Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-10-03

- Aldermen-t'irst ward, J. l.. Ban. II
c. Henderson; Second ward, p. S. Al
bert. B. JCobb; Third ward, James
Cobb and J. S. Smith.
City Clerek-W. n. Swan.
! Treasurer-C. Lynd.
/ Assessor-H Curtis, Jr.
/ Printer. b. Danforth, Jr.
! Marshal. 3. Webster.
| Deputy Marshall. II. Barnett.
Street Commissioners-Fir ward
]. l.. Bean; Second, n. Littig, anG
Third, NJ. O'Sullivan.
| Day Police. n. Barnett.
| Wharfmaster-Josep Johnston.
Weighmaster-D. Bowen.
Notaries Public. Wilson Drury
and S. II. Mann.
The newspapers issued both daily
and weekly editions and did a flourish.
ing business. The Rock Island AID
vertiser, established 1S45. o. P. Whar
ton. editor; The Rock Island Argus, es-
| tablished in 1851, Danforth and Shurly,
editors. and The Rock Islander, estab-
| lished in 1854 with Pershing and Con-
nelly, editors.
| One chartered bank and three bank
ing houses did the city banking, the
capital employed totaling $3.50 900, the
amount of exchange S2,450,000 and
] discount and loans, $765,000 with the
4value of land sold by agencies amount
| ing to S275.O00. The chartered institu-
tion was known as the Rock Island
bank, chartered in 1852 and with the
! list of officers at that time: NJ. B. Os-
born, president; S. II. Mann, cashier;
I roll
Osborn. Isaac Negus, w. l.. Lee, Ben
! jamin Harper, J. w. Buckley and E.
Lathrop, directors. The banking houses
were conducted by Cook, Sargent and
Parker; Fish, Goodale and Lee and n.
B. Buford & Co.. established in 1852,
1855 and 1856 respectively
Not least in Importance among the
items chronicled are the stage and
hack routes, run in lieu of adequate
railroad facilities. Two hacks were
run between Rock Island and Moline
on which packages of less than 159
pounds weight are carried carefully
and delivered promptly, distance of
three miles" Other lines ran between
Camden and Rock Island: Galena and
Dixon via Port Byron and Rock Island;
Macomb and Rock Island; Knoxville,
via Berlin, Oxford and Hendersonville
and Rock Island and Oquakwa and
Rock Island, via Millersburg, New Bos-
ton and Keithsburg. A table of dis
tances accompanies the routes and the
time of arrival and departures of
stages.
Much space is given to river naviga-
ton with a table showing the time of
closing and opening of the river dating
back to 1S4S. In that year the river
closed Nov. II and opened on March
II, 1S49. The winter of 1886 is
spoken of as unusually severe and pro-
tracted, the river having closed Dec.
s and opened April 8. Two lines of
steam packets operated: The Rock
Island and Keokuk and Rock Island
and Galena, packets making trips be-
tween the respective towns after which
the lines were named.
After two years of work the first
railroad bridge across the Mississippi
was opened in the spring of 1856, and /
shortly after trains were taken across. |
The bridge constructed at that time
stood several hundred yards above |
the present structure, an abutment of |
which still remains on the island and |
which has been recently properly in
scribed. Work was begun on the
bridge in 1854 and the draw was first
swung April ., 1856, at o'clock in
the afternoon April 81 the new loco
motive ''Des Moines" crossed from the
island to Davenport after o'clock in
the evening which was the first pas
sage of locomotive, train of freight
cars Immediately following. The bridge
was erected by Stone, Boomer & Boy
ngton of Davenport; masonry by John
Warner, Esq, of Rock Island. There
we're five stone piers, seven feet wide
1T the top. by 50 feet long and SO feet
nigh, resting on solid rock at the bot
ON of the river; two T abutments. 80
and So feet high. The center of the
iraw pier was 80 feet in diameter at
he top, and was protected by crib
80 feet long and 40 feet wide; this