page_title: Rock Island, Illinois
section_title: European-American Settlement
hierarchical_section_title: Rock Island, Illinois / History / European-American Settlement
caption_attribution_description: English: Rock Island
context_page_description: Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Arsenal Island. The population was 39,018 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities has a population of about 380,000. The city is home to Rock Island Arsenal, the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal in the US, which employs 6,000 people.
  There is a wide variety of housing available in Rock Island, including historic homes, new downtown condos, new construction in the heart of the city, and wooded retreats. The Rock Island-Milan School District, Rockridge School District along with private schools, serve the city. The District has art galleries and theaters, nightclubs and coffee shops, and restaurants of all flavors. Golf courses, parks, a casino, botanical center, marina, historic tours, bike paths, and festivals offer entertainment opportunities.
context_section_description: The original portion of what is now known as Rock Island was called Farnhamsburg - after the original two homes were built by Colonel George Davenport and Russell Farnham in 1826.  Davenport and Farnham were business partners, trading with the Indians.  The original City plat was filed on July 10, 1835, and was named Stephenson. It was renamed Rock Island in March 1841.
  This area has been a fortuitous place first for settlement and then for steamboat traffic, bridges, and railroads.
caption: Rock Island in 1865
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