The Rock Island Public Library was constructed of “grey canyon stone” from a quarry in North Amhurst, Ohio. So why does it appear yellow today? The stone is grey when it is freshly cut and when protected. But when exposed to the elements it slowly weathers. When tiny amounts of iron in the stone oxidize or rust, the color of the stone transforms to a mellow gold.
In Chippiannock Cemetery in Rock Island there is a graveside statue of a dog. He is watching over the graves of two children, Josie and Eddie Dimick. The story is that the family’s Newfoundland, named Rex, followed the children’s parents when they visited the grave. When Rex died, the family commissioned the statue and placed it in its position watching over the children’s grave.
Father Catich, the artist who crafted several of the stained-glass windows in St Mary of the immaculate Conception’s Church, was the founder of the St. Ambrose Art Department in 1939. Saint Ambrose holds a large collection of Father Catich’s work. Much of it is displayed in the Edward M. Catich Memorial Gallery in the Galvin Fine Arts Center on the university campus. The gallery is open to the public.
The Women’s Suffrage movement took many decades, and came late to many areas of the country, including the Quad Cities. Women’s Suffrage was adopted in Colorado, Idaho, and many other states before it came to Illinois in 1913 and Iowa in 1919.
Jens Jensen was born in Denmark and as a young man emigrated to America. He designed approximately 350 private estates, the Denkmann Hauberg estate in Rock Island is one of them. The Friends of Hauberg have produced a self-guided tour booklet of the grounds and a copy is generally available on the front porch of the home.
In the 1940’s Rock Island received two World War 1 era cannons from the federal government. They were put on display in Lincoln Park. By 2017 they had been moved to a workshop and Rock Island park employees were working to restore them. The wheels and carriages had deteriorated to the point that they were no longer structurally sound. By combining parts, they were able to restore one cannon.
Jersey Ridge Road is one of the main streets that run to the north out of the Village. This road was named after the Jersey cattle that once used the same route and made a path near the area where the road sits today as they meandered up the hill to graze.
Sylvan Island was originally a peninsula, not an island at all. It was man’s need for water power which caused the island to be separated from the mainland. The island was created by detonating part of the land to create a canal.
Black’s Store in Hampton used to sell early patent medicine such as Baume Bengue and Citrate of Magnesia, in addition to other remedies and elixirs. None of these “medicines” were ever tested to see if they actually worked. Their alcohol base may have explained their popularity.
Sliced bread was invented in Davenport. Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented the very first bread slicing machine in 1927 and used it to slice bread loaves at Korn's Bakery in Davenport. People loved the convenience of sliced bread and by the following year, the Continental Baking Company was selling sliced bread under the Wonder Bread label with Rohwedder’s machine.
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