Overview
The Quad Cities - an identity roughly established in the 1930's - includes cities in both Iowa, including Bettendorf and Davenport, and Illinois, including East Moline, Moline and Rock Island. (The "Quint Cities" never caught on.) The QC was inhabited by Sauk and Fox Native American tribes, who established Saukenuk. This Sauk Nation capital is preserved as the Black Hawk State Historical Site. As time continued, the QC's development was advanced by riverboat traffic, despite the area being difficult to navigate in steamboats due to the "Rock Island Rapids." Our riverboat history is celebrated through riverboat gaming, cruises and open-air taxis. As railroads became increasingly popular, steamboaters grew uneasy. Just fifteen days after the completion of the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River in 1856, the Effie Afton steamboat crashed into it. The steamboat's captain sued the Rock Island Railroad Company, who hired Abraham Lincoln as their trial lawyer. Since the 1980's the Quad Cities has undertaken various redevelopment initiatives, leading to accomplishments, like the opening of the Figge Art Museum and iWireless Center, as well as notable rankings, including Modern Woodmen Park voted best minor league ballpark in America and Moline and Bettendorf ranked top 10 happiest in their states.
You may also be interested in:
