The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-01-19
EARLY HISTORY,
Davenport and Rock Island What's in 6
Name; Credit Island"

The Davenport Democrat has been pub
fishing some very readable sketches Of ear
ly history, one of which we copy,as follows: :
IF Davenport had been Rock Island, what
would Rock Island have been?
This is question for the first class in
Metaphysics, 1t comes up in perfectly
legitimate way, that is to say:
Nearly forty years ago-so far back on
the dial of time that no white men and no
houses were to be seen on the ground
where the city of Davenport now stands,
three gentlemen then commissioners OF
Rock Island county, ILL.,, who had an eye
to little quiet speculation on corner lots,
took it into their heads to found city.
Their names were Col. Geo. Davenport,
John Spencer and VIM. Vannatte, and the
future city they had in their minds eye,
was to expand and tower up on the ldentl-
Gle spot where now stands thrifty Rock Isl
and.
The place was then known by the name
of Farnamsburg, from the fact that an old
Indian trader, by the name of Russell Far
nam, had erected q shanty there some
years before and had become pretty well
known to the people round about
So these three gentlemen with their en-
gineer went to work about A. D., 1882 or
SO, or thereabouts, for we have only a
traditional record) and ran off the bound
aries of future city, divided it up into
blocks, lots, streets and alleys-naming
the streets after the. mighty men, white
and red, who then lived in these parts, not
forgetting several saints and smathering
of presidents of the United States of Amer
lea. There were solid blocks for Court
House and Jail, churches, college, almost
everything necessary to proud city in an
advanced State of civilization. All this they
did, and then they pronounced its name;
1t was DAVENPORT" So they christened
this plated town-so it was to be known
far and wide in the land Of the free and
the home of the brave, Davenport, in
honor of the Colonel who had helped lay it
out
But it was not to be }: and right here
comes in another bit Of history-personal,
military, and political.
There had been war in 1873 Black
Hawk war and many of our old citizens
will remember the battle of ''Stillman' S
Rum" in which certain Col. Stroud
glayed the cowardly part of ordering the
shooting Of some Indians approaching un-
der flag of truce, and then in an awful
scare turning his horses head to the rear
and making dead rum which ended not
until he reached the gates of Galena.
The valiant ColonePs conduct made him
standing joke among the old settlers
and among the rest Col. Davenport took
pleasure in lampooning his military PROV
ess in several bits of correspondence in the
columns Of the Galena 4dUertiser, The
Colonel, like some modern souls, couldn't
exactly stand this sort of treatment, but
being too much of a coward to come right
down and "lick" his tormentor, and toe
much on the record to carry on newspa-
per scrimmage, he made use Of his posi-
ton as a member of the Illinois Legislature
the next winter to kill off the name DAY
export" which had been placed in the plat
that had been placed before that body fol
its sanction Col. Dayenport's friends raj
lied but without avail. Another name
was suggested by the Stroud party, but was
defeated but after waste of time and
money and more or less legislative wisdom
the combined statesmen of the Sucker
State settled upon the name OF Stephen
son, in honor of Colonel Stephenson, lev
erybody were Coils then as now a sort Of
Receiver at the lead mines, and so tn,
town across the river went by that name
| for dozen years or so-until it was bur
led in favor of the more appropriate titlt
of Rock Island-in honor of the Island o
Rock Island-a name about as we'll known
as any of its size in the Northwest.
And this is how itscame to pass that The
city OF Rock Island, of to-day, is not tn,
city of Davenport instead but this doe
not fully answer the question propoundeC
at the commencement of this article
WHICH, like the northwestern passage i
still a subject for discussion and scientific
research. 1t might, possibly, have beel
over this side of the river, or scattered
around promiscuously, all over the north
west as it once, quite recently, claimed t
be in Board of Trade pamphlet which it
wise men saw fit to issue.
But Col. Davenport was not to be tucke,
away on the dark side shelves of oblivio
by any Col Stroud He bided his time
and in the fall of 1885 company wa
formed at the Coils house, on the Island
to plat tract of ground on this side of tn
river, now bounded by the river, Harrison
Warren, and Seventh streets, and to thi
plat was permanently and properly give
the cherished name of Davenport.
And now, regardless of their names, Q
how they came by them, may the twin eli
les of the upper Mississippi long live an
abundantly prosper.
CREDIT ISLAND"
Just below the city is a handsome Sian
containing some two hundred acres of Ian
once well wooded, now partially farm
ed-a very creditable sort of island, indeed
known all the country around, as Cred
Island It's queer sort of name fc
an island, yet nothing discreditable as t
name or condition 1t came honestl
enough by it, and this is how:
In the early days of this section, as ia
back as 1915 to 1880, the Great America
Fur Company did thrifty business in TIL
locality-selling goods to the Indians an
taking pay in peltries 1t was the custol
of the Indians to 60 on tick = They wer
good paymasters it is said, but paying cas-
down was no part of their commercia
training. 1t is a good deal so with som
people Of to-day who are not purely sax
age. 1t was the custom OF the noble re
man, as soon as his delicate wives had q
the corn, beans, and pappooses gathered
the fall, to put out on their annual winte
hunt after furred animals. But they ha
no ammunition at that time of the yea
having used it all the previous season. b,