Quad Cities

• 1. Indigenous Roots And Early Settlements

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  The confluence of the Rock and Mississippi rivers drew indigenous peoples to this location for thousands of years before European settlers arrived. At the time of first contact, the area served as a principal trading place and home for the Sauk and Fox tribes of Native Americans. Saukenuk stood as the principal village of the Sauk tribe and was the birthplace of its 19th-century war chief, Black Hawk. In 1832, Sauk chief Keokuk and General Winfield Scott signed a treaty in Davenport after the United States defeated the Sauk and their allies in the Black Hawk War. This treaty resulted in the Native Americans ceding land to the United States in exchange for a much smaller reservation elsewhere. Black Hawk State Historic Site in Rock Island preserves part of historic Saukenuk and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

• 2. Industrial Revolution And Infrastructure Growth

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  Riverboat traffic stimulated the history of urban settlements in the Quad Cities region along the upper Mississippi River. For miles between LeClaire, Iowa, and Rock Island, the river flowed across a series of finger-like rock projections protruding from either bank known as the Rock Island Rapids. These rapids were difficult for steamboats to traverse, creating demand for expert pilots like Phillip Suiter who became the first licensed pilot on the upper Mississippi River. Boat crews needed rest areas to stop before encountering the rapids or places where goods could be removed and transported by wagon on land past the rocks. As the Industrial Revolution developed in the United States, many enterprising industrialists looked to the Mississippi River as a promising source of power generation. In 1848, John Deere moved his plough business to Moline and his business was incorporated in 1868. The first railroad bridge built across the Mississippi River connected Davenport and Rock Island in 1856. It was built by the Rock Island Railroad Company and replaced slow seasonal ferry service and winter ice bridges as primary modes of transportation across the river. On the 6th of May 1856, just weeks after completion of the bridge, an angry steamboater crashed the Effie Afton into it. John Hurd, the owner of the Effie Afton, filed a lawsuit against the Rock Island Railroad Company in Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Company. The Rock Island Railroad Company selected Abraham Lincoln as their trial lawyer and won after he took the case to the US Supreme Court.

• 3. Evolution Of Regional Identity And Mergers

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  After the Civil War, the region began to gain a common identity while other settlements failed to pan out. By World War I, the towns of Davenport, Rock Island, and Moline had begun to style themselves as the Tri-Cities cluster of three more-or-less equally-sized river communities growing around the small bend of the Mississippi River where it flows west. But with the growth of Rock Island County during the 1930s the term Quad Cities came into vogue as East Moline was given equal status. Despite the fact that the region had earned the name Quad Cities, the National Basketball League and then the National Basketball Association had a franchise in Moline, Illinois from 1946 to 1951 called the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. Then with the opening of an Alcoa plant east of Davenport in 1948, the town of Bettendorf underwent so much growth that many people discussed adoption of the name Quint Cities. By this time the name Quad Cities had become known well beyond the area and Quint Cities never caught on despite efforts by WOC-TV and others. Consequently when Bettendorf passed East Moline in size there was some debate about whether Bettendorf had displaced East Moline. Local officials such as the Chamber of Commerce chose an inclusive approach maintaining the name Quad Cities yet including all five cities.

• 4. Economic Restructuring And Modern Revitalization

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  Beginning in the late 1970s economic conditions caused major industrial restructuring which disrupted the basis of the region's economy. The major companies agricultural manufacturers ceased or scaled back operations in the Quad Cities. Factories which closed included International Harvester in Rock Island and Case IH in Bettendorf. Moline-based John Deere cut its labor headcount by one half. Later in the 1980s Caterpillar Inc. closed its factories at Mount Joy and Bettendorf. Since the 1990s the Quad Cities governments businesses non-profits and residents have worked hard to redevelop the region achieving national attention for their accomplishments. Examples of revitalization include Davenport's River Renaissance a downtown revitalization project that includes a river music history center and the Figge Art Museum opened during the first decade of the 21st century. Moline has invested in what was once a robust downtown with the John Deere Commons and Vibrant Arena at The MARK both opening during the 1990s. In 2007 Davenport and Rock Island competed for and won the title of most livable small city from the National Council of Mayors based upon an unfunded proposal called RiverVision. In 2008 Bettendorf was ranked by CNN as one of the ten best places to buy a house in the United States. In 2010 the Quad Cities were named the most affordable metro by Forbes magazine.

• 5. Demographics And Cultural Landmarks

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  According to the 2010 United States census Count the metropolitan area grew to 471,551 people. The racial makeup of the area is 90.6% White 3.7% Black or African American 0.6% American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.0% Asian 0.03% Pacific Islander and 2.0% from two or more races. 7.1% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race. The predominant ethnicities in the Quad Cities are of northern European descent including German Irish and English as well Scandinavian Mostly Swedish and Norwegian and Dutch. The primary minority groups in the area are African-Americans which in Davenport make up the third largest black population in the state of Iowa a community dating back to the 1830s when Iowa was a free territory. Christianity is the largest religion practiced in the area with Catholics making up an 18.5% plurality in Davenport and Bettendorf but Protestants with 15.1% Mainline and 11.6% Evangelical making up large minorities as well. The Jewish population is about 500, 600 which is down from about 1,800, 2,000 in the 1950s and 1960s. Cultural institutions include the Figge Art Museum designed by British architect David Chipperfield and opened in 2005 holding extensive collections of Haitian colonial Mexican and Midwestern art particularly pieces by Thomas Hart Benton Marvin Cone and Grant Wood.

• 6. Transportation Networks And Connectivity

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  Four interstate highways serve the Quad Cities: Interstate 80 Interstate 280 Interstate 74 serve both states while Interstate 88 serves just Illinois. A total of five bridges accessible by automobiles connect Iowa with Illinois in the Quad Cities across the Mississippi River. The Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge carries Interstate 80 and connects Le Claire Iowa with Rapids City Illinois. Continuing downstream the I-74 Bridge connects Bettendorf Iowa with Moline Illinois and is the busiest bridge with an average of 70,400 cars a day. The Government Bridge connects Downtown Davenport with the Rock Island Arsenal. Three bridges connect Davenport with Rock Island Illinois including The Rock Island Centennial Bridge completed in 1940 to commemorate Rock Island's 100th anniversary. In October 2010 a $230 million federal fund was announced that will bring Amtrak service to the Quad Cities with a new line running from Moline to Chicago. They hoped to have the line completed in 2015 and offer two round trips daily to Chicago. In December 2011 the federal government awarded $177 million in funding for the Amtrak connection. Budgetary and logistical issues have delayed completion but the project is still in development.

• 7. Sports History And Professional Leagues

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  From 1907 to 1926 Rock Island was home to the NFL's Rock Island Independents which was a charter member of the National Football League in 1920. The first NFL game ever was played by the Independents at Douglas Park in September 1920. Football legend Jim Thorpe was a member of the team in 1924. The Tri-Cities Blackhawks named in honor of the Sauk war chief Black Hawk was the next top-level professional sports franchise playing in the National Basketball League from 1946 until its merger in 1949 with the Basketball Association of America to become the National Basketball Association. Hall of famer Red Auerbach coached the Blackhawks during their first NBA season. After the 1950, 51 basketball season the team moved to Milwaukee where they were renamed the Hawks before additional moves to St. Louis and Atlanta becoming now the Atlanta Hawks. The Quad Cities has hosted minor league baseball teams since the Davenport Brown Stockings first played in 1878. Today the Quad Cities River Bandits are High Class A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals playing at Modern Woodmen Park since 1931.