The Grand Excursion was replicated in 2004, 150 years later. The passengers were awed by the beauty of the bluffs and the vast areas of open land just begging to be settled. The boats passed through some of the widest stretches of the river, stopping at several locations on the way.

Passengers took the train from Chicago to Rock Island, and about 1,200 passengers cruised upriver by steamship from there to St. Rock Island was also the starting point of the Grand Excursion of 1854, which celebrated the completion of the railroad from Chicago to the upper Mississippi River. Other claims to fame include: it’s the home town of the fictional “ Blues Brothers,” Jake and Elwood Blues and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad was founded here in 1851. The Sauk chief Black Hawk was born at Saukenuk, located at what is now Rock Island, Illinois. Following the Black Hawk War, the defeated Native tribes were forced to sell the land Davenport now occupies to the United States. Retreating glaciers dumps tons of soil here, and we see many signs of the agricultural richness of both Iowa and Illinois.ĭavenport, Iowa, incorporated in 1839, is the largest of the Quad Cities. The Quad Cities are located where the Rock River meets the Mississippi. Perhaps it simply rolled off the tongue more easily than did Quint Cities. Bettendorf was added some years later, and the community discussed changing the name to “Quint Cities,” but that name didn’t catch on, so it remains Quad Cities to this day. After the Civil War, the cities of Davenport, Rock Island and Moline began calling themselves the “Tri-Cities.” As East Moline grew, it was added to what would be called the Quad Cities. Riverboat traffic contributed to the settlement of this section of the Mississippi River, with three cities enjoying initial growth. The Quad Cities include two cities in Iowa (Davenport and Bettendorf) and three in Illinois (Moline, Rock Island and East Moline.) Wouldn’t you think that an area called “Quad Cities” would be comprised of four cities?According to Merriam-Webster, the meaning of quad is: “ having or composed of four items or elements.” I guess every rule has an exception.

That seems to be the extent of his connection, as his family moved to Canada when he was still an infant. LeClaire’s main claim to fame is that Buffalo Bill Cody was born here.

We passed through three locks on our way to the Quad Cities: Lock and Dam Number 12 near Bellevue, Iowa, with a drop of about eleven foot Number 13 is at Fulton, Illinois, dropping us another eleven feet or so and Number 14 at LeClaire, Iowa, with yet another eleven foot drop.

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