Davenport, Iowa
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The city of Davenport was incorporated in 1839 and is located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 98,359. The city is part of the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois. The city borders the Mississippi River. Davenport is the home of Palmer Chiropractic College, the birthplace of Chiropractic medicine and wellness technique. Saint Ambrose University is also located in Davenport. Davenport is the county seat of Scott County.
Davenport often makes national headlines when the Mississippi River floods. It is the only city over 20,000 people bordering the Mississippi that has no permanent floodwall or levee. Davenport prefers the open access to the river for parks and vistas over having access cut off by dikes and levees. Davenport has adopted ordinances that any new construction in the floodplain must be elevated above the 100 year flood level or protected with walls. As a result, feasibility studies done by the United States Army Corps of Engineers have determined that building a floodwall along Davenport's riverfront is not feasible. Two examples of buildings that are elevated or floodproofed in Davenport are John O'Donnell Stadium and the Figge Art Museum.
Several well-known annual festivals take place in Davenport. Notable festivals are the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, The Mississippi Valley Fair, and the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival, dedicated to Davenport native Bix Beiderbecke. An internationally known seven-mile foot race called the Bix 7 is run during the festival.
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History
The first railroad bridge built across the Mississippi River connected Davenport and Rock Island, IL in 1856. It was built by the Rock Island Railroad Company. Steamboaters saw nationwide railroads as a threat to their business. On May 6, 1856, just weeks after it was completed, an angry steamboater crashed the Effie Afton steamboat into the bridge. The owner of the Effie Afton, John Hurd, filed a lawsuit against the The Rock Island Railroad Company. The Rock Island Railroad Company selected Abraham Lincoln as their trial lawyer. It was a pivotal trial in Lincoln's career.
A few decades earlier, Keokuk and General Winfield Scott signed a treaty to end the Black Hawk War in 1832 on the same spot the railroad bridge would later be built. The treaty resulted in the United States gaining 6 million acres (24,000 km²) of land.
The first female mayor in the state of Iowa, Kathy Kirschbaum, was elected in Davenport in 1972.
Actor Cary Grant died in Davenport in 1986.
Davenport made national headlines on August 4, 2004, when both of the main candidates in the 2004 Presidential election held events there. Both John Kerry and George W. Bush made appearances, and the events for both men were only a few city blocks away from each other.
(Note from author: Petty crime is just not encyclopedia material. Sorry.)
Geography
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Location of Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is located at 41°32'35" North, 90°35'27" West (41.542982, -90.590745)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 168.2 km² (64.9 mi²). 162.6 km² (62.8 mi²) of it is land and 5.6 km² (2.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 3.31% water. Davenport has 27 parks with a total of 2,200 acres (8.9 km³) of land.
While situated squarely in the path of 'Tornado Alley' Davenport is believed to be protected by a blessing going back to the days when the indigenous population (Sauk and Fox tribes) lived in nearby Saukenuk. To this day no funnel cloud has touched within the city's boundries.
The influence of the native Sauk and Fox tribes in the Upper Mississippi region, led British emigree George Davenport, in 1805, to establish a home and trading post on Rock Island (Now the US Army Rock Island Arsenal). The Davenport trading post atrracted many entrepreneurs, including part-Native American Antoine Le Claire, who founded a settlement at the bluffs across from "Colonel" Davenport's Trading Post. From a small village of traders, the town became known for transporting cargo up the famous Rock Island Rapids, and became a rough and tumble European community, with heavy German and Flemish settlement late in the 19th Century.
Davenport was located on the longest stretch of the Mississippi river with rapids. At this point, the river also runs east to west. Anyone who has grown up elsewhere along the river is mildly surprised to see the sun rise and set along its path. Part of the native blessing of the Sauk and Fox is that when the "Father of Waters," the spirit of the Mississippi, flowed south between this portion of Iowa and Illinois, he turned to look with wonder at the great beauty of the valley. Thus, the "nose" of the map of Iowa was created, with Davenport its leading town.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 98,359 people, 39,124 households, and 24,804 families residing in the city. The population density is 604.8/km² (1,566.5/mi²). There are 41,350 housing units at an average density of 254.3/km² (658.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 83.68% White, 9.24% Black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 2.00% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.32% from other races, and 2.36% from two or more races. 5.36% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 39,124 households out of which 31.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.0% are married couples living together, 13.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% are non-families. 29.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.44 and the average family size is 3.03.
In the city the population is spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $37,242, and the median income for a family is $45,944. Males have a median income of $34,153 versus $24,634 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,828. 14.1% of the population and 10.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 19.2% of those under the age of 18 and 6.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Transportation
Three interstate highways serve Davenport: Interstate 80, Interstate 280 and Interstate 74.
U.S. Highway 61 and U.S. Highway 67 also go through Davenport and cross over to Illinois via the Centennial Bridge. Davenport is connected to Rock Island, IL by a total of four bridges across the Mississippi River.
For air travel, Davenport Municial Airport serves smaller aircraft, while the Quad City International Airport across the river in Moline, IL is the closest commercial airport.
Two national U.S. recreation trails intersect in Davenport: the Mississippi River Trail (http://www.mississippirivertrail.org/) and the American Discovery Trail.
Notable people
- Patricia White Barry - Actress.
- Bix Beiderbecke - Jazz musician.
- Isabel Bloom - Artist.
- Lara Flynn Boyle - Actress.
- Buffalo Bill Cody - A native of nearby Le Claire, IA, in Scott County.
- Samuel Cody - Aviation pioneer.
- Roger Craig - NFL football Hall of Famer for the San Fransisco 49ers.
- Ricky Davis - NBA basketball player for the Boston Celtics.
- Eugene Ely - Aviation pioneer.
- Susan Glaspell - Author.
- James Grant - Lawyer and business leader.
- Elmer Layden - Former commissioner of the NFL and Notre Dame University football coach.
- Sue Lyon - Actress.
- Pat Miletich - Former champion of Ultimate Fighting Championship.
- Michael Nunn - Former middleweight boxing champion.
- Spike O'Dell - WGN Chicago radio personality.
- Daniel David Palmer - inventor of chiropractic medicine.
- Mary Beth Peil - Actress and opera singer.
- Nat Pendleton - Olympic wrestler and actor.
- Ronald Reagan worked as a radio announcer at the WOC station in Davenport.
- Jim Skinner - CEO of McDonald's Corporation.
Points of interest
- Quad Cities
- Bix Beiderbecke
- Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival
- Bix 7
- Centennial Bridge
- Davenport Skybridge
- Figge Art Museum
- John O'Donnell Stadium
- Northpark Mall
- Putnam Museum and IMAX Theater
- River Music Experience
- Sacred Heart Cathedral (Davenport)
- Saint Ambrose University
- Swing of the Quad Cities
- Vander Veer Botanical Park
External links
- Davenport Iowa News. (http://www.HavenWorks.com/davenport)
- Temple Emanuel (http://urj.net/congs/ia/ia006/) - Union for Reform Judaismsv:Davenport, Iowa