The Trader at Rock Island
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.
Regena Trant Schantz has been an explorer of Midwestern history most of her adult life. She was one of the founders of the Colonel Davenport Historical Foundation, involved in researching, writing, and teaching about George Davenport, his family, and home, and the role he played in the development of what is known today as the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois.
