Women of Note: Susanne Denkmann Hauberg
In honor of Women’s History Month, we remember women of note from the Quad Cities, including Susanne Denkmann Hauberg.
Susanne Denkmann was born on March 2, 1872. She was the youngest child of Frederick and Catherine Denkmann. Her father was a founding partner in the Denkmann Weyerhaeuser Lumber Company and the family was well known and prosperous. When Frederick died in 1905, Sue and her six siblings inherited half of the family estate. They would inherit the other half when their mother died two years later.
Susanne, not yet married, became a lifelong advocate for women and children. One of her first projects was building and organizing the West End Settlement at 7th Avenue and 5th Street in Rock Island. The facility provided services including community gardens, hot water showers, cooking and sewing lessons, baby formula and recreational activities to those in need. She helped fund the newly formed YWCA and purchased Archie Allen’s place near Port Byron, donating it to the YWCA for use as a camp. She served on the Board of Directors of Bethany Home orphanage. That is where she met her husband, John Hauberg. She was a long time Sunday School teacher at Broadway Presbyterian Church, but also the person in the kitchen cleaning the stove on church cleaning day. For decades Susanne used both her time and her funds to help make this area a better place to live. Susanne Denkmann Hauberg is certainly a woman of note.
For more information visit the QC PastPort Hauberg Estate destination sign at 1300 24th Street, Rock Island, IL