East+Davenport

Original Author: Adam Ritter, ENG206 SP11 Revision Author:
 * East Davenport **

Davenport was incorporated as a town in 1839, and chartered as a city in 1851. Before all this took place, in 1837 the Wisconsin territorial legislature met in Burlington and authorized the creation of Scott County, which was named in honor of General Winfield Scott. The early settlers that came to Davenport were from many different surrounding areas but the majority were German. Along with them they brought their own customs and language. In East Davenport they created a “Turner Society,” which was a health oriented social club.
 * History **

Mark Twain said of the general area north of St. Louis in 1878 that it was “bristling with great towns projected the day before yesterday…and built the next morning.” In specifically referring to Davenport, he mentions “another beautiful city crowning a hill.” The city of Davenport like many other towns had a huge growth spurt which was the result of the post-Civil War industrial development in the area and in the nation as a whole. Davenport underwent a visible growth and in particular East Davenport developed its own personal way from 1880 to1910.

The actual Village of East Davenport was established in 1851, and survived on its lumber based industry. East Davenport, surrounding a bowl-shaped valley, was laid out by Robert Christy, John Witherwax, and W.H. Hildreth. The location is one of beauty, being in a broad ravine and having gentle slopes even from the highest point of bluffs. It is located on a bend in the river just below the Rock Island reef or chain of rocks at the foot of the rapids which forms a beautiful eddy in the river which provides safe landing for boats and a safe harbor for rafts. The site of the village is located on an old Indian town or encampment.

East Davenport was formerly called “Stubbs eddy” having been the residence for many years of James R. Stubbs; an eccentric genius who built a cave in 1857 on the south side of the mound that stands at the mouth of the valley, a part of which still remains. Capt. Stubbs who he was generally referred to as, was educated at West Point. In 1822 he was stationed at Ft. Armstrong on Rock Island and formed an attachment to the enchanting country that he saw. He had to move east for work but eventually returned west to his beloved country side. He found retirement from the world in his secluded spot in East Davenport, and dug his cave in “Stubbs Mound,” where from its mouth he could look out upon the beautiful Mississippi. Here he lived a hermit’s life. People travelling knew Stubbs eddy as a place of reference. Soon it attracted more than wayfarers travelling north and south by road or river. By 1848, immigrants looked to Stubb’s Eddy and its surroundings as a place in which to prosper and, once homesteading in Iowa was encouraged by the Black Hawk Purchase, actual settlement began.

This area is located on the far East side of Davenport and was known as being a part of the “big woods”. During the Civil War this area was a very important Union encampment, known as Camp McClellan. The camp was named after President Lincoln’s Chief of Staff, General B. McClellan. Thousands of troops trained here before departing for points south, and the majority of veterans stayed here. Camp McClellan contained some twenty wooden barracks, a stockade, headquarters building, and hospital. Having this military base was both a positive and negative for the Village of East Davenport. Local Historian Karen Anderson surmised the trepidation of East Davenporters when she writes, “The sight of the cavalry charging toward the old Rock Island Railroad embankment to loft a practice volley of rifle fire, or the convincing performance of a band of drunken camp hooligans in carrying out a daring robbery along the Davenport Road,…must have left all but the most stalwart, a little faint of heart.” Other people residing in the East Davenport area were fearful of the Sioux Indians incarcerated within Camp McClellan. These Indians appeared on East Davenport Streets on regular work details. Before any white settlers showed up, this area was home to the Sac Tribe and specifically the site of the Indian village of Oshkosh. Camp McClellan was situated in a beautifully wooded and hilly area. The low-lying area of the eddy was the source of many springs, which added to the new industry in the area. During the days of Camp McClellan and the Civil War, beer production became a major local industry. After the war, this area was developed into an exclusive neighborhood still known as McClellan Heights.
 * McClellan Heights/Camp McClellan **

Among the first needs of these settlers was lumber. It was easy for beams to be obtained from the forests, but boards were a necessity. Most of the lumber was brought in from the Cincinnati area. Eventually the first water-run mill was built, under the authority of Capt. Benjamin Clark. This mill was located at the mouth of the Duck Creek. Clark wanted lumber to improve his town site, the first to be located, and so got material, secured the needful machinery from St.Louis, damned the then more powerful waters of the creek, and sawed the first lumber made in these parts. This all took in 1834, and from then on lumber was rafted down the Mississippi to Buffalo. People saw the mill as a great blessing to the community and enabled families to shelter themselves more comfortably.
 * Milling **

In 1838 Samuel Parker, invested in a five-acre mill site on Duck Creek, located on the back side of Camp McClellan. Parker took in Isaac Hawley and William Eldridge as partners; this particular firm built a good saw-mill, the only problem is that it lacked sufficient water and logs. In 1850 another mill was built in East Davenport by Robert Christie, which was in operation until 1868 and was destroyed then by fire. Before the fire, this mill was the first successful mill in the area; rafts of logs were floated downstream from the northern pineries and processed into lumber, millwork and shingles. Christy’s mill became the source of employment for dozens of new settlers. Another saw mill was built in East Davenport in 1867 by Lindsay and Phelps. This particular mill cut 2,500,000 feet, in one year of operation. In 1868 L.C. Dessaint built a saw-mill as well in East Davenport. This facility began operation in 1869. Dessaint ran the mill for the next three years and then eventually sold it to Price, Hornley & Keho, who started to then lease the mill to others. Eventually this mill was operated by the Cable Lumber Company. After the war there was a huge expansion in East Davenport. Other businesses started popping up around the established Cable mill. A churn factory, hardware store, wagon shop, and a blacksmith shop all continued in operation. As the overall industrial community expanded, the demand for bachelor living quarters, recreational facilities, boarding houses and saloons were established near the mills. By 1870, the intersection of Mound Street and Main (E. 11th Street) was occupied by a mix of businesses and residences which together existed to serve the industries near the river. While the block north or west of the commercial area was a neighborhood of single homes and family homes. Just as the 1880’s were climatic years for business in East Davenport, it follows that this decade was the period of greatest overall residential growth in the vicinity. It wasn’t until 1904 that lumbering and its business began to head northwest toward Oregon. Yards began to close transferring work to the whitewood forests. The final blow to the industry was the fire that destroyed the Weyerhauser man yard, and burnt the mills to ash.


 * Works Cited **

Milner, John. A Community Preservation & Revitalization Study for the Village of East Davenport. Dec. 1977 Masterson, Edwin. The City—Davenport, Iowa. Half a Century of Growth <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Svendsen, Marlys. Davenport-1836-1986. A Pictorial History

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