wireless telephone from Washington, D. C. This ceremony is preceded by a dramatization of the 
 landing of the troojis under Brigadier-General Smith and Colonel Lawrence. Thev are seen com- 
 ing up the river in keel boats, as they did one hundred years ago. L'pon their landing the block 
 house is unveiled, an 1812 flag is raised, and the salute fired. This is followed bv the sounding of 
 whistles and the ringing of bells in the tri-cities announcing the formal opening of the Fort Arm- 
 strong Centennial Celebration. 
 
 ■29 —
 
 First Bridge over the ^lississippi River, Built in 1856
 
 Monday 
 
 June 19th 
 
 NOON 
 
 AFTERNOON' 
 
 EX'ENING 
 
 Because of lack of room on the lower point of the Island the remainder of the dedicatory pro- 
 gram takes place at the grandstand, located on ^lain Avenue east of the entrance gates to the 
 Rock Island .\rsenal. Seats are reserved for the pioneers of Scott County, Iowa, and Rock Island 
 County, Illinois. The program includes addresses by Ex-Governor Sam R. \'an Sant, of Minne- 
 sota, himself a pioneer of this locality; Colonel George W. iSurr, commandant of the Rock Island 
 Arsenal ; and by representatives of the Daughters of the American Revolution. 
 
 Grand Reunion of Old Settlers of Scott County, Iowa, and Rock Island County, Illinois ; 
 Historical Associations and Home-Comers, with an old-fashioned basket picnic. i\Iusic, speaking, 
 and a general good time. 
 
 Dedication and marking of the old Arsenal lUiilding. Tier of the I'irst 1 '.ridge across the .Mis- 
 sissippi River, and the Davenport House. 
 
 Burning of Saukenuk. 
 
 HISTORIC.\L NOTE 
 
 The Indian village of Saukenuk was located on Rock River, about three miles above its con- 
 fluence with the Mississippi, at the western base of 151ack tiawk's Watch Tower. It is supposed to 
 have been established in the early part of the eighteenth century, and was the largest Indian vil- 
 lage in the west, and one of the largest within the present limits of the United States. Here the 
 famous War Cliief, Black Hawk, was born, and over its possession the Black Hawk Wars of 1831 
 and 1832 were fought. During the Revolutionary War Colonel George Rogers Clark, acting under 
 a commission from the Colony of \"irginia, instituted a campaign for the recovery of the Northwest 
 Territorv from the British, the territory being then claimed by that commonwealth. \\'hile cam- 
 paigning in the southern portion of the Illinois country he learned of the pro-British attitude of 
 Sac and Fox Indians and detached a command under Colonel John Montgomery, with the village 
 of these Indians on Rock River as its objective point, in 1780. The Indians were driven from their 
 village anil the village itself burned. 
 
 The presentation of this takes place in front of the grandstand. The program opens with a 
 Ijand concert. Following this appears a portion of the tribe of Meskwaki ( I'ox) Indians, descend- 
 ants of those who inhabited this locality, who present characteristic Indian dances and sports. 
 This is followed by the Camp-fire Girls of the tri-cities in the presentation of ceremonials and 
 
 — 31 —
 
 Monday June 19th 
 
 songs. As darkness cluscs ovit tin.' Island the village of Sankeniik is presented with its Indian ae- 
 tivities. While their evening sports an<l ceremonials are at their height Colonel Montgomery's 
 command arrives and the hattle opens. There is a sharp conflict between the Indians and the 
 whites, which resnlts in the defeat of the Indians. The soldiers take possession of the village ami 
 hurn it. As the embers are dying away, from its rnins the figure of a prophet arises, wlio foretells 
 the downfall of tin- Indian befure the encrdacliment (if the whites and the idtimate establishment of 
 a new civilization. 
 
 Tuesday PIONEER DAY j„ne 20th 
 
 MORNING \'isils to historical sites on b(»th silks 111 the river marked li\ the Historical .Section (jf the 
 
 Davenport Academv of .Sciences and the Rock Island ('iinnl\ Historical Society. A guide is 
 at eacli site to give needed information. 
 
 HisriiRif Si'irrs Marked on 'ini': InwA Side 
 
 .Site of the Treaty of the lilack Hawk Purchase, 1832. Aliout where I'arnam Street would in- 
 tersect b'ifth Street. Marked at l-'ifth and Iowa Streets, about 450 feet west of the treaty site. 
 
 Treat)- Site House. The log house limit b\- .\ntoine Lc Claire in 1833 at the site of the Treaty 
 of 1832. Now stands, boarded over and remiideled. in the rear of 420 West Mflh Street, near 
 Scott Street. 
 
 Claim House, liuilt l)y ( ieorge L. 1 )a\enpurt in 1833. on the first claim taken up in the lilack 
 1 lawk Purchase. The first frame house in Iowa. Now at 557 College Avenue. 
 
 Site of the Treaty f)f 183(1. conveying Keokuk resers'c. In Prospect Park. 
 
 Embankment leading to the lirst bridge across the .Mississippi River. C)n East River Street, 
 near Eederal Street. 
 
 Camp McClellan. Recruiting caniji of the (_'i\il War. .Sioux i)rison. At East River Street 
 anil Camp McClellan Pmilevard. 
 
 — 33 —
 
 ■f. 
 
 ^ *
 
 Tuesday June 20th 
 
 Location where grouml was broken for the construction of tlie first raih'oad liuiU beyond the 
 AJississippi River, at I'ifth and Rock Island Streets. 
 
 I'irst collet;e ijuildin!^- erected in Iowa. Xo. 517 West Seventli Street. Institution then called 
 Iowa Colle.g'e : now (iriiuull I'olleine. at GriniK-11, Iowa. 
 
 Site where John llrown purchased supplies fcir his men at Sprin;;dale. ( in allc\ 1)i'low Second 
 Street on the west side of Hradv Street. 
 
 .Site of house of Dr. John I'.merson, owner of 1 )red Scott, the slave: 22^ luist Second Street. 
 
 Mouse where Barclav Coppoc, John ISrown refugee, was secreted followini.; the Harper's berry 
 tiyht. Now VVirtel & Drebing's trunk store. 220 llrady .Street. 
 
 Excellent views of Davenport can lie secured from I'rospect I'ark-, from Riverview Terrace, 
 from Lookout I'ark, from I'"airmount Cemetery, and from the roof of the I'utnam ISuilding, .Main 
 and Second .Strt'cts. 
 
 llisToKic Si'iiis M \kK|.|) (IN' -riii.: Ifj^inois Smi'; 
 
 j Site of first pcnwr dam in ,Mississi|)pi l\i\er. ( iuard House of 15th Street l'>rid,L;e, Aloline.- 
 
 tabin site of Joel Wells, Sr., the lirst settler where Moline is now located. .\t b'irst .\veiuie 
 <md 2 1 St Street, .Moline. 
 
 Site of .Moline's first mills and foimdry, and bihn Dcere's first plow shop. Just west of 15th 
 Street r.ridj.>,e, aloii;;" the river bank, .Moline. 
 
 .Site of home of Stei)luns, and his twent\ net'ro sla\'es; the onI\- sl;i\'es held in Rock Is- 
 
 land ("ounty. At \\'alker .Station in .\ Inline. 
 
 .Monument on t/ampbell's Island, e(immemor,itin.L; the b.ittle there in July, l<Si4. 
 
 Location of the house of John I'.arrel, built b\ Russell I'arnham and L'ol. ( ieorgx" Davenport in 
 1826, the first house on the Illinois side, the first stage station, the first hotel, the first postoffice, the 
 first coiu't room, the first ]il;ice of election, the first meeting ])lace of the countv board, the center of 
 b'arnhanisburg. the tirst \illage on the Illinois side of the ri\er. Aliout 300 feet north of intersec- 
 tion of I'il'tb .\\'einie and 2i)tli Street, Rock' Island. 
 
 — 35 —
 
 ■f. * 
 
 X 
 
 Z =^ c 
 
 c o 
 
 ■- i 
 
 — o
 
 Tuesday June 20th 
 
 Rock Island House. I'l'opcrtx used eoiitinuously as a lit.itel site since the earh' da\s of Steph- 
 enson. Corner of Second Avenue and West 17th Street, Rock Island. 
 
 Old jail property and sheriff's resitlence, vvdicrc the "Banditti of the Prairie." who ninnlereil 
 Col. Davenport, were confined. ( )n 15th .Street, just hack of the IModern Woodmen of America 
 liuilding. Rock Island. 
 
 .\mos F". Cutter harn, 150 feet from the site of the ^'allows where the nuu-derers of I'ol. I)aven- 
 port were hanged, and into which was built the lumber of which, the tiallows were built. I )n i^tli 
 Street between Third and Fourth Avenue. Rock Island. 
 
 Sac corn fields showing- "s(|naw-hills" undisturbed since the Indians' last culti\ation in 1S31. 
 Xow covered with forest trees. Co east frt)m marker on T2th Street south of ( hippianuock Cem- 
 etery, Rock Island. 
 
 Remains of mound on which stood the Sac Council Lculge. Treaty of 1804 was reported here: 
 Keokuk was elected war-chief here in 1S12; Lieut. Zebulon I'ike brought here the first Cnited 
 States flag to he raised on the main land of the up]jer Mississi])pi River. Tliis was the ot^cial 
 headquarters of the Sac village which was burned by Col. John Montgomery in 1780 — a part of the 
 Revolutionary War, and wliicb was again destroyed 1)_\- fire l)y Illinois militia under llrig.-Cen. 
 Joseph Duncan in the 1831 campaign of the Black Hawk War; 100 yards west of the bridge over 
 Rock River at the Davis Power Plant. 
 
 Ruins of the Sears' mill. Im-oui this spot Gen. E. P. (iaines shelled \"andruH"'s Islaml in 1831 
 from the deck of the steaiuboat 'T^nterprise," to drive out lllack Hawk' ;mil his hostile Imlians. .\t 
 the bridge over Rock River at the Davis Power Plant. 
 
 A andrufi"s Island. Cjen. Joseph Duncan and i.Ckio mounted Illinois militia, accompanied by 
 Gov. John Reynolds and statT, swept the Islaml in i8,:;i in search, of hostile Indians. ( )n the site of 
 the cabin of Joshua \'andruff ])art of the cellar wall still riuiains. It was here that lilack Hawk, 
 indignant o\er the srde to his Indians of "fire-water," \isited .\lr. X'andrult and destroyed his sup- 
 ]>1\ of \vbiskc\'. Past of .Main road across Islaml. 
 
 (jrax'e of I'.Iack Hawk's two children, and site of the caliiu where he fasted and motnned tlieir 
 — 37 —
 
 Tuesday June 20th 
 
 I (katli for two years. Al Uk- extreme west end aiiil hiyliest ])oiiit of Watch Tower bluff. l-'roin 
 same point niav be seen the site of "Rock Island City," a purely western "boom" town of the early 
 days, 1S36. 
 
 The first water jiower of this vicinity ( \andruff's) and the site of the first permanent water 
 ' power dam across the south channel of Rock River: the remnants of the state canal of 1837; the 
 ^\ll^w Hanks trail: the .Maklen trail: where the Rock River rant;;ers and re^nlars slielled \ an- 
 dniff's Island in 1831 : the location of a prehistoric pottery : the location of the legend of the JM-ench 
 fiddler : the location of the legend of the Indian lovers' spring; the location of Lincoln's camp. All 
 may be seen from the ^^'atch Tower Inn. 
 AFTF.RXOOX (lymnastic Exhiljitiun by the Voun^- Alen's Clu-istian Associations of Davenport. Rock Island, 
 
 and Moline. 
 
 ("■rand Entry and Maze Run. I'arallel liars. 
 
 Massed Dumb Hell Drill. Tumbling. 
 
 Relay Races. The Cn-cy Zouaves. 
 
 Elejihant Work. Wall Scaling and I-'inale. 
 
 EX'EXIXri Electric-iIly Illuminated .Xiglit .S])cclacular Pageant. 
 
 PROGRESS 
 
 \n allegorical presentation of historical and industrial e\ents 1)_\- an electrically illuminated 
 pageant on. ten cars. These ])ass in review Ijefore the grandstand on Main .\venue. 
 
 C \R I. Tin; Elicht 01^ the r.U'!ii .Simi;it 
 
 Ttr.STnlurAL NOIR 
 
 There is a cave under the island of Rock Island about 150 feet in depth, the moutii of which is 
 now closed bv the abutment of the Government Bridge which spans the main channel of the Alis- 
 sissipjii River, .\ccording to Indian tradition this cave was inhabited by a white, l>inl-like spirit of 
 immense size. The Indians believed this to be their good, spirit and were wont to worsliip it. 
 ^\ liile it was not often seen b\- them its oceasion;d appearance in tlie spring time pres.aged good 
 
 — 39 —
 
 y 
 

 
 Tuesday j^ne 20th 
 
 I crops ami, intlii.' aiiUimu time, successful Inuits ;uiil an alnuxlaucc of oanic. ^Vith the establish- 
 lueut of the fort immediately over the cave the bin! spirit uever returned, and it was their belief 
 that the presence of the soldiers and their warlike activities caused it to tl\- awax'. With its de- 
 l)arture the tables of their fortune were turned. The harvests grew less plentiful, the qanie be- 
 came scarce, and in a few years their I;ind and tlieir homes were claimed by the whites. 
 
 This legend is depicted with a great white bird in the foregrciund rising in lliglu. r.eldw and 
 on either si<le are white swans which appear as its guardians. In the rear is seen the mciutli of 
 the cave from which ;in Indian fairy (pieen is emerging. She is holding her right hand ;doft and 
 m It are gathered ribbons which float back from the beaks of the birds. They are seen siKiring out 
 over the bosom of the great river in their final flight. The ear is brilliantly illuminated and is one 
 of the most charming of the brilliant procession. 
 
 Car 2. CoMiNc; uf tiie Wiurii Man 
 
 HISTORICAL NOTE 
 
 The first white men to visit this locality were Marquette and |oliel. who. in Alav, 1(175, 
 started from Mackuiac to seek the great river, rumors of which tliev had heard from the Indians! 
 They followed the north shore of Lake .Alichigan into Creen l'.;i\-, and ascending the I'ox River 
 portaged to the ^^■isconsin River. Down this they floated untilthey reached the' Mississippi River 
 June 17th. They proceeded down the iMississippi, passing the island of Rock Island a few days 
 later. They continued to the mouth of the Arkansas, where their journev southward was discon- 
 tnuie.l. and they retiu-ned by the way of the Illinois River and Lake Michigan. Toilet's interest in 
 the undertaking was mercantile, but Marquette's was that of the zealous missionarv who sought to 
 locate the Indian tribes resident in the great valley that the church might extend the scope of its 
 work and claim them as converts to its faith. 
 
 This is shown as a water scene. In the background is the lower end of the island (if Rock 
 Island. ( hi the water is a canoe. In the canoe is seen Joliel and Marquette, the later bearing aloft 
 a blazing cross. \\ ith lliem are to be seen the Imli.an v(i\ageurs. ( )n the bow of the canoe is an 
 old-fashioned torch in which bark- is burning. 
 
 — 41 —
 
 1^ 
 
 

 
 Tuesday June 20th 
 
 Car 3. 'J'lnc L'(i,\ii.\i; lU'' 'nil': Flag 
 :i is'i'iiKic Ar. xciTi-; 
 
 rile lla.L^ is the eniljkni of political posscssidii. Wluri \-cr it is |ilantcil it si,iL;nirn.s that tlir na- 
 tion it re]jrL'scnts claims sovereignty and that such natimi lias assumed tn pmlect to the hesi ni its 
 al)ilit\' all those who declare their allegiance. 
 
 This car is purely allegorical. There is represenli'd a frontier hlock' honse. a pictnres(|tH' 
 li\ ing lignre representing '■Colnnihia" is raising a llag. 
 
 Car _|. ri(i\'r.i-;i.:.s 
 11 Is roKiiAi. x(n-|-. 
 
 I'ollowing the fnr-trader, soldier, and frcmtiersnian c.anie the t\|iical pioneer seeking to es- 
 tablish a new home. They were a slnrdv, self-reliant Imdv of men and women who braved the 
 dangers and hardships eif a frontier life to pnpare die country for the subsequent civilization 
 which we enjo\'. 
 
 .\ dog and farm animals are grouped aliont. .\ man with an axe stands in the \ard. In the 
 rear and forming' a backgrouiiil is a log cabin, illiimin.ited, with children in the dooi'wax. 
 
 - - 43 —
 
 Tuesday June 20th 
 
 Cai; 5. .VcKICULTURli 
 Jl ISIIIKICAI. XOTE 
 
 .\ftrr liuildinj; shelters for himself ami the iiienibers of his faniilx', the pioneer's next move was 
 to elear the land anfl bring; the soil under cultivatioil. From this betjinning', as time passed, mod- 
 ern, scientific farming" followed. AgTicultural pursuits underlay every other form of industry and 
 form the foundation for all subsequent prosperit)-. 
 
 ( )n the rear of this car is a tree bearing- one hundred red lights imbedded in its foliag^c typify- 
 ing tlie one hundred years of progress that we are now celebrating. In the foreground is a pro- 
 fusion of agricultural products and trailing over and among these is a vine covered with leaves and 
 llowers ty]ncal of nature's l.iounteous response to the agricultural efi'orts of man. Life is .idded to 
 the scene li\ the presence of a lady seated in the midst of this profusion. 
 
 C_'.\K 6. I.UMUiij^ — FoRiisT Riches 
 
 IIISTORTC.M. NflTE 
 
 Sliorlh after llie first pioneer settlers arrived saw )'iills were establisheil and the native timber 
 was cut to meet their needs. Then the great Mississippi was called upon to play its part and from 
 the ])ine woods of the north lumber and logs were rafted. ( jreat mills supplanted tlie earl\ ones 
 and the industry grew until it became the most important industry of this locality. 
 
 The car rejiresents the householder receiving from the forest nymph the gift of "h'orest 
 Riches." She is made to appear coming through the ,\rch of Success from a dense wood. < 'n 
 either side stand the protecting Fairies of the Deejj Forest, in their garb of green bronze and bril- 
 liant with the I .ight of Promise. 
 
 — 47 —
 
 Tuesday June 20th 
 
 Car 7. Manufacturing 
 
 lUSTdRICAL NOTE 
 
 Because of the water power on Rock River near the site of Sankcnuk and on the Mississippi 
 River at Mohne, manufacturing was early developed. In 1837 David 1). Sears connneneed the 
 construction of a power dam between the island of Rock Island and the main Illinois shore. This 
 formed the nucleus of a manufacturing center previous to the advent of steam. 
 
 This car shows the (ioddess of Industry, seated on her marble throne at the font of die factory- 
 studded Hills of Progress, presiding over the workers with her beacon light ever burning. 
 
 Car 8. Commerce 
 historical note 
 
 r The tri-cities were located on the Mississipin River, the commercial thoroughfare of 'the 
 
 early dav. The industrial growth, thus fostered and encouraged, was the magnet that brought the 
 
 \ first railroad that reached the Mississippi to this point. Here, also, the first railroad on Iowa ter- 
 ritory was l)uilt, and the two lines were connecte 1 by the first bridge to span the Mississippi River. 
 The growing west was thus made tributary to 'tin •; commercial center and contributed to its de- 
 velopment. 
 
 The Queen of Commerce is depicted on a wharf as a foundation, with the boxes and barrels of 
 her calling as a throne, presiding over the shipping, while on the high ground at the rear the first 
 locomotive, the Antoine Le Claire, is seen crossing the Island. Rack of it stands the clock tower 
 of the Arsenal building and in the waters below is a passing river steamljoat. 
 
 ■49-
 
 
 v..
 
 Tuesday j^^^^ 20th 
 
 Car 9. Peack and Prospkklty 
 This oar is surmoiintwl l3y an ant^cl figure of Peace of heroic size. .Xround her winds the great 
 Horn of Plenty from which pours a stream of unlimited riches which the '■Oueen of Wealth." in 
 
 the foreground, with her wand turns to gol 
 
 Car 10. America 
 This is the Car Triumphant— the final car of the pageant. Upon the Steps of Advancement 
 stands the Goddess of Prosperity, mounted on the Wheel and Wings of Progress. These massive 
 steps are draped with the national colors as protection and inspiration. These great flags are stud- 
 ded with lights. Over the steps and on the backs of the great gilded lions, emblematic of Might, 
 are seen hovering white doves— a dove for each of the one hundred years of continual progress we 
 have made since the first flag flew over old Fort Armstrong. 
 
 — 53-
 
 o c 
 
 -a *o 
 
 -c '7. 
 
 * : 
 
 3 i
 
 Wednesday 
 
 MORNING 
 
 AFTERNOON 
 
 LADIES' AND HISTORICAL DAY 
 
 June 21st 
 
 Ladies' Floral i'aradc in each of the tliree cities. 
 
 Three hundred cars owned and driven by the cream of society of Davenport. Rock Island, and 
 jNIoline, beautifully decorated with many striking and novel effects. The route of the parade is 
 over the principal streets of all three cities. 
 
 Historical Pageantry at the grandstand on ]\Iain Avenue. 
 
 The Earliest Wedding 
 historical note 
 
 A pair of young pioneers bent on matrimony came to the trading post on the island of Ko.'k 
 Island searching for minister or magistrate. Neither were there. Col. George Davenport, relying 
 upon the authority of his commission as postmaster, married them. 
 
 The young folks come to the Davenport liome on the Island and ask to be married. .Mrs. Dav- 
 enport, sympathizing with them, adds a festive touch to the liride's costume and persuades Colonel 
 Davenport to do his best. The frontier neighbors attracterl bv the inci<knt join in a dance and 
 merry-making. 
 
 1829. Bl.mk Hawk. Jdxaii H. C\se and the Pe.vce Pu-e 
 
 HISTORICAL note 
 
 Among- those who settled in the Sac village were Jonah H. Case and family. They moved 
 into an Indian house about where F'ifteenth Street projected would cross Nineteenth .\venue in the 
 city of Rock Island. The house was built of posts, and sided and roofed with the bark of trees. 
 They proceeded to use corn and vegetables from the cache of the absent Indians. In a few days 
 Black Hawk appeared and protested this invasion of his own private property. I\Ir. Case in order 
 to appease the indignant chief made a cash settlement with him, which pleased Black Hawk to 
 such an extent that he soon returned with a peace pipe. This he smoked with j\lr. Case and then 
 presented it to him as a token of satisfaction. From that time on they remained fast friends. This 
 peace pipe has been recently presented to the Rock Island County Flistorical Society b_\' Mrs. R. .\. 
 McEachron, granddaughter of Mr. Case. 
 
 The presentation of th.e pipe is shown in the dramatization of the incident. 
 — 55 —
 
 eokuk, a Chief of the Sacs, and his Son 
 
 Black Hawk, a War Chief of the Sacs
 
 Wednesday June 21st 
 
 183 1. Spencer's Ride 
 
 HISTORICAL note 
 
 When the Sacs and Foxes became threatening in 183 1 and a general massacre of early settlers 
 seemed imminent, Jndge J. W. Spencer visited the scattered homes of the pioneers and warned 
 them of the clanger. Whereupon they fled to the |)rotection of I-'ort Armstrong. 
 
 This incident is dramatized by having Judge Spencer note a war dance of the Indians around 
 the camp fire and then riding from cabin to cabin giving warning of the impending danger. This 
 is followed by a flight of the settlers to safety. 
 
 1832. Enlistment for the Black Hawk Wai< 
 ; historical note 
 
 I'ursnant to the call for volunteers by Gov. Reynolds, of Illinois, about 2,000 men enlisted. 
 Among them was Abraham Lincoln. These men were organized into companies, selected their 
 officers, and were sworn in. Abraham Lincoln was elected captain, the first ])osition he filled under 
 the government. Near the present site of Milan ;he martyred ]iresident took his first oa(h of al- 
 legiance to the I'nited States. 
 
 This incident is represented by the gathering of recruits at the head(|uarters of the mustering 
 officer. In accordance with custom the men chose their officers by those nominated taking ])osition 
 and their adherents falling in behind them. 
 
 1832. Treaty of the Black H.\wk Purch.vse 
 
 HISTORICAL note 
 
 The prevalence of yellow fever among the troops at Fort .\rmstrong caused the treaty ending 
 the Second Black Llawk War to be concluded on the site of Davenport. The United States com- 
 missioners were Gen. Winfield Scott and Gov. John Reynolds. The In lians were represented by 
 numerous chiefs, among them Keokuk and Pashapaho of the .Sacs, and Poweshiek and Wapello of 
 the Foxes. Antoine Le Claire was interpreter. The eastern portion of Iowa was transferred and 
 has been called the P)lack Hawk Purchase. A square mile of land now covered by the city of Dav- 
 enport was reserved from transfer and was given to Mrs. Antoine Le Claire by Keokuk. 
 
 — 57 —
 
 Poweshiek, a Chief uf the Foxes, 
 
 whose village was on the site of the city of Davenport 
 
 ^^'apello, a Chief of the Foxes, 
 
 whose village was on the site of the city of Rock Island
 
 Wednesday June 21st 
 
 The treaty grou]) is made up of commissioners, army officers from the fort, and a few wit- 
 nesses. In this incident is intnxhiced an occurrence of one of the many treaties of this period a 
 
 protest of squaws, who contend that llieirs is tlie ownership of the land as thev till the soil. 
 
 1841. 'J'liic Imrst Duel in Iowa 
 
 HISTORICAI. NOTE 
 
 Soon after the completion of the handsome l.e Claire House in Davenport, in 1831;, this com- 
 munity was sought by people from the east an<l south, who rusticated, hunted on theY)rairies, and 
 added greatly to the social life of the infant cities. Among the grouj) of transients in 1841 were 
 four young men named Heg:ner, Sperry, Finch, and Ralston. They attended a dance at the Rock 
 Island House one evening, and Ralston and Hegner quarreled over their rivalry for the smiles of 
 Miss .Sophia Fisher, a Davenport belle. The result of the quarrel was a duel on the Iowa side at 
 sunrise, shots being exchanged at twenty paces. Dr. !'. Cregg patched up Hegner's right arm, 
 everybody shook hands, and principals and seconds adjourned for a drink at the Le Claire House. 
 The officers of the law chased all concerned in the challenge and duel out of the comnuuiity. 
 
 The ball is shown and the dispute because Miss Fislur had prdinised (he same ijance t(j both 
 Ralston and Hegner. The second scene portrays the duel, wherein Ralston offers to compromise, 
 and on refusal promises to wing his antagonist, which he did with entire jjromptness at tlie count 
 of three. 
 
 1845. Farewell to Col. Davenport ]!Y Indlan Imuk.n'ds 
 
 HISTORICAL note 
 
 Soon after the murder of Col. (ieorge Davenport, his grave near his home on the island of 
 Rock Island was visited by a band of Fox Indians, who performed a strange and interesting cere- 
 mony of farewell, making use of a post of white cedar. This post is in the collection of the Rock 
 Island County Historical Society. Col. Davenport was presented b\- his Indian friends with many 
 slaves, these slaves being those killed in battle by the braves taking i)art in the ceremony of paint- 
 ing the post. 
 
 The ceremonies as depicted are in accordance with the description of the editor of the Daven- 
 port Gazette, Alfred Sanders, who witnessed the event. 
 
 — 59 —
 
 Logan Ka-ka-que, Grandson of Black Hawk, 1916 
 
 Resides on the Sac Reservation in Oklahoma 
 
 Se-us-kuk, Son of Bhick Hawk 
 
 "The finest looking Indian I ever saw." — Catlin
 
 Wednesday 
 
 June 21st 
 
 John Brown and the UNDiiRCRouND System 
 
 HISTORICAL note 
 
 EVENING 
 
 John rirowii was a visitor to this comiminit) during' tlie time when the escape of sontlKrn 
 slaves \\'as licing aided liy tlie s\'stem known as the "rnderground Railroad." 
 
 In the scene a wagon load of colored people is being smuggled to Canada and freedom. 
 
 Our Country 
 
 The closing scene of the afternoon of historical pageantry is meant to typif}- our pride in the 
 past of our country and our hope in its future. In the tableau appears the impersonation of Lib- 
 erty, her defenders, veterans of the wars in her defense, and the youth upon whom depends the 
 sacred trust of her perpetuity. ( )n one side of the group stands a group of the soldiers of the War 
 of 1812 bearing a banner inscril)e(l, "I'ort Armstrong, 1816; Safety of the Pioneer." ( )n the other 
 side is a group of jiresent da\' soldiers with a banner, "Rock Island Arsenal, i<)i'); Safetv of the 
 Nation." 
 
 Special Eireworks Display, "C)ld Mexico," at Exposition Park, Rock Island. 
 
 ■Gl —
 
 Alary Ka -ka-quc, Great-great-granddaughter of Black Hawk 
 
 A graduate of Haskell Indian School 
 
 Jesse Ka-ka-que, Great-grandson of Black Hawk 
 
 A successful farmer on the Indian Reservation in Jackson County, Kansas
 
 Thursday INDUSTRIAL AND FRATERNAL DAY j^ne 22d 
 
 MORNING Martial Session before the grandstand on Alain .\venue. Hatter}- 11, luwa National (inard, 
 
 and companies of Illinois National Gnard s^o through various drills and manuevers. 
 
 AFTERNOON Industrial-Fraternal Parade in all three cities. 
 
 The workers of the tri-cities, many thousand strong, march through the streets of Davenport, 
 Rock Island, and Moline. Practically every labor organization in the tri-cities is represented by a 
 large delegation. Practically every business house and manufactor}- in the vicinitv of the tri-cities 
 have floats, man}- of them elaborate in detail and Iniilt at mucli ex])ense. The automobile floats 
 parade in all three cities. Each of the 250 lodges of the three cities have invited their brother or- 
 ganizations for several hundred miles around. It is estimated that 5,000 visiting lodgemen, exclu- 
 sive of the state convention of the B. P. ( ). E. in session in Davenport, are in attendance and will 
 march in the ijarade. 
 
 EVENING Illuminated River Pageant — "Visit of Neptune to the Father of Waters." 
 
 The power boat clubs of Davenport, Rock Island, and Moline with their four hundred craft of 
 all sizes, shapes, and descriptions, ranging from the cham|)i(in, "I'gly Duckling." to the scows 
 used by the shell fishers, greet "Neptune" as he makes his voyage of state up the majestic Missis- 
 sippi River. 
 
 63-
 
 Friday YOUNG AMERICA DAY J,ne23d 
 
 .\1(')RXING Children's Parade in each city. 
 
 Thousands of children in each of the three c ties are under the charge of the school superin- 
 tendents. 
 AFTERNOON Flag Drills, Field Day Sports, Folk Songs, Baby Pageant, etc., on the Island. 
 
 MOXSTER LIVING FL.\G 
 
 This flag is fornietl in front of the grandstan 1 and while in formation various choruses are 
 sung. 
 
 THE MILLTiXG POT 
 
 An ex])osition of all nations becoming Ameri -ans through the American spirit. These various 
 nations will be absorbed by the "Living Flag." 
 
 FIELD SPORTS, G.VMES. ETC. 
 
 F.X'F.NING Grand Review comjiosed of the Electrical Spectacular Pageant and the more ambitious entries 
 
 in the various parades of the week. 
 
 Saturday June 24th 
 
 .\l-'TF,RXOr)X ^lidsummer Fete of the Swedish Societies at Pro.-pect Park. Aloline. 
 
 Part of Indian Memorial Post 
 
 Placed at the grave of Col. George Davenport by a band of Fox Indians 
 Now in the collection of tiie Rock Island County Historical Society 
 
 — 64 —
 
 The Fort Armstrong Centennial Association 
 
 p n D 
 
 jHE idea of celel')ratinn; the Fort Armstrong centenary 
 had been in mind for some months when oit Sep- 
 tember 3, 1915, a meeting of the Hoard of Directors 
 of the Rock Island County Historical Society was 
 held at the home of its secretary. Mr. John H. Hau- 
 berg, with the following members present : Airs. K. T. Ander- 
 son, Sherman W. Searle, William A. Meese. Joseph Pi. Uakleaf, 
 Judson D. Metzgar. (Jrrin S. Holt, lulwin 1!. AIcKown, and 
 John H. Hauberg ; and b\' s])ecial invitation. Col. George ^^'. 
 Hurr, C'ommandant at Rock Island .\rsenal. The one out- 
 stantling purpose in the minds of those present was to use this 
 occasion to bring to the minds of our i>e()iile tlie wialth of his- 
 toric interest of our own immediate vicinity. It was resolved 
 at this meeting that the block house which stood at the south 
 angle of Fort Armstrong should be restored, and that the 
 President of the Historical .Society, S. W. Searle, should ap- 
 point two men from each of the cities of Davenport, Iowa, Mo- 
 line and Rock Island, Illinois, who. with himself as chairman, 
 should prepare plans for a celebration and report back to the 
 Board of Directors within a month. ( )n tliis committee were 
 appointed Edward \-l. Putnam and Harry T-^. Downer, repre- 
 senting the Historical Section of the 1 )a\cn|)ort .\cademy of 
 Sciences ; William A. J.Ieese and Judson D. Metzgar, of Moline, 
 and ( )rrin .S. Holt and John H. Hauberg, of Rock Island. Their 
 report to the P^oard of Directors of the Rock Island County 
 
 Historical Society, as adopted, contained the following recom- 
 mendations : 
 
 That a celebration be held the last full week of June, 1916, 
 on Rock Island, if permission could b.? had ; that an organization 
 of one hundred men be effected ; that such proposed organization 
 be incorporated : that one of the block houses be restored ; that 
 a feature be made of soldiers of the U. S. Army and of the 
 National Cniard of Illinois and of Iowa: that an historic 
 pageant be staged ; that speakers of national prominence be 
 secured ; that civic, fraternal, and commercial bodies be invited 
 to participate ; that we have parades, water ca.rnivals, and fire- 
 works, and that a general home-coming for the three cities be 
 held. 
 
 It was necessary to have permission of the proper Cnited 
 States authorities to erect the block house; to hold the 
 celebration on the Island, and to secure L'nited States 
 troops. (lur communications in this behalf received in turn 
 the endorsements of George W. I'.urr. Lt.-Col. Ordnance 
 Department, Commanding: ^\"illiam Crozier, I'rig.-Gen., Chief 
 of Ordnance. C S. A.: W. M. Wright, .\djutant-General ; 
 E. H. Crowder, Judge Advocate-General: and by order 
 of the Secretary of War, W. C. Piennett, .Adjutant-Gen- 
 eral, and E. P.. Babbitt. Col. Ordnance Department, U. S. A. 
 Permission to build the block house and to stage the celebration 
 on the Island was granted, and it was understood that United 
 States troops in considerable force would be sent if foreign 
 relations [jermitted. 
 
 ■65-
 
 Xow that the way was clear, the committee of one hundred 
 was called to attend a banquet at the Rock Island Club, where, 
 after a number of stirrings addresses, a petition was signed for 
 incorporation, not for pecuniary profit, under the laws of the 
 state of Illinois, and a board of twenty directors elected to take 
 control of the activities of "The Fort Armstrong Centennial As- 
 sociation." 
 
 Thursday of each week, dating from January lo, 1916. has 
 
 seen a meeting of this I'.oard, augmented week after week by 
 the addition of members of committees. George D. Benson, of 
 Chicago, was engaged as director-general, and as the plans de- 
 veloped, the organization increased in momentum and in 
 promise of success. 
 
 The personnel of officers and committees, who gave of their 
 best that this might he the greatest celebration ever attempted 
 by the three cities jointly, is as follows : 
 
 Alfred C. Alueller 
 
 Joe R. Lane 
 
 C. A. Ficke 
 
 Col. Geo. W. French 
 
 W. D. Petersen 
 
 A. F. Dawson 
 
 P. T. Walsh 
 
 J. J. Richardson 
 
 E. "p. Adler 
 
 Dr. G. E. Decker 
 
 Henry ^"ollmer 
 
 W. J.McCullough 
 
 Paul Lagomarcino 
 
 H. E. Weeks 
 
 Oswald Becker 
 
 Judge \\'m. Theophilus 
 
 Judge J. \\". Bollinger 
 
 R. H. Harned 
 
 N. D. Elv C. X. \'oss 
 
 COMMITTEE 
 
 'AVEXPORT 
 
 Harry E. Downer 
 
 Edward K. Putnam 
 
 Henry Karwarth 
 
 Fred Lischer 
 
 \\". T. ^^'aterman 
 
 William Korn 
 
 Carl E. Schlegel 
 
 John F. Dow 
 
 J. W. Bettendorf 
 
 J. Clark Hall 
 
 Geo. M. Bechtel 
 
 I. C. Norwood 
 
 C. E. Harrison 
 
 C. W. Pinneo 
 
 S. H. Moorhead 
 
 Capt. W. A. Shirk 
 
 William Heuer 
 
 Judge Nathaniel French 
 
 T. H. Hass Charles Shuler 
 
 OF ONE HUNDRED 
 
 Col. Geo. W. Burr 
 Col. Cooper 
 
 ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL 
 
 Maj. D. M. King 
 Capt. A. D. Minnick 
 
 I'hil Mitchell 
 H. S. Cable 
 Prank ]Mixter 
 Morris S. Heagy 
 John G. Huntoon 
 F. K. Rhoads 
 
 B. D. Connelly 
 Chas. J. Larkin 
 Chas. Esplin 
 
 H. H. Cleavelanil 
 F. C. Denkmann 
 S. S. Davis 
 
 C. E. Sharpe 
 
 David Sears, Sears, 111. 
 W. J. Spencer, .Sears. Ill 
 
 ROCK ISLAND 
 
 Geo. H. Richmond 
 
 E. C. Fisher 
 
 E. H. Guyer 
 
 Gustav Andreen 
 
 J. T. Marron 
 
 S. W. Searle 
 
 Orrin S. Holt 
 
 John H. Hauberg 
 
 'w. S. AlcCombs 
 
 W. J. Sweeney 
 
 K. T. Anderson 
 
 W. F. Ammerman 
 
 H. W. Horst J. L. \'ernon 
 
 A. A. Buffum, Edgington, 111. 
 
 Lewis Guldenzopf, Milan, 111. 
 
 — 66 —
 
 MOMNE 
 
 W 111. Butterwortli 
 G. A. Stephens 
 M. R. Carlson 
 O. F. Anderson 
 A. T. Foster 
 R. S. Hosford 
 A. G. Abraham 
 W. A. ]\Ieese 
 
 J. D. ;\Ietzgar 
 Mauritz Jolmson 
 Dr. W. E. Taylor 
 Lowrie Bland ing 
 Geo. W. Mixter 
 C. P. Skinner 
 P. S. r^IcGlynn 
 Harrv Ainsworth 
 
 C. S. Kerns 
 
 \V. H. Whiteside 
 
 R. S. Haney 
 
 AI. J. McEniry 
 
 J. B. Oakleaf" 
 
 Geo. W. Ross. East Moline 
 
 A. Ik Johnson, East Moline 
 
 Dr. W. R. I'reek, Cordova 
 
 E. E. Morgan 
 Henry Gripp 
 G. H. Schorbeck 
 R. S. Woodburn 
 
 Geo. W. McMurphy, Hillsdale 
 J. W. .Simonson, Port I'.yron 
 Dr. \\'. 11. Lvford, Port llvron 
 
 OFFICERS. i;().\RD OF DIRECTORS, AXD COMMITTEES 
 
 President — I. L'. Norwood, l^avenport. 
 \'ice-President— H. S. Cable. Rock Island 
 
 Vice-President — A. F. Dawson, Davcniiorl. 
 Secretary — J. H. Hauberg, Rock Island. 
 Treasurer — I. T. Marron, Rock Island. 
 
 H. E. \\'eeks 
 A. F. Dawson 
 E. K. Pntnam 
 
 D.WE.XPORT 
 
 I. C. Norwood 
 F. B. Yetter 
 
 D.WENPORT 
 
 W. J. McCullongh 
 R. H. Harned 
 I. C. Norwood 
 
 UOC'K ISIA.M) 
 E.XECUTIVE COMMITTEE 
 
 H. H. Cleaveland 
 
 FI.N'AXCE COMMITTEE 
 
 H. \V. Cozad 
 
 BOARD OF DIRECTORS 
 
 MOLINE 
 
 G. A. Stephens 
 E. E. Morgan 
 Win. Butterworth 
 
 COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN 
 
 ROCK I.SL.\ND 
 
 S. S. Davis 
 H. S. Cable 
 S. W. Searle 
 
 J. T. JMarron 
 Chas. Esplin 
 J. H. Hauberg 
 
 MOLI.XE 
 
 MOLINE DAVENrOKT UOCK I.SL.\ND 
 
 BLOCK HOUSE COMMITTEE 
 
 E. E. Morgan W. J. ]\lcCullough Phil .Mitchell G. A. Stephens 
 
 IIOME-COMIXG .\XD INF0RM.\TI0N COMMITTEE 
 
 M. J. Mcl'Iniry E. P. Adler H. P. Simpson E. E. Morgan 
 
 — 67 —
 
 DAVEXPORT 
 
 BOCK ISLAND 
 
 DAVEXPOIIT 
 
 ROCK ISLAND 
 
 IIOLINE 
 
 PAGEAXT .AMD PROGRAM COMMITTEE 
 
 H. E. Downer O. S. Holt C. P. Skinner 
 
 E. K. Putnam S. \\". Searle J. H. Haubersf 
 
 PRESS AXD PUP.I.ICITV COMMITTEE 
 
 F. D. Throop H. H. Cleaveland P. S. McGlynn 
 
 YOUXG AMERICA DAY COMMITTEE 
 
 F. L. Smart E. C. Fisher L. A. ^Mahoney 
 
 INDUSTRIAL COMMITTEE 
 
 Sam T. White C. E. Sharpe A. C. Barber 
 
 FLORAL COMMITTEE 
 
 Mrs. H. E. \\"eek;s Mrs. Frank Mi.xter .Mrs. G. .\. Stephens John Berwak' 
 
 FR.VTERNWL COMMITTEE 
 
 Fred \\'ernentin. Jr. Tames McXamara Martin R. Carlson 
 
 PRE.MIUMS .\XD PRIZES COMMITTEE 
 
 H. E. Srharff I. J. Green M. J. Copeland 
 
 TR.\ XS rORTATIOX COM M ITTEE 
 
 Chairman at Large — J. G. Huntoon. 
 T. F. Halliffan \\". A. Rosenfield A. R. Ebl 
 
 MUSIC COMMITTEE 
 
 G. Decker French M. E. Stricter ^^'. H. ^^"hitsitt 
 
 COXCE.SSIOXS COMMITTEE 
 
 J. H. Schaefcr H. A. Clevenstine G. S. Fitzgibbons 
 
 IXVITA.TIOX CO.MM ITTEE 
 
 \\"m. McConochie Martin R. Carlson 
 
 n n D 
 
 Corner-stone of the Rebuilt Block House 
 
 The corner-stone of the rebuilt block house on the site of the 
 soutli angle of Fort .\rmstrong was laid under the auspices of 
 Augustana College and Theological Seminary. May lo, 1916, 
 
 this date being the centenary of the landing of Gen. T. .A.. 
 Smith, Col. \MlIiam Lawrence, and the United States troops. 
 
 — 68 —
 
 I '1/3 
 1699 
 
 1762 
 1763 
 
 1780 
 
 i7i^3 
 
 1801 
 1803 
 
 CHRONOLOGY 
 
 □ n D 
 
 June. Marquette and Joliet come down the Mississippi, 1804 Xov. 3. First Sac and Fox treaty cedes to United States 
 
 passing the island of Rock Island. territory between the [Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. 
 
 (Alxiut). French occupy Mississippi X'alley. 1803 August. Lieutenant Zebulon Pike ascends Mississippi 
 
 River, carrying the American flag and visits the Sac 
 
 FRENCH .AND iNDi.\i\ WAR Indians. 
 
 France cedes to Spain territory west of ^Mississippi war of 181 2 
 
 R^^'^''- 1814 May. General William Clark passes up the river to es- 
 
 England wins from France the territory east of Missis- tablish a fort at Prairie du Chien. Skirmish with Sac 
 
 sippi River. and Fox Indians. 
 
 REVOi.UTiON.XRY w.\K >^'4 .T"'.''' "'• I'^^ttle of Campbell's Island. Captain John 
 
 Campbell defeated bv Indians with Pritish sympathies. 
 A detachment of American troops under Lt.-Col. John 
 
 Montgomery destroys the Sac village of Saukenuk 1814 Sept. 5. Battle of Credit Island. Zachery Taylor, llre- 
 
 at mouth of Rock River. This was a part of the George vet Major, defeated by British and Indians. 
 
 Rogers Clark expedition that saved the Northwest to „ n .. r c 1 t- .= ,,.1.^ fi,..;,- ),„,„, „., -vr;--^,,,-; 
 
 ° . .... ... 1815 Part of Sacs and roxes make tlieir lionie on Alissoun 
 
 the colonies. Illinois at this time was a count v of \'ir- „. 
 
 River, 
 ginia. 
 
 T, ., , , , . ,, r. 1 .• \\- ^1 r- -^ 1 181 s Sept. 8. Eighth U. S. Infantry, in command of Col. R. 
 
 Liv the treaty closmg the Rexolutionarv W ar. the L mted - ' , , , -, ^ ■ , ,• , r t^ , 
 
 ^' ■ r ' T- 1 . .1 . ■ ■. . r .1 G. Nichols, left St. Louis to establish a fort on Kock 
 
 States secures trom Lngland the territory east of the 
 
 ,,-■•• -D- ' ■ Island. 
 
 Mississippi River. 
 
 Spain cedes back to France the territory west of the 'SiS Sept. 13-14. Treaties with the Missouri River Sacs and 
 
 Mississippi River. Foxes at St. Louis. Treaty of 1804 confirmed. 
 
 France sells to the United States the territory west of 1815 Expedition to build fort on Rock Island goes into winter 
 
 the Mississippi River — the Louisiana Purchase. quarters at site of Warsaw. 
 
 — 69 —
 
 i8i6 May lo. L'nitetl States troops land on Rock Island to 
 establish F"ort Armstrong. Rrevet General T. A. Smith 
 with Rifle regiment and Eighth U. S. Infantrj- under 
 Lt.-Col. William Lawrence. 
 
 1818 Illinois admitted as state. 
 
 1823 First steamboat arrived. 
 
 1825 Col. (ieorge Davenport commissioned postmaster. 
 
 1826 First house built on Illinois side by Col. George Daven- 
 port and Russell Farnham. Afterward known as "John 
 Barrel House." 
 
 1827 Ferry established between Fort Armstrong and Iowa 
 shore by Col. Davenport. 
 
 1828 Eight settlers arrive on Illinois side in winter. 
 1828 Keokuk and followers go to live on Iowa River. 
 
 nl-.ACI-; HAWK WARS 
 
 183 1 Spring. Black Hawk warns settlers to leave. 
 
 183 1 April 30. Settlers petition Governor of Illinois for pro- 
 tection from hostile Indians. 
 
 1831 June 20. Illinois militia and U. S. soldiers shell \'an- 
 druff's Island, opposite Black Hawk's Watch Tower. 
 
 1831 June 26. Saukenuk burned. 
 
 1831 June 30. Treaty at I'ort Armstrong with Black Hawk, 
 who agrees to remain west of the Mississippi River. 
 End of the first Black Hawk War. 
 
 1832 
 1832 
 
 1832 
 
 1832 
 
 1833 
 1833 
 1S34 
 1834 
 1835 
 
 1S36 
 
 1836 
 
 1836 
 
 April 6. Black Hawk and his band cross the Mississippi 
 River at Yellow Banks on their way to Rock River. 
 
 Aug. 24. Battle of Bad Ax and capture of Black Hawk 
 ends second Pilack Hawk War. 
 
 Sept. 15. Treaty with Winnebagoes at Fort Armstrong. 
 
 Sept. 21. Treaty with Sacs and Foxes on what is now 
 Davenport cedes eastern portion of Iowa, the "Black 
 Hawk Purchase," to the United States. 
 
 Antoine Le Claire built "Treaty Site" house in Daven- 
 port. 
 
 First frame house built in Davenport by George L. Dav- 
 enport. 
 
 Dr. John Emerson, post surgeon, brings his slave. Dred 
 Scott, to Fort Armstrong from St. Louis. 
 
 Ferry between Illinois and Iowa shores established by 
 Antoine Le Claire. 
 
 Town of Stephenson founded. Settlement had earlier 
 been known as Farnhamsburg. Xame changed to Rock 
 Island in 1841. 
 
 ^lay 4. Fort Armstrong evacuated. Troops removed to 
 Fort Snelling. 
 
 Town of Davenport founded. 
 
 Sept. 28. Treatv with Sacs and Foxes at Davenport. 
 Sale of Keokuk reserve, on Iowa River in Southeastern 
 Iowa. 
 
 — 70 —
 
 1837 ^^ ater power developed 1)\ D. 11. Scars between island 
 of Rock Island and Illinois shore. 
 
 1845 J"'.^ 4- ^o'- George Davenport mnrdered at his home 
 on Kock Island by the 'T.anditti of the Prairie." 
 
 184') Iowa admitted as a state. 
 
 1854 I'eb. 22. Chicago & Rock Island Railroad completed. 
 
 1854 Oct. 8. Barracks and one block honse of Fort Arm- 
 strong bnrned. 
 
 1855 Oct. 7. Another portion of Fort Armstrong burned. 
 
 1856 April 21. First train crosses first Mississippi bridge. ' 
 
 1858 John Brown comes to Davenport. Underground rail- 
 way. 
 
 1859 Alay 23. Ofificers' quarters. Fort Armstrong, destroyed 
 b\- fire. 
 
 1861 .Sept. 25. Death of Antoinc Lc Claire. 
 
 civil. WAK 
 
 1862 July 1 1. Congress makes appropriation to build national 
 arsenal on island of Rock Island. \\ Hrk commenced on 
 first arsenal building following year. 
 
 1863 Dec. 3. Arrival of the first detacliment of Confederate 
 prisoners confined on Rock Island. These were captured 
 at Lookout .Mountain. Total number during the war 
 was over 12,000. 
 
 1865 Present shops of Rock Island .-\rsenal planned by Gen. 
 T. J. Rodman. 
 
 1872 (Jet. 2. Second Mississippi bridge completed. 
 
 1895 Second bridge replaced b_\' present structure. 
 
 Black Hawk's Tomahawk 
 
 Owned by the Rock Island County Historical Society 
 
 -71 —
 
 Gen. Winfield Scott, 
 
 Commander of United Stales troops in the Black Hawk Wars, 
 with headquarters on the island of Rock Island
 
 Under Many Flags 
 
 n □ □ 
 
 Iowa Side Illinois Side 
 
 Mouinl liuiklers. 
 
 Indians. 
 
 Before 1762. France. 
 
 1 762- 1 80 1. Spain. 
 
 1801-1803. France. 
 Since 1803. United States. 
 
 1803-1804. "Louisiana Purchase.'" 
 
 1804-1805. Indiana Territory. 
 
 1805-1812. Louisiana Territory. 
 
 1812-1821. Missouri Territory. 
 
 1821-1834. I'norganized territory. 
 
 1832. Ceded by Sacs and Foxes. 
 
 1834-1836. Michigan Territory. 
 
 1836-1838. Wisconsin Territory. 
 
 1 838- 1 846. Iowa Territory. 
 
 Since 1846. Iowa State. 
 
 .Mound Builders. 
 
 Indians. 
 
 Before 1763. France. 
 
 1763-1783. England. 
 
 Since 1783. United States. 
 
 1783-1788. Claimed Ijy X'irginia, Connecticut, and New 
 
 ^'ork. Ceded to I-'etleral GoveruuKiit.. 
 
 1788-1800. Xorthwest Territory. 
 
 1800-1809. Indiana Territory. 
 
 1S04. Ceded by Sues and Fo-ves. 
 
 i8o<>i8i8. Illinois Territory. 
 
 Since 1818. Illinois State. 
 
 73-
 
 The John A. Dix. Sevmth En.G:ine of the Mississippi 8z Missouri Raih-oail 
 
 Taken over the river on the ice in the winter of 1855
 
 Commandants of Rock Island Arsenal 
 
 n □ n 
 
 MAJ. C P. KINGS BERY i863-i8fi5 
 
 GEN. THOMAS J. RODMAN 1865-1871 
 
 COL. D. W. FLAGEER 1871-1886 
 
 r( )L. THOMAS G. BAYLOR 1886-1889 
 
 COL. J. x\L WHITTEMORE 1889-1892 
 
 COL. A. R. Bl'FFINGTON 1892- 1897 
 
 CAPT. S. !•:. P.LUNT 1897-19)7 
 
 LT.-COL. F. E. H( )\\\\S 1907-191 1 
 
 LT.-COL. GEORGI'. W. lU'RR 1911 
 
 ■75-
 
 Official Photographer 
 J. B. Hosteller 
 Davenport, Iowa
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 Q 977 3393R590 0001 
 
 OFFICIAL BOOK OF THE FORT ARMSTRONG CENT 
 
 ini<:-iiRRiiii 1