“Wall of Fame” by Loren Shaw Hellige 1991

The District
at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 17th Street
Rock Island, Illinois 61201

This sixty foot mural was created in 1991 by Quad Cities artist, Loren Shaw Hellice, and sponsored the Development Association of Rock Island to depict the 19th century people who affected the birth and growth of the city of Rock Island. Some of these people lived in Rock Island and some of them were just passing through and left their mark.

The people portrayed on the wall, listed from left to right:

Henry Harrison, the governor of the north half of the Louisiana Purchase, signed a treaty with four Sauk Indians in 1804 for all the Sauk and Mesquakie lands east of the Mississippi River between the Illinois and Wisconsin rivers.

Robert E Lee, the civil war general, was just a lieutenant when he and a surveying party were sent to examine the Rock Island Rapids in 1837.

Chief Keokuk, an Indian leader of the area and friend of the American government.

Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president, served as a captain in the Black Hawk War fought in and around the Quad Cities area.

Captain John Streckfus, steamboat captain and owner of the Streckfus steamboat line based in Rock Island.

Russell Farnham was a landowner and business partner to George Davenport. He was also the first European descendant to erect a permanent structure on land which became the city of Rock Island.

Dr. Patrick Gregg, a well known physician in the Quad Cities lobbied congress for money to aid victims of a cholera epidemic around 1877.

Dr. T. N. Hasselguist, a pastor, professor and the first president of Augustana College.

Frederick Weyerhaeuser bought a lumber mill in Rock Island in 1860 and turned his company into one of the largest lumber companies in the world. His timber empire employed many people and his philanthropy led to the building of the Rock Island Public Library.

Black Hawk was an Indian leader who did not recognize the treaty of 1804 and continued fighting the Americans until 1832 when most of his tribe was massacred, leaving only about 150 people out of 1000.

Susanne Denkmann Hauberg, daughter of F.C.A. Denkmann and wife of John Hauberg.

Colonel Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, fought in two wars in the Quad-City area.

Catherine Denkmann, wife of F.C.A. Denkmann.

Colonel George Davenport was a shopkeeper and major landowner in the area. He also was elected one of the first three county commissioners. Davenport, Iowa is named after him.

Dred Scott, a slave who declared his freedom to the United States Supreme Court, was purportedly the first American to live in what is now the city of Bettendorf, Iowa.

Antonie Le Claire, French-Indian, was the Indian interpreter for Fort Armstrong. He owned the land that is now the city of Rock Island, Illinois and the city of Davenport, Iowa. LeClaire, Iowa was named after him and is situated on land he formerly owned.

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, first arrived in the area as a captain in the Black Hawk Wars. His next appearance in the Quad-Cities was as a young lawyer. The steamboat Effie Afton had "accidentally" rammed the railroad bridge across the Mississippi River. This first bridge meant that the steamboat monopoly had ended. Lincoln could not prove that this disaster was unintentional but the bridge was rebuilt.

Henry Farnam was instrumental in the construction of the Rock Island Railroad. In 1854, the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad became the first railroad to reach the Mississippi River. Farnam initiated a Grand Excursion to celebrate this achievement. Information about the Great Excursion is found at www.grandexcursion.com/original.htm# .

John Deere moved to this area in 1847. He had already invented the steel plow and needed better resources. The transportation of the river and cheap water power convinced him to locate in Moline, Illinois. Since that time, Deere & Co. has been a major employer in the area and a corporate leader in civic development.