Early+White+Settlement+in+Rock+Island+County

Original Author: Jenny Rhoades, Eng343 FL11 Revision Author:
 * Early White Settlement in Rock Island County**

In what is now known as Rock Island County, little settlement had occurred prior to 1800 except by fur trappers, traders, religious men and government personnel. Most of central and northern Illinois had not been explored or documented at this time. In the early years of the Illinois territory the main area of settlement had occurred in southern Illinois, outside of St. Louis. The population of the entire Illinois territory was estimated to be only 2,500 people. After the establishment of the territory military personnel were sent up the Mississippi river to explore and scout locations for future forts (Boggess). Around this time Lt. Pike was sent upriver to meet with the Sauk tribe living in a permanent village called Saukenuk, where the Rock and Mississippi River’s meet. At the village’s peak it was home to an estimated 5,000 Indians. The Sauk were considered a canoe and agriculture tribe, farming 800 acres from April to October before relocating to winter hunting grounds. Lt. Pike was to secure loyal Indians, this was during the period of Thomas Jefferson’s Indian civilization policy, to explore the area and acquire more land for military purposes (Boggess).

After the War of 1812 and the building of Fort Armstrong, on what is now Arsenal Island, the first permanent settlers arrived in the form of Col. Davenport and his family. He had served in the military from 1805 to 1815 and arrived with the troops in 1816 while he was working as a contractor for the commissary department. The double log cabin he built for his family is noted as the first permanent house in the area. The second year in the Rock Island County area he became a successful merchant and traded with the Indians. It has been documented the Indians were not fond of white men but took a liking to Mr. Davenport. Mr. Davenport was quite influential in the area becoming the first postmaster, first county commissioner, and later Indian agent for the Sauk and Fox. Although his major accomplishments are the towns he helped found; Farnham (Rock Island) with fellow pioneer Russell Farnham, and Davenport with land purchaser Antoine Le Claire (Historical Society).

In the years that followed the arrival of Col. Davenport, stories spread of the area and its possibilities for settlement by current and former military personnel that had traveled here. Not only did it appear fertile for agriculture but home to many valuable minerals as well. In the Rock Island county area and further north in Galena, labor was in short supply due to the difficulty in traveling roads, Indian hostilities, and lack of communication with the eastern settlements. Labors came into the area during this period because they could earn twice the wage working here than they could earn in the same positions in New England (Boggess).

The best routes to the area remained river travel, up or down the Mississippi. Boundaries of the territory measured 1160 miles over land and contained more than 800 miles of navigable water ways. The territory was at the heart of the interior but during this period the rivers were a highway of log canoes, pirogues, rafts, barges, and keel boats (Pooley). German, Irish, and Swedish immigrants found the area attractive for several reasons but the most important being the price of land. In Indiana and Kentucky the price of land was considerably more for a piece of quality land than in Illinois. For immigrants arriving with families and not much money to travel with this was the best deal. Immigrants that could not afford the fees for water passage instead traveled over land with ox carts. Ox carts were for capacity travel only, not speed, average travel in a day was a mere 15 miles. Utilizing this option took immigrants 7-9 weeks to get to Illinois from the east coast and was considerably more dangerous with Indians to consider, malaria outbreaks in the territory, and isolation because the nearest major settlements were in Indiana 150 miles away (Boggess).

In 1820, 91% of the Rock Island area settlers were engaged in agriculture. Unappreciated by many American settlers, newly arrived immigrants were attracted to the Illinois prairie and preferred to settle here. The prairie appealed to them for several reasons; they could avoid having to clear land, they could raise crops the first year, coal could be used as fuel, and ditch fences required little wood. Corn was a common crop because it could be raised easily and could be used to feed men as well as animals. Farmers found that vegetables, peaches, pears and cherries could be cultivated here. Poor immigrants also found it an advantage that helped support large families that: grapes, plums, crabapples, mulberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries grew wild in the area (Pooley).

Exporting of corn, pork, and cattle had been occurring fro several years and now flour, wheat and tobacco were added to the local list. Life became easier for exports in 1822, with the arrival of the Virginia steamer for the first time as it passed through on its way to Galena. Progress in the area continued, Farnham, now Rock Island, was formed in 1826 (Historical Society).Soon after in 1829 the government decided to open up more land for sale to settlers that had previously belong to the Sauk and Fox Indians, this did not sit well with the tribe and war followed. By 1832 Black Hawk surrendered and the anxiety of the settlers disappeared. Once the Indian difficulties had been removed an explosion of white settlement occurred (Boggess). Progress appeared in the form of churches, schools and the arrival of the stage lines. Stage passage from St. Louis, Edwardsville, Springfield, Peoria, and Galena was available once a week (Pooley).

Along with improvements in the quality and variety of settlers lives came the first big push for advancements in manufacturing. In previous year’s blacksmiths, wheel wrights, farmers, and miners had held important positions in manufacturing but that was soon to change. In 1837, blacksmith’s made ploughs that were built of wood and scraps of iron which was often clumsy to operate. Many people believed this type of plough was not suitable for prairie soil, even though this plough worked well out east. It has been said, “The plough was to the western settlement what the axe was to east” (qtd Hale). Changes in manufacturing started with agriculture equipment because it was so vital in the area. In Moline a stone dam was built to harness the great asset of water power on the Mississippi, business followed with the building of saw mills, and multiple plough factories. One of which, John Deere, was the largest in the country. Between the two plough factories a total of 600 people were employed producing enough cultivators and ploughs to make over a million dollars. At one point the businesses produced over 2,400 ploughs a week (Hale).

Next door in Rock Island several large papers mills did well, producing over 3 tons a day. This production would become an important supply for Chicago papers. The town would also become home to carriage factories, pump factories, several foundries and a boiler shop. Milan, known as Camden then, was another important town to the Rock Island manufacturing area. A substantial dam was built to capture the local water power becoming home to several flour, lumber and paper mills. By 1850, employment in farming had dropped to 65% as many settlers had turned to manufacturing instead. What sent this area over the top as an important location for western progress was the arrival of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad in 1851(Hale).

The population had jumped to 66,000 in the beginning of 1850, most of the increase having occurred in the last twenty years. It is interesting to note how Governor Floyd described the make up of Illinois as a mix of southern and northern settlers. The southerners were “good, honest, hospitable, ambitious for money but lovers of ease” where the northern settlers were “wealthy farmers, enterprising merchants, millers, and manufacturers”(qtd Hale). The northerners were concerned with progress “building schools, churches, houses, and whole towns” because of this concern northerners were “ahead ten plus years in civilization over the southerners who came 10- 50 years ago”(qtd Hale). Advantages to the area for businesses and enterprising individuals were: an abundant coal supply making steam power inexpensive, abundant food supply at moderate prices, healthy climate with a good water supply, productive soil to supply food and exports, access to the railroad, and nearness to raw materials with the market to sell them (Hale). In the end it was a connection to the land in some form that drew the early settlers into the Rock Island County area.


 * Works Cited**

Boggess, Arthur. //The Settlement of Illinois, 1778-1830.// Chicago: Chicago Historical Society, 1908.

Hale, Edward. //Old and New,Volume 5.// New York: Roberts Brothers, 1872.

Illinois State Historic Society. Journal of Illinois State Historic Society: Volume 6. Springfield: Springfield, 1914.

Pooley Vipond, William. //The Settlement of Illinois 1830 to 1850.// Madison: University of Wisconsin, 1908.

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