Elias Gilbert arrived from the East Coast in 1850 and built a house and barn, planted corn, and tried to grow tobacco. In 1858 he used his authority as county surveyor to platt 29 lots for the town of Gilbert that included the area formerly known as Lillienthal. The former town's boundaries are now part of Bettendorf
In 1868, Samuel Heagy and Albert Stoddard formed the Hampton Coal Mining Company and began pulling coal from the bluffs around Hampton (Illinois). The coal, soft in texture, was deposited in discontinuous pockets, making it time-consuming and expensive to mine. The influx of miners led to the founding of the the village of Happy Hollow around 1870. It was
In the 1830s, two towns sprang to life on the Iowa bank of the Mississippi River. The village of Rockingham was settled in 1835 across from the mouth of the Rock River. The village seemed ideally located—except for the inconvenient fact that flooding turned the town into an island every year. In spite of its
Lowell was a small village on Van Druff Island, platted in 1841, that was never more than a few cabins, including the one occupied by Joshua Vandruff, who operated a ferry. Lowell became part of Searstown when David B. Sears purchased the island; the former village site is now part of Rock Island. © Dean Klinkenberg, 2009
David Sears was one of the founders of Moline. In 1838 he built a dam between Arsenal Island and the Moline mainland (across Sylvan Slough) and opened a mill. He eventually became a major landowner on Arsenal Island, at least until the federal government purchased his holdings in 1865. Sears used the money buy land south of
It's that time of year again, time for the annual Grumpy Old Men Festival in Wabasha, Minnesota. I had a great time last year. When you get there, make sure you take a break from ice fishing long enough to feed at the hotdish lunch at the United Church of Christ and to check out the minnow races at
