Rapids City

The Mississippi River makes a sharp turn to the west at Rapids City, a direction it follows for the next 40 miles. The town gets its name from the rapids that ran from here to Rock Island until the Army Corps of Engineers constructed the current lock and dam system and buried them under deeper water.

Information is available at the Mississippi Rapids Tourist Information Center (309.496.2124) on Interstate 80 eastbound, which is a good spot to enjoy another nice view of the river or to grab some brochures. You can also direct your questions to Visit Quad Cities (563.322.3911).

The Wells Brothers arrived here around 1833 and built a grist mill, then later added a sawmill. The village was surveyed and platted in 1838 and incorporated in 1875 (464 “yes” votes against just a single “no” vote). Rapids City’s boom years were in the 1870s and 1880s, mostly because of nearby coal mines; workers were in short supply, so the mining companies recruited African Americans from other places to work (they lived in shacks next to the mines).

After the last coal mine shut down in 1888, the town lost population, the black miners went elsewhere, and Rapids City became the kind of place where the following story from 1930 was big news: “An alligator, stiff with cold and only two feet and four inches long … was captured by Roy Williams of Rapids City in a shallow waterhole in Sulphur Creek.” Speculation was rampant that the renegade gator was the same one that had been brought to Rapids City from Florida by Mr. Ralph Filbert and released into the Mississippi River some 13 years earlier. If so, that was one tough gator, surviving 13 Upper Miss winters.

Rapids City, like other small river towns in the area, experienced a modest population increase in the latter part of the 20th century as suburban growth from the Quad Cities pushed outward. Even so, Rapids City has remained a quiet village with great Mississippi River views, but no more alligators.

Shuler’s Shady Grove (1st Ave. & 11th St.; 309.496.2321) is a good spot to view the sharp bend in the river. As long as you’re here, you may as well hang out in the gazebo or throw a line in the water.

The 62-mile Great River Trail that runs from Rock Island to Savanna passes through Rapids City.

Brothers Family Restaurant (1718 2nd Ave.; 309.496.2965) serves breakfast all day, as well as sandwiches (including a gyro) and salads. The food is fresh, tasty, and affordable. Save room for pie.

Heading upriver? Check out Port Byron.

Heading downriver? Check out Hampton.