History of Davenport, Iowa

Davenport, Iowa, was part of the Louisiana Purchase. In 1814, during the War of 1812 the British military, along with the Saux and Fox Indian tribes fought against the Americans near Davenport. In August, Major Zachary Taylor, later President, fought a battle east of what is now Credit Island Park, in Davenport.^[1] An outpost was set up at Fort Armstrong and George Davenport and Antoine LeClaire were stationed there.

Davenport was established in 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and named after his good friend Colonel George Davenport. The first settlers of Davenport were mostly Germans. After a county seat dilemma with neighboring town Rockingham in 1840, Davenport was established as the county seat of Scott County. Davenport was declared to be Iowa's first military headquarters just before the Civil War by Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood. In November 1865, the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home was opened in Davenport to take in children left orphaned by the Civil War. In 1895, the city hall was built, and in 1897, the first chiropractic school in the world, Palmer Chiropractic College was opened.

Davenport experienced an economic and building boom in the 1920s and early 1930s. The Kahl Building and the Capitol Theatre, the baseball stadium, the Parker Building, and the Blackhawk Hotel are a few of the buildings built during this time period that are still standing. The Great Depression brought economic tough times to the city. The inclusion of new factories in the 1940s and 1950s helped turn the economy around after World War II. Davenport was on hard times once again with the farm crisis of the 1980s, when the Caterpillar Plant closed, costing 35,000 jobs. The city was rejuvenated once again in the 1990s and present by renovations and building additions.