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

InJinteresting contrast % the direc-
tory issued recently by the X L. FOLK
company, covering the twin cities, Is
directory compiled by Fleming ana
TOrrey In August, 1856. the property
of Taylor Newton of this city. The
director of today lis volume OF some
1900 pages. The one of % years ago
contains 189 pages, including page al
| ter page of advertising matter, Ihe
directory of the cities, Rock Island
Camden. Moline, Davenport ana Eas@
Davenport. together with many inter-
esting statistics. II can readily De
seen that the list OF names oil lnhao-
itants of either town is not kong. ROCK
Island So years ago was city oil sew
eral thousand inhabitants, the uEec-
tory containing approximately Z'oVo
names. Today Rock Island has pop
ulation of approximately 10000. based
on the latest city directory.
Fifty-eight years is not great lapse
of time. not even the allotted span OF
life, and there are probably many peo-
pie living in the city today who were
children at the time the directory was
issue1 in 1856. But in this time such
great strides along the line OF pro-
gress have been taken that the review
ing Iof a work published at that time
seems Ike delving in the long, long,
ago.
Electricity as a means of power ana
lighting, telephone service, street car
lines, street pavements, fixed street
grades and walks of uniform style.
otn fhif1oS that tn6aV
seem indispensable, were then I'M
heard OF here.
Lacking numbers, their location was
designated by the side of the street on
which they were located. between in
tersecting streets. An interesting feat
ure of the directory of 1856 is the
list of streets which are enumerated
from the dividing line at Eagle, or
what is today Seventeenth street. Ex-
tending west from Eagle street and
corresponding 10 the streets as now
numbered were: Buffaloe, Elk, Deer,
Beaver, Otter. Swan, Ohio, Exchange
or Camden road Ontario. Pelrl. Main,
Hunon, Carroll, Monroe. St Clair, Pike
and Delaware-an interesting collec-
ton of names whose origin can easily
be Imagined. Lying east from Eagle
street in order were Washington, JEFF
ferson, Madison. Adams. Dock and
Broadway i(now Twenty-third street,.
Corresponding to the avenues begin
ming at the river were Water Illinois
(now Second avenue). Orleans and
Rock River. and from Beaver or Thir-
teenth street westward the avenues
were named Canal, Commercial, To
ied,o, South, Commerce and Pleasant.
And then in complicated order, often
with the streets and avenues in a sim |
gle block specially named are: High !
land. Green. Spencer, Moline avenue |
(now Fifth avenue). Third avenue
(ncw Sixth avenue), Davenport tnow !
Twenty fourth street,, Railroad, Vine, |
Grove, Howard, Barnard (now Seventh |
avenue). Clark and Harper streets
(now Ninth avenueD.
The city was then supplied with
three parks-CoUrt square, the block
between Second and Third avenues
and Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets:
Franklin park, between Third and
Fourth avenues and Fifth and Sixth
streets, and Union park. where is now
located Spencer square. Ten hotels
and 80 boarding houses catered to the
public. the ten listed being
the Island City hotel. now the Harper.
Rock Island house. located where the
hosiery of that name still stands, City
hotel. Farnam house. Ohio house. I'm
ion house. Pennsylvania house. Nam
sion, Eastern and Peoria house.
Three wards comprised the city,
he First including ali the territory
vest of Elk or Fifteenth street: Sec
md. the territory from Elk to Wash,
ngton or Eighteenth street. and the
Third all territory east of Washing J
on. The roster of the city officials :
vas: .
Mayor-M F. Barrett. r
Police Magistrate F. Swan
Ter. :