Where I Come From (part one)

I moved back and forth between two communities growing up. One was "The Quad Cities". A bustling river town (with all intended meanings)> Now, the problem with the Quad Cities is that there are actually five of them (as you can see by this map)
I grew up in East Moline. I believe this was the city thrown out of the "Quad" cities. You see, East Moline was the city in the "Quad" Cities that was thrown out for bad behaviour. This is where the factory rats, the hispanics and blacks moved. My high school had a graduating class of over a thousand. I would venture to guess that 25% were black and 20% hispanic. I LEARNED to get along. In fact, some residents of the city of Moline, for some reason had to send their kids to East Moline schools. They sued. Anyway, my fellow compadre from Campbell's (cannibals) Island sent me these fact about the Quad Cities. Probably only relevant to those who actually live there, but that's OK.

The rope used in the Tug Fest between Port Byron, Ill., and LeClaire, Iowa, is 700 pounds dry weight, one inch in diameter and 2,400 feet long.

Abraham Lincoln was sworn in as a captain in the militia in the Black Hawk War of 1832 at a spot on what is now Andalusia Road, across from the Showcase Cinemas in Milan. (ed. note no longer there) There is a historical marker there today.

Buffalo Bill Cody, famous Wild West showman and well-known Indian scout, came from LeClaire, Iowa.

The lowest point of land in the Quad-Cities is the bottom of the Mississippi River just below the roller dams of Lock and Dam 15. The churning water at that point has dug the river bottom to a depth of 515 feet above sea level or about 40 feet lower than the surrounding community.

The highest point of land in the Quad-Cities is 770 feet above sea level,two blocks west of Utica Ridge Road a half mile north of the Interstate 80 overpass.

The geographic center of the Quad-Cities is behind K&K Hardware in Bettendorf, at the intersection of Brown and 18th Streets.

The steepest road in the Quad-Cities is Davenport's Fillmore Street. From 9th to Clay streets, the street rises 79 feet in a 500-foot stretch, for a 158 percent incline.

Arsenal Island was once used as a Civil War prison camp.

The longest creek in the Quad-Cities is 21-mile-long Duck Creek in Scott County.

Credit Island was an early trading post and the site of a battle between the United States and Great Britain in 1814.

The longest public road in the Quad-Cities is Locust Street in Davenport and Middle Road in Bettendorf. Together they run 14.3 miles.

Hero Street in Silvis is a Quad-City street which honors veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

Camp McClellan was a former Civil War training camp located in what now is the Village of East Davenport. The camp was named for a Union general.

In 1856, Abe Lincoln came to the Quad-Cities as an attorney to defend the first bridge to cross the Mississippi River. It was hit by a steamboat two weeks after it was opened, setting the bridge and boat on fire.

The first bridge to span the Mississippi River was a railroad bridge from Rock Island to Arsenal Island to Davenport, about 750 yards upstream from the current Government Bridge. Completed in April 1856, it was dubbed the "white bridge" because of its color.

The oldest area bridge is the Government Bridge. Built in 1870, it is a mass of sprockets and gears. Its swing span weighs 2.1 million pounds.

There are more than 300 churches and 450 civic organizations which thrive in the Quad-Cities area.

The area's largest parking lot is at NorthPark Mall. The 60 acres of parking provides 5,935 spaces.



The longest elevator shaft in the Quad-Cities is the 200-foot Montgomery Elevator Tower in Moline. The tower has three elevators. (Owned by someone else, now. I used to work there).


The most populous city in the Quad-Cities is Davenport, the second largest city in Iowa, with 120,333 residents in the 2005 census.




The oldest eatery in the Quad-Cities is Lagomarcino's Confectionary, at 1422 5th Ave. Moline. The restaurant and candy store has been in business since 1908, and in its current location since 1919. Yum friggin yum!



The Rock Island Arsenal, one of the largest manufacturing arsenals in the world, employs about 7,800 persons locally.

The largest federally owned home in the United States is the White House in Washington D.C. The second largest is the commander's home on the Rock Island Arsenal.

The largest Quad-Cities manufacturing facility is the Alcoa plant in Riverdale, with 127 acres under one roof.

The first post office in the Quad-Cities was established at Fort Armstrong, on Rock Island (now known as Arsenal Island), in 1825. Col. George Davenport was its first postmaster.

The oldest city in the Quad-Cities is Rock Island. It was founded in 1835 as the separate communities of Stephenson and Farnamsburg.

The oldest business in the Quad-Cities is Deere and Co., which began operation in 1837.

The first brick church in Davenport was St. Anthony's Catholic Church,built in 1837.

The first waterslide in the Quad-Cities was not at Wacky Waters or Riverside Park. At what is now Black Hawk State Historic Site, in the late 19th century, a slide took riders down the steep bluff in a "car" and dropped them into the Rock River.

The first appendectomy in the United States was performed at Davenport's Mercy Hospital, now part of Genesis Medical Center.

The area's largest clock sits atop the Clock Tower on Arsenal Island, featuring 12-foot-diameter faces. The clocks are also the oldest public clocks in town, installed in 1868. The pendulum weighs 3,500 pounds and is 32 feet tall.

The first McDonalds restaurant in Iowa was built at 33rd and Brady Streets in Davenport, opening in 1958.

About 49,000 cubic feet of water passes Davenport's Main Street every second, according to a 100-year average.

The first lock and dam was built between Arsenal Island and Davenport in the 1930s. Each time it is used to move a boat up-or downriver, 16,330,400 gallons of water is moved.

Everything you needed to know about a place that's nice to be from. Thanks, Keith