Bookstore: The People, Businesses, and Organizations of Rock Island County
The Trader at Rock Island: George Davenport and the Founding of the Quad Cities by Regena Trant Schantz
Throughout the Upper Mississippi Valley George Davenport’s name was widely known as a trader with the Sauk and Mesquakie, the U.S. Army, and settlers who were attracted to the untapped waterpower surrounding Davenport’s home on Rock Island. The Trader at Rock Island tells the story of George Davenport and his entry into the Indian trade and his eventual transition into services and businesses marketed toward the new settlers. After the Black Hawk War Davenport promoted land development as the frontier turned from Indian land to commercial centers of industry. By the time of Davenport’s murder in 1845, the cities now known today as the Quad Cities in Iowa and Illinois were in their infancy.
B & W Softcover/Publishing Information: Heritage Documentaries, INC/ 2020
Price: $24.99
Building the American Dream: A Swedish Immigrant Carpenter, Contractor, and Family in Moline, Illinois by Curtis C. Roseman
Swedish immigrants Gustaf Adolph Johnson (1880-1947) and Selma Anna Sofia Carlson (1879-1937) built a family and a career in a Midwestern town during the early twentieth century. This book tells the story of Gust's carpentry and contracting activities. It also tells the story if Gust and Selma's family, their activities, travels, and tragedies, as well as their every-day lives.
B & W Softcover with 241 pages (with over 50 photographs)
Publishing Information: Heritage Documentaries, INC/ 2012
Price: $20.00
Citadel of Sin: The John Looney Story by Richard Hamer and Roger Ruthhar
Citadel of Sin tells of John Looney's early years growing up in Ottawa and how he became one of the most feared men in the Quad-Cities. And, for the first time, it also tells the stories of his trials for conspiracy and murder, his life in prison, and his death.
B & W hardcover with 123 pages (with over 20 photographs)
Publication Information: Moline Dispatch Publishing Company/ 2007
Price: $22.95
Davenport's WOC AM-FM-TV
Beginning in 1922, Davenport's WOC has charted an impressive list of broadcasting firsts: the first licensed commercial radio station west of the Mississippi River. WOC-TV was the first television station in Iowa on the air when it began regular programming in 1949. This volume of images presents an overview to the history, facilities, programming, and technology of the WOC stations and provides a glimpse at the stations today, as new ownership carries on an outstanding tradition in Quad City broadcasting.
B & W paperback with 128 pages (with over 200 photographs)
Publication Information: Arcadia Publishing/ 2010
Price: $21.99
The Family of John Deere by Janet C. Meyer
THE FAMILY OF JOHN DEERE. Many books have been written about John Deere and the company that he founded. Not as much is known about his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. This book is about those families and the imprint that they made on the local community by the homes they built, the businesses in which they were involved, the churches they attended, and where they were buried.
B & W paperback with 104 pages (with over 40 images)
Publication Information: Davenport Printing Company/ 2011
Price: $15.00
Sweet Memories: The Lagomarcino Story by Bill Wundram
This book is about the deep history that Lagomarcinos, a local candy and ice cream shop in Moline and the Quad Cities over the last 100 years they have been in business. Wandram starts with the Lagomarcino beginning in Italy and ending with the memories and the people that continue to keep the business thriving for hopefully another 100 years.
Color hardcover with 121 pages (over 50 photographs and images)
Publication Information: Lagomarcino/ 2008
Price: $19.95