The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

) in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

s of

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

Davenport Davenport may refer to: Places Australia *Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality *Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia **Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta ** District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...

and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are the center of the

Quad Cities metropolitan area The Quad Cities metropolitan area, more formally known as the Davenport–Moline–Rock Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the metropolitan area associated with the Quad Cities in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois. The area consists of t ...

, which as of 2013 had a population estimate of 383,781 and a

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and ...

(CSA) population of 474,937, making it the 90th-largest CSA in the nation.

History

Early history

Before European settlers came to inhabit the Quad Cities, the confluence of rivers had attracted many varying cultures of

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, who used the waterways and riverbanks for their settlements for thousands of years. At the time of European encounter, it was a home and principal trading place of the Sauk and Fox tribes of Native Americans. Saukenuk was the principal village of the Sauk tribe and birthplace of its 19th-century war chief,

Black Hawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus urub ...

. In 1832, Sauk chief Keokuk and General

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...

signed a treaty in Davenport after the US defeated the Sauk and their allies in the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", cross ...

. The treaty resulted in the Native Americans ceding of land to the United States in exchange for a much smaller reservation elsewhere.

Black Hawk State Historic Site The Black Hawk State Historic Site, in Rock Island, Illinois, is adjacent to the historic site of the village of Saukenuk, the home of a band of Native Americans of the Sauk nation. It includes the John Hauberg Museum of Native American Life. T ...

in Rock Island preserves part of historic Saukenuk and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The history of urban settlements in the Quad Cities was stimulated by

riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...

traffic. For between

LeClaire, Iowa LeClaire is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,710 in 2020, a 65.4% increase from 2,847 in 2000, making it one of the fastest-growing communities in the Quad Cities. LeClaire is considered a suburb and part of the ...

, and Rock Island, the Mississippi River flowed across a series of finger-like rock projections protruding from either bank. These rapids were difficult for steamboats to traverse. As demand for river-based transportation increased along the upper Mississippi, the navigability of the river throughout the "Rock Island Rapids" became a greater concern. Over time, a minor industry grew up in the area to meet the steamboats' needs. Boat crews needed rest areas to stop before encountering the rapids, places to hire expert pilots such as Phillip Suiter, who was the first licensed pilot on the upper Mississippi River, to guide the boat through the rocky waters, or, when the water was low, places where goods could be removed and transported by wagon on land past the rapids. Today, the rocks are submerged six feet underwater by a lake formed by two locks and dams. As the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

developed in the United States, many enterprising industrialists looked to the Mississippi River as a promising source of water power. The combination of energy and easy access to river transportation attracted entrepreneurs and industrialists to the Quad Cities for development. In 1848,

John Deere Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, ...

moved his plough business to Moline. His business was incorporated as

Deere & Company Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipmen ...

in 1868. Deere & Company is the largest employer today in the Quad Cities. The first railroad bridge built across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

connected Davenport and Rock Island in 1856. It was built by the Rock Island Railroad Company, and replaced the slow seasonal ferry service and winter

ice bridge An ice bridge is a frozen natural structure formed over seas, bays, rivers or lake surfaces. They facilitate migration of animals or people over a water body that was previously uncrossable by terrestrial animals, including humans. The most si ...

s as the primary modes of transportation across the river. Steamboaters saw the nationwide railroads as a threat to their business. On May 6, 1856, just weeks after completion of the bridge, an angry steamboater crashed the ''Effie Afton'' into it. John Hurd, the owner of the ''Effie Afton'', filed a lawsuit against the Rock Island Railroad Company. The Rock Island Railroad Company selected

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

as their trial lawyer and won after he took the case to the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

. Phillip Suiter was one of his expert witnesses. It was a pivotal trial in Lincoln's career.

Evolution of an identity

After the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

, the region began to gain a common identity. The river towns that were thoughtfully planned and competently led flourished, while other settlements, usually get-rich-quick schemes for speculators, failed to pan out. By

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the towns of Davenport, Rock Island, and Moline had begun to style themselves as the "Tri-Cities," a cluster of three more-or-less equally-sized river communities growing around the small bend of the Mississippi River where it flows west. But with the growth of Rock Island County, during the 1930s the term "Quad Cities" came into vogue, as East Moline was given "equal status." Despite the fact that the region had earned the name "Quad Cities," the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

had a franchise in Moline, Illinois, from 1946 to 1951 called the " Tri-Cities Blackhawks." Then, with the opening of an

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primar ...

(now

Arconic Arconic Corporation is an American industrial company specializing in lightweight metals engineering and manufacturing. Arconic's products are used worldwide in aerospace, automotive, commercial transportation, packaging, building and constructio ...

) plant east of Davenport in 1948, the town of Bettendorf underwent so much growth that many people in the community discussed the adoption of the name "Quint Cities", But by this time, the name "Quad Cities" had become known well beyond the area, and "Quint Cities" never caught on, despite the efforts of WOC-TV (now

KWQC-TV KWQC-TV (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Davenport, Iowa, United States, serving the Quad Cities area as an affiliate of NBC. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on Brady Street in downtown Davenport, and its ...

) and others. Consequently, when Bettendorf passed East Moline in size, there was some debate about whether Bettendorf had "displaced" East Moline. Instead, local officials, such as the Chamber of Commerce, have chosen an inclusive approach, maintaining the name "Quad Cities" yet including all five cities.

1980s–current

Beginning in the late 1970s, economic conditions caused major industrial restructuring, which disrupted the basis of the region's economy. The major companies, agricultural manufacturers, ceased or scaled back operations in the Quad Cities. Factories which closed included

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

in Rock Island and

Case IH Case IH is an American agricultural machinery manufacturer. It was created in 1985 when Tenneco bought selected assets of the agricultural division from International Harvester and merged it into its J.I. Case Company (IH then became Navistar).T ...

in Bettendorf. Moline-based

cut its labor headcount by one half. Later in the 1980s, Caterpillar Inc. closed its factories at Mount Joy and Bettendorf. Since the 1990s, the Quad Cities governments, businesses, non-profits and residents have worked hard to redevelop the region. They have achieved national attention for their accomplishments. Examples of revitalization and rebirth include: * Davenport's River Renaissance (a downtown revitalization project that includes a river music history center), an ag-tech venture capital campus, and the

Figge Art Museum The Figge Art Museum is an art museum in Davenport, Iowa. The Figge, as it is commonly known, has an encyclopedic collection and serves as the major art museum for the eastern Iowa and western Illinois region. The Figge works closely with sever ...

opened or were completed during the first decade of the 21st century. * Moline has invested in what was once a robust downtown. The "John Deere Commons" and

TaxSlayer Center The Vibrant Arena at The MARK, formerly known as The MARK of the Quad Cities, the iWireless Center, and the TaxSlayer Center is a 12,000-seat multi-purpose arena located in Moline, Illinois. The facility opened in May 1993, under the name The MA ...

(formerly "The MARK of the Quad Cities" and the "iWireless Center") both opened during the 1990s. * In 2007, Davenport and Rock Island competed for and won the title of "most livable small city" from the National Council of Mayors, based upon an unfunded proposal called RiverVision. * In 2008 Bettendorf was ranked by CNN as one of the ten best places to buy a house in the United States. * In 2010, the Quad Cities were named "the most affordable metro" by ''Forbes'' magazine. * In 2012, Davenport housing market ranked second in the nation beating the housing bubble, due to its lack of foreclosures and their low unemployment. * In 2012, the

Quad Cities Metropolitan Area The Quad Cities metropolitan area, more formally known as the Davenport–Moline–Rock Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the metropolitan area associated with the Quad Cities in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois. The area consists of t ...

was ranked among the fastest-growing areas in the nation in the growth of high-tech jobs. *In 2012, the Quad Cities were named the "2012 All American City" *In 2013, Modern Woodman Park was voted the best minor league ballpark in America.

Proposed mergers

Over the years, several communities in the Quad Cities region have proposed or performed mergers. As it grew, Davenport annexed the communities of Rockingham, Nahant, Probstei, East Davenport, Oakdale, Cawiezeel, Blackhawk, Mt. Joy, Green Tree, and others. Bettendorf annexed portions of Pleasant Valley in the 1970s. In 1987, Rock Island, Moline, East Moline, Milan, Carbon Cliff, Hampton, Coal Valley and Silvis considered a super-city merger which would have seen the Illinois cities become the second-largest city in the state, but the proposal ultimately failed. Moline and East Moline considered a merger in 1997. That same year, Green Rock and Colona did merge.

Geography

The Quad Cities is located at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the Rock and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

rivers, approximately west of Chicago, and forms the largest

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

along the Mississippi River between

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota) ...

and the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one ...

crosses the

here. The Quad Cities area is distinctive because the Mississippi River flows from east to west as it passes through the heart of the area; the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf are located due north of Rock Island and Moline, respectively. The Quad Cities area is one where the telephone companies cooperate with regional phone calls. Iowa and Illinois have different area codes (

563 __NOTOC__ Year 563 (Roman numerals, DLXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 563 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domin ...

and 309 respectively), yet most calls originating and terminating within the core urban area are placed without long-distance charges by dialing just a 7-digit number. This helps the bi-state area promote itself as a single community, "joined by a river." The

consists of three counties: Scott County in

, and Rock Island County and Henry County in

. The Quad City metro population is 382,268. The Quad Cities Metropolitan Area is also considered part of the Great Lakes Megalopolis.America 2050: Megaregions: Great Lakes.
Regional Plan Association.

Demographics

According to the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

Count, the metropolitan area grew to 471,551. Note: Quad City population is equivalent to adding up the populations of

Scott County, Iowa Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 174,669, making it the third-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Davenport. Scott County is included in the Davenport– Moline ...

and Rock Island, Mercer, and Henry Counties in Illinois. As of the 2000 census, a total of 96,495 households and 60,535 families resided in the area.

Race and ethnicity

The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the area is 90.6% White (410,861), 3.7% Black or African American (27,757), 0.6% American Indian and Alaskan Native (1,255), 1.0% Asian (6,624), 0.03% Pacific Islander (156), and 2.0% from two or more races (11,929). 7.1% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race (37,070).https://www.quadcitieschamber.com/Quad Cities Chamber-Quad Cities Demographics.pdf The predominant ethnicities in the Quad Cities are of northern European descent, including

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, as well Scandinavian (Mostly

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

) and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

. The primary

minority groups The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

in the area are

African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

, which in Davenport make up the third largest black population in the state of Iowa, a community dating back to the 1830s when Iowa was a free territory. Many of the city's African-American residents have roots in the Southern/Border states of the U.S., including Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, and Missouri. The most significant Asian-American populations are

South Asian South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

and

Vietnamese American Vietnamese Americans ( vi, Người Mỹ gốc Việt, lit=Viet-origin American people) are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They make up about half of all overseas Vietnamese and are the fourth-largest Asian American ethnic group after Chinese ...

Religion

According to resources,

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

is the largest religion to be practiced in the area. However, the two states have a different population of Christian groups. In Davenport and Bettendorf,

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

make up an 18.5% plurality, but

Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

with 15.1% Mainline and 11.6%

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

make up large minorities as well. The Black Protestants on the Iowa side comes in at 1.2%. On the Illinois side, between Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline, Catholicism is less prevalent at 12.4%, and at 12.5% Evangelical and 11.0% Mainline have smaller declines. The

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

population is about 500–600, which is down from about 1,800–2,000 in the 1950s and 1960s.

Landmarks

* The business Antique Archeology, featured on the

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

show ''

American Pickers ''American Pickers'' is an American reality television series that premiered on January 18, 2010 on History, produced by A&E Television Networks in collaboration with Cineflix Media. In the series, the hosts travel across America in search of r ...

'', is located in LeClaire * Brady Street Stadium, a major high-school sports venue along Davenport's Brady Street ( U.S. 61) * The Col Ballroom, a small arena for music concerts, in Davenport *

Davenport Skybridge The Davenport Skybridge is a pedestrian cable-stayed bridge that spans River Drive (Highway 67) in downtown Davenport, Iowa. It connects LeClaire Park to a courtyard and parking ramp on 2nd Street, located near the River Music Experience. The b ...

, Davenport, formerly the Davenport Museum of Art, designed by British architect

David Chipperfield Sir David Alan Chipperfield, (born 18 December 1953) is an English architect. He established David Chipperfield Architects in 1985. His major works include the River and Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire (1989–1998); the Museu ...

and opened in 2005. Its holdings include extensive collections of Haitian, colonial Mexican and Midwestern art, particularly pieces by Thomas Hart Benton,

Marvin Cone Marvin Dorwart Cone (October 21, 1891 – May 18, 1965) was an American painter in the regionalist style.Walch, Timothy (2009)"Cone, Marvin Dorwart" ''The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa''. University of Iowa Press Cone was born in Cedar Rapid ...

and

Grant Wood Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891 February 12, 1942) was an American painter and representative of Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for ''American Gothic'' (1930 ...

, and personal effects from Wood's estate. * Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge, a four-lane steel-girder bridge on

, crossing the Mississippi River to connect LeClaire and Rapids City. Opened in 1966. *

Government Bridge The Government Bridge or Arsenal Bridge spans the Mississippi River, connecting Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa. The Iowa Interstate Railroad uses the upper deck of the bridge for its ex-Chicago and Rock Island Railroad route between C ...

, a double-decked bridge adjacent to Lock and Dam 15, carrying motor and rail traffic between Arsenal Island and Davenport. The 1896 truss bridge, about 1,950 feet long, includes a 360-degree swing span over the twin locks. It connects to the Illinois side of the river via the Rock Island Viaduct. *

Iowa 80 Iowa 80 is the world's largest truck stop, located along Interstate 80 off exit 284 in Walcott, Iowa. It sits on a plot of land, three times larger than an average truckstop, and it receives 5,000 visitors daily. Iowa 80 features a main bu ...

Truck Stop – the world's largest truck stop is along Interstate 80 near

Walcott, Iowa Walcott ( /ˈwɔlkɔt/ ''WAWL-cawt'', �wɔlkət is a city in Muscatine and Scott counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 1,551 at the time of the 2020 census. Walcott's interchange on Interstate 80 is home to an enormous complex ...

, west of Davenport. *

Interstate 74 Bridge The Interstate 74 Bridge, officially known as the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge, and often called ''The Twin Bridges'', or the ''I-74 Bridge'', are basket-handle, through arch twin bridges that carry Interstate 74 across the Mississippi River ...

, formerly known as the "Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge", connecting Bettendorf and Moline. The twin suspension spans across the Mississippi River were built in 1935 and 1959 and adapted to carry Interstate 74 in the early 1970s. The twinned towers are a symbol of the two-state Quad Cities community. The bridge is set to be replaced with eight lanes. * John Deere Pavilion, a small museum and showcase for

equipment, built adjacent to the John Deere Commons in the 1990s in downtown Moline. * John Deere World Headquarters, designed by

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motors ...

and completed in 1963 in Moline. * The John Looney Mansion, designed and built in 1897 for the attorney, publisher and gangster John Looney in Rock Island which still stands off 20th Street and 17th Avenue. *

Lock and Dam No. 15 Lock and Dam No. 15 is a Lock (water transport), lock and dam located on the Upper Mississippi River, Upper Mississippi River. It spans the river between Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa. Lock and Dam 15 is the largest roller dam in the ...

, a 1,200-foot

roller dam A Roller dam is a type of hydro-control device specially designed to mitigate erosion. They are most often used to divert water for irrigation but the largest and most notable examples are used to ease river navigation. The world's first roller ...

with twin locks across the Mississippi River between

Arsenal Island An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

and Davenport. The roller dam, billed as the longest of its type, maintains a pool upstream that allows river traffic to pass through the once notorious Rock Island Rapids. * Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, a fair and exposition venue in Davenport *

Modern Woodmen Park Modern Woodmen Park (known previously as John O'Donnell Stadium and Municipal Stadium) is a minor league baseball venue located in Davenport, Iowa. It is home to the Quad Cities River Bandits, the Midwest League affiliate of the Kansas City Roya ...

, formerly John O'Donnell Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals' class high A affiliate, the

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, on ...

, on the Davenport riverfront. With the lights of Rock Island across the Mississippi and the Centennial Bridge looming just beyond the right-field fence, the park was named by ''USA Today'' as one of 10 great places for a baseball pilgrimage. The ball park added a 110 ft. ferris wheel before the start of the 2014 season. *

Old Main Old Main is a term often applied to the original building present on college or university campuses in the United States. The building serves today as home to administrative offices, such as the president or provost, but in its early inception may ...

, completed in 1888, the oldest building on the campus of Augustana College. Located on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River, its iconic and newly renovated dome was lighted as of October 2011. *

Putnam Museum The Putnam Museum and Science Center, formerly Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences, is a museum of history and natural science and a science center in Davenport, Iowa, United States. The museum was founded in 1867, and was one of the first museu ...

in Davenport *

Quad City Botanical Center The Quad City Botanical Center is a set of botanical gardens located next to the Mississippi River at 2525 4th Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois. It is open daily except major holidays; an admission fee is charged. The center opened on June 20, 1998. ...

in Rock Island *

Quad Cities Waterfront Convention Center The Quad Cities Waterfront Convention Center is a convention center located in Bettendorf, Iowa, United States. The name for the facility in the development stages was the Bettendorf Events Center. A ground breaking ceremony for the center was ...

, located in Bettendorf *

RiverCenter/Adler Theatre RiverCenter is a convention center located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is made up of two buildings sited on the north and south sides of East Third Street connected by a skywalk. The Adler Theatre is connected to the original s ...

, a convention and performing-arts complex in Davenport. The 2,400-seat Adler is the former RKO Orpheum Theater, which opened in 1931, designed by A.S. Graven of Chicago, whose projects included the

Drake Hotel Drake Hotel may refer to: ;in Canada *Drake Hotel (Toronto) The Drake Hotel is a hospitality venue on Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, near Parkdale. In addition to a nineteen-room boutique hotel, there is a restaurant lounge, co ...

in Chicago and the Paramount Theater in New York City. The theater was extensively renovated and expanded in 1984–86 and 2005. *

River Music Experience The River Music Experience is a multi-use music facility and 501(c)3 non-profit organization located on the first two floors of the historic Redstone Building in downtown Davenport, Iowa. The stated purpose of the River Music Experience is ...

, a performance, education and music-history venue in the Redstone Building, the former Petersen Harned Von Maur department store *

Rock Island Arsenal The Rock Island Arsenal comprises , located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It lies within the state of Illinois. Rock Island ...

, manufacturer of military equipment and ordnance since the 1880s, now the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal in the United States. The arsenal is located on Arsenal Island (formerly known as Rock Island) in the Mississippi River between Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. Fort Armstrong was built there in 1816. During the civil war, the island held a Union prison camp for Confederate soldiers. The Federal-style home of Colonel

George Davenport Colonel George Davenport, born George William King (1783 – July 4, 1845), was a 19th-century English-American sailor, frontiersman, fur trader, merchant, postmaster, US Army soldier, Indian agent, and city planner. A prominent and well-known ...

, built in 1833–34, the oldest extant building in the Quad Cities, is on the north bank of the island. * Rock Island Centennial Bridge over the Mississippi River between downtown Davenport and Rock Island, completed in 1940 to commemorate Rock Island's 100th anniversary. The five arches of the 3,853-foot through-arch bridge often are used as a symbol of the Quad Cities. * Rock Island County Fairgrounds in East Moline, also the site of the Quad City Speedway * Rock Island Auction Company from the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...

show '' Ready, Aim, Sold!'' *

– 11,000-seat arena in Moline (formerly The Mark of the Quad Cities and the iWireless Center). *

Vander Veer Botanical Park The Vander Veer Botanical Park is a botanical garden in the Vander Veer Park Historic District of Davenport, Iowa. It is believed to be one of the first botanical parks west of the Mississippi River. The park was listed on the Davenport Regis ...

is a 33-acre (130,000 m2) botanical garden in the Vander Veer Park Historic District of Davenport, Iowa. It is believed to be one of the first botanical parks west of the Mississippi River. * The Quarter – a site in East Moline, alongside the Mississippi River, featuring shops, restaurants, condominiums, boat docks, sports and interpretive centers, and a working

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses m ...

, currently under development. (Geographical coordinates: ) *

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Freight House The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Freight House, known locally as The Freight House, is a historic building in Downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. History This Fre ...

, referred to locally as the "Freight House", is an entertainment venue *TBK Bank Sports Complex, also known as the BettPlex, is a state-of-the-art sport and entertainment complex. Containing eight full-size volleyball and basketball courts. Four indoor and five outdoor sand volleyball courts, 10 lighted outdoor baseball and softball fields, the BettPlex is a 45 million dollar sporting facility that was created to host weekend sporting tournaments in the Quad Cities.

Noteworthy companies

* Cobham plc *

(also known as/branded: John Deere) * Genesis Health System * Group O *

Guardian Industries Guardian Industries is a privately held industrial manufacturer of glass, automotive and building products based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The company manufactures float glass, fabricated glass products, fiberglass insulation and building materia ...

Happy Joe's Happy Joe's is an American pizza parlor chain based in Bettendorf, Iowa. The restaurant chain was founded in 1972 by Lawrence Joseph "Happy Joe" Whitty, a former Shakey's Pizza manager. Their United States locations are spread out across the Upper ...

* KONE, Inc (formerly

Montgomery Elevator Montgomery Elevator Company was a vertical transportation company founded in 1892, but entered the elevator business in 1910, acquired Roelofson Elevator of Galt Ontario in the early 1960s and operated it as its Canadian Division. Montgomery m ...

) *

Lee Enterprises Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 77 daily newspapers in 26 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is b ...

Lewis Machine and Tool Company Lewis Machine and Tool Company (LMT) is an American armaments company founded by Karl Lewis, in 1980. LMT manufactures weapon systems including the M4 carbine, and the M203 grenade launcher. LMT products are used by the military forces of the Uni ...

Modern Woodmen of America Modern Woodmen of America (MWA) is one of the largest (based on assets) fraternal benefit societies in the United States, with more than 750,000 members. Total assets reached US$15.4 billion in 2016. Though it shares the same founder, it is not ...

* Nestlé Purina PetCare * QCR Holdings * Sears Seating (also known as Sears Manufacturing) * Von Maur *

Whitey's Ice Cream Whitey's Ice Cream is an ice-cream parlor chain based in Moline, Illinois. This ice cream has been an icon of the Illinois and Iowa Quad Cities since it was founded in 1933. History Chester Lindgren opened the first store on the corner of 16th St ...

Top employers

According to Quad Cities website, the top employers in the Quad Cities area are:

Notable people

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

, actor, Rock Island * Ken Anderson, football player and coach, Rock Island *

Pat Angerer Patrick Aaron Angerer (born January 31, 1987) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at I ...

, football player, Bettendorf *

Matthew Ashford Matthew Nile Ashford (born January 29, 1960) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on the soap operas ''Days of Our Lives'' and '' The Bay'', for the former of which he received a nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstan ...

, actor, Davenport *

Tavian Banks Tavian Remond Banks (born February 17, 1974) is a former running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1998 and 1999. College and high school careers Tavian Banks was a high school standout in both ...

, football player, Bettendorf *

Bonnie Bartlett Bonnie Bartlett (born June 20, 1929) is an American actress. Her career spans seven decades, with her first major role being on a 1950s daytime drama, ''Love of Life''. Bartlett is known for her role as Grace Snider Edwards on the Michael Land ...

, actress, Moline *

Scott Beck Scott Beck (born October 22, 1984) is an American writer, director, and producer. He was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in Bettendorf, Iowa. Beck co-writes and co-directs with filmmaking partner Bryan Woods. Together they co-wrote ''A Qui ...

, filmmaker, Bettendorf *

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...

, jazz musician, Davenport *

Louis Bellson Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer, ...

, drummer, Moline * Vincent Hugo Bendix, inventor and industrialist, Moline *

Ken Berry Kenneth Ronald Berry (November 3, 1933 – December 1, 2018) was an American actor, dancer, and singer. Berry starred on the television series '' F Troop'', '' The Andy Griffith Show'', ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' and '' Mama's Family''. He also ap ...

, actor, Moline * Joseph W. Bettendorf, industrialist, Bettendorf (Gilbert) *

William P. Bettendorf William P. Bettendorf (July 1, 1857 – June 3, 1910) was a German-American inventor. He is credited with the invention of the power lift sulky plow, the Bettendorf metal wheel and the one-piece railroad truck frame. By the age of 53 he held 94 pa ...

, industrialist, Bettendorf (Gilbert) *

Chief Black Hawk Black Hawk, born ''Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak'' (Sauk: ''Mahkatêwe-meshi-kêhkêhkwa'') (1767 – October 3, 1838), was a Sauk leader and warrior who lived in what is now the Midwestern United States. Although he had inherited an important his ...

, band leader and warrior of the Sauk Native American tribe *

Isabel Bloom Isabel Bloom (February 20, 1908 – May 1, 2001) was an Iowa artist best known for her concrete sculptures of animals and children. Early life Isabel Rose Scherer was born in Galveston, Texas to Charles F. and Adeline (Paradise) Scherer in 1908. ...

, artist, Davenport *

Lisa Bluder Lisa Marie Bluder (, born April 16, 1961) is the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball program. Formerly, she served as coach of St. Ambrose University and the Drake Bulldogs. Early life Bluder attended Linn-Mar High School and gra ...

, basketball coach, Marion * Suzy Bogguss, country singer, Aledo *

Ken Bowman Kenneth Brian Bowman (born December 15, 1942) is an American former professional football player. He played center in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, all with the Green Bay Packers. In his fourth NFL season in 1967, Bowman ...

, football player, Milan * Lara Flynn Boyle, actress, Davenport *

Ambrose Burke Monsignor Ambrose J. Burke (November 27, 1895 – October 6, 1998) was an English professor and Catholic priest who served as the eighth president of Saint Ambrose University (then Saint Ambrose College) from 1940 through 1956. A native of Iowa ...

, priest and college president, Davenport * Mike Butcher, pitcher and coach, Davenport * Branden Campbell, bassist for the

Neon Trees Neon Trees is an American rock band from Provo, Utah. The band received nationwide exposure in late 2008 when they opened several North American tour dates for the band The Killers. Not long after, the band was signed by Mercury Records. Their f ...

, Davenport *

Louise Carver Louise Carver (June 9, 1869 - June 19, 1956) was an American actress who performed in grand opera, stage, nickelodeon, and motion pictures. Early years and career Born Mary Louise Steiger in Davenport, Iowa, she was the daughter of Mr. and M ...

, actress, Davenport *

Samuel Franklin Cody Samuel Franklin Cowdery (later known as Samuel Franklin Cody; 6 March 1867 – 7 August 1913, born Davenport, Iowa, USA)) was a Wild West showman and early pioneer of manned flight. He is most famous for his work on the large kites known a ...

, aviator, Davenport *William F. "

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years ...

" Cody, pioneer, LeClaire * Danielle Colby, reality star ''American Pickers'', Davenport/LeClaire *

Jude Cole Jude Anthony Cole (born June 18, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, manager, and record producer. After signing to Reprise Records, Cole's solo career began with his eponymous debut studio album in 1987, which was followed up 4 subsequen ...

, musician, Carbon Cliff * Martin Cone, priest and college president, Davenport * Ed Conroy, basketball coach, Davenport * George Cram Cook, author, Davenport * Roger Craig, football player, Davenport *

Doris Davenport Doris Davenport, also known as Doris Jordan (January 1, 1917 – June 18, 1980) was an American actress in movies of the 1930s and early 1940s. Early years Davenport was born in Moline, Illinois, and lived in Davenport, Iowa, before s ...

, actress, Moline * Colonel

, pioneer, US Army officer *

Dana Davis Dana Davis (born October 4, 1978) is an American actress, voice actress, and novelist known for playing Monica Dawson on the NBC series '' Heroes'' (2007), Chastity Church on the ABC Family television series ''10 Things I Hate About You'' (2009� ...

, actress, Davenport *

Ricky Davis Tyree Ricardo Davis (born September 23, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who played twelve seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for University of Iowa. Biography Davis atten ...

, basketball player, Davenport *

, inventor, Moline *

Frederick Denkmann Frederick Denkmann (April 8, 1821 – March 2, 1905) was an American lumber baron based in Rock Island, Illinois. He teamed up with his brother-in-law Friedrich Weyerhäuser and formed Weyerhäuser-Denkmann Lumber Company. Biography Early life ...

, lumber baron, Rock Island * Justin Diercks, racecar driver, Davenport *

Acie Earl Acie Boyd Earl (born June 23, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player, who appeared in four National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons, as a , center. He also played many seasons in Europe. High school/college Born in Pe ...

, basketball player, Moline *

Eugene Burton Ely Eugene Burton Ely (October 21, 1886 – October 19, 1911) was an American aviation pioneer, credited with the first shipboard aircraft take off and landing. Background Ely was born in Williamsburg, Iowa, and raised in Davenport, Iowa. Having ...

, aviation pioneer, Davenport *

Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

, Music Producer, Moline * Bill Fitch, NBA basketball player and coach, Davenport * John Flannagan, priest and college president, Davenport *

Jack Fleck Jackson Donald Fleck (November 7, 1921 – March 21, 2014) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the U.S. Open in 1955 in a playoff over Ben Hogan. Early years Born in 1921 and raised in Bettendorf, Iowa, Fleck's parents we ...

, golfer, 1955 U.S. Open champion, Bettendorf *

Joe Frisco Joe Frisco (born Louis Wilson Joseph; November 4, 1889 – February 18, 1958) was an American vaudeville performer who first made his name on stage as a jazz dancer, but later incorporated his stuttering voice to his act and became a popular ...

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performer, Davenport * John Getz, actor, Davenport *

Susan Glaspell Susan Keating Glaspell (July 1, 1876 – July 28, 1948) was an American playwright, novelist, journalist and actress. With her husband George Cram Cook, she founded the Provincetown Players, the first modern American theatre company. First know ...

, writer, Davenport *

Ethan Happ Ethan Happ (born May 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Rio Breogán of the Spanish Liga ACB. He is the all-time leading rebounder for the Wisconsin Badgers, where he started all 139 games of his college career and is the ...

, Big Ten basketball player, Milan *

Warren Hearnes Warren Eastman Hearnes (July 24, 1923 – August 16, 2009) was an American politician who served as the 46th governor of Missouri from 1965 to 1973. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first officeholder eligible to serve two consecuti ...

, governor of

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, Moline * Austin Howard, football player, Davenport * Jim Jensen, NFL running back, Davenport *

Jesse Johnson (musician) Jesse Woods Johnson (born June 1, 1960) is an American musician best known as the guitarist in the original lineup of The Time (more recently known as the Original 7ven). Life and career Johnson was born in Rock Island, Illinois. He moved to ...

, The Time, Rock Island * Mark Johnson, Olympic wrestler, Rock Island *

James Jones James Jones may refer to: Sports Association football *James Jones (footballer, born 1873) (1873–1955), British Olympic footballer * James Jones (footballer, born 1996), Scottish footballer for Wrexham * James Jones (footballer, born 1997), We ...

, football player, Davenport * Gail Karp, cantor of the Reform Jewish synagogue, Davenport *

Hazel Keener Hazel Keener (October 22, 1904 – August 7, 1979) was a motion picture actress from Fairbury, Illinois. She was raised in Davenport, Iowa. Keener won a national beauty contest sponsored by the Chicago Tribune and used her success to begin ...

, actress, Bettendor and Davenport * Madison Keys, tennis player, Rock Island * Josh Kroeger, athlete, Davenport *

Steve Kuberski Stephen Phil Kuberski (born November 6, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. Kuberski won two NBA titles with the Boston Celtics, in 1974 and 1976 and had a nine-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career. Kuberski wa ...

, basketball player, Moline *

Perry Lafferty Perry Francis Lafferty (October 3, 1917 – August 25, 2005) was an American television producer and network television executive who produced several television programs, including the CBS programs ''All in the Family'', ''M*A*S*H'', '' Maude ...

, producer, Davenport * Elmer Layden, athlete and coach, Davenport *

Jim Leach James Albert Smith Leach (born October 15, 1942) is an American academic and former politician. He served as ninth Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 2009 to 2013 Pogrebin, Robin"Rocco Landesman Confirmed as Chairman of the N ...

, politician, Davenport *

Johnny Lujack John Christopher Lujack (pronounced Lu' jack; born January 4, 1925) is a former American football quarterback and defensive back who won the 1947 Heisman Trophy; he is currently the oldest living recipient of the Heisman Trophy. Lujack played c ...

, quarterback, 1947 Heisman Trophy winner, Bettendorf *

Sue Lyon Sue or SUE may refer to: Music * Sue Records, an American record label * ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus * "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie Places * Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits island ...

, actress, Davenport *

Helen Mack Helen Mack (born Helen McDougall; November 13, 1913 – August 13, 1986) was an American actress. She started her career as a child actress in silent films, moving to Broadway plays and touring one of the vaudeville circuits. Her greater succ ...

, actress, Rock Island * Cletus Madsen, priest and college president, Davenport *

Stuart Margolin Stuart Margolin (January 31, 1940 – December 12, 2022) was an American film, theater, and television actor and director who won two Emmy Awards for playing Evelyn "Angel" Martin on the 1970s television series ''The Rockford Files''. In 1973, h ...

, actor and director, Davenport *

Elisabeth Maurus Elisabeth Corrin Maurus (born November 21, 1982), known as Lissie, is an American singer-songwriter. She released her debut EP, "Why You Runnin'", in November 2009. Her debut album, ''Catching a Tiger'', was released in June 2010. Her second stu ...

, musician, Rock Island *

Carl Meinberg Carl H. Meinberg (January 11, 1889 – April 15, 1975) was a 20th-century Catholic priest in the United States who served as the seventh president of St. Ambrose College in Davenport, Iowa from 1937 to 1940. He is included by the Diocese of D ...

, priest and college president, Davenport *

Sebastian Menke Sebastian G. Menke (December 21, 1910 – April 21, 2002) was a 20th-century Catholic priest in the United States who served as the tenth president of St. Ambrose College in Davenport, Iowa from 1964 to 1973. Biography Early life and educa ...

, priest and college president, Davenport *

Julia Michaels Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g ...

, musician, Davenport *

Pat Miletich Patrick Jay Miletich (; born March 9, 1966) is a retired American mixed martial artist and former sports commentator. He is known for his fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he became the first UFC Welterweight Champion and UFC ...

, MMA fighter, Bettendorf * Marvin Mottet, priest, Davenport *

Don Nelson Donald Arvid Nelson (born May 15, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335 (he held the record for most wins for almost 12 ...

, NBA basketball player and coach, Rock Island *

Michael Nunn Michael John Nunn (born April 14, 1963) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2002. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the IBF middleweight title from 1988 to 1991, and the WBA super middleweight title ...

, boxer, Davenport * Spike O'Dell, radio personality, East Moline * Gerald Francis O'Keefe, priest, Davenport *

Gene Oliver Eugene George Oliver (March 22, 1935 – March 3, 2007) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 786 games in Major League Baseball, primarily as a catcher and first baseman, between and , for the St. Louis Cardinals (195 ...

, MLB player, Rock Island *

Eric Christian Olsen Eric Christian Olsen (born May 31, 1977), is an American actor. He is known for his portrayals of Investigator Marty Deeks on the CBS television series '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', and of Austin in the film ''Not Another Teen Movie''. Early life O ...

, actor, Bettendorf *

Daniel David Palmer Daniel David Palmer (March 7, 1845 – October 20, 1913) was a Canadian American chiropractor who was the founder of chiropractic. Palmer was born in Pickering, Ontario, but emigrated to the United States in 1865. He was also an avid proponen ...

, chiropractor, Davenport *

Oran Pape Oran Henry Pape (March 10, 1904 – April 30, 1936) was a member of the Iowa State Patrol in the United States. He is the first member of the Patrol to have been murdered in the line of duty. Prior to joining the Patrol, Pape played professional ...

, state patrol, Davenport * Laurdine Patrick, musician, East Moline *

Mary Beth Peil Mary Beth Peil (born June 25, 1940) is an American actress and soprano. She began her career as an opera singer in 1962 with the Goldovsky Opera Theater. In 1964 she won two major singing competitions, the Young Concert Artists International Au ...

, actress and singer, Davenport *

Nat Pendleton Nathaniel Greene Pendleton (August 9, 1895 – October 12, 1967) was an American Olympic wrestler, film actor, and stage performer. His younger brother, Edmund J. Pendleton (1899-1987), was a well-known music composer and choir master ...

, wrestler and actor, Davenport *

Roger Perry Roger Perry (May 7, 1933 – July 12, 2018) was an American film and television actor whose career began in the late 1950s. He served as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force during the early 1950s. Career Television In th ...

, actor, Davenport * James Philbrook, actor, Davenport *

Scott Pose Scott Vernon Pose (; born February 11, 1967) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He is an alumnus of Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa and the University of Arkansas. Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the ...

, MLB baseball player, Davenport * Hiram Price, politician, Davenport *

Margo Price Margo Rae Price (born April 15, 1983) is an American country singer-songwriter and producer based in Nashville, Tennessee. ''The Fader'' has called her "country's next star." Her debut solo album '' Midwest Farmer's Daughter'' was released on T ...

, country singer, Aledo *

Linnea Quigley Barbara Linnea Quigley (born May 27, 1958) is an American actress, film producer, model, singer, and author. She is best known as a B-movie actress, and is often referred to as a " scream queen" due to her frequent appearances in low-budget horror ...

, actress and producer, Davenport *

Ed Reimers Edwin W. Reimers (October 26, 1912 – August 16, 2009) was an American actor active during the 1950s and 1960s, who also served as the stentorian-voiced announcer for such early Warner Brothers television series as ''Cheyenne'' and ''Maverick ...

, announcer, Moline *

Otto Frederick Rohwedder Otto Frederick Rohwedder (July 7, 1880 – November 8, 1960) was an American inventor and engineer who created the first automatic bread-slicing machine for commercial use. It was first used by the Chillicothe Baking Company. Early life and ed ...

, engineer, inventor of sliced bread, Davenport *

Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Seth Rollins (often referred to as Seth "Freakin" Rollins). Prior to signing ...

, WWE wrestler, Davenport *

Randy Shilts Randy Shilts (August 8, 1951February 17, 1994) was an American journalist and author. After studying journalism at the University of Oregon, Shilts began working as a reporter for both '' The Advocate'' and the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', as wel ...

, journalist, Davenport *

Jim Skinner James Alan Skinner (born 1944) is an American business executive. He was the executive chairman of Walgreens Boots Alliance. He was the vice chairman and CEO of McDonald's Corporation. Early life James Alan Skinner was born in Moline, Illinois, ...

, CEO of McDonald's, Davenport *

Dean Stone Darrah Dean Stone (September 1, 1930 – August 21, 2018) was an American professional baseball player, a pitcher who appeared in 166 games over all or parts of eight Major League Baseball seasons. The well-traveled, , left-hander played for the ...

, MLB pitcher, Silvis *

Tim Sylvia Timothy Deane Sylvia (born March 5, 1976) is an American retired mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, professional wrestler, and a former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. He has competed as a Super Heavyweight and Heavyweight. While he is best kn ...

, MMA fighter, Bettendorf *

Jason Tanamor Jason Tanamor (born April 25, 1975) is a Filipino-American author, writer, and entertainment interviewer. He and his books have been featured in many publications such as Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Yahoo!, Esquire (Philippines), CNN Phi ...

, author, writer, Rock Island *

Julian Vandervelde Julian Vandervelde (born October 7, 1987) is a former American football Center (American football), center . He was drafted by the Eagles in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Iowa Hawkeyes football, Iowa and was ...

, football player, Davenport *

Hynden Walch Hynden Walch is an American actress. She is best known for voicing Starfire in the ''Teen Titans'' franchise and Princess Bubblegum in ''Adventure Time''. She also voiced Penny Sanchez in ''ChalkZone'', Amore and Lockette in the Nickelodeon ver ...

, actress, Davenport *

Henry Cantwell Wallace Henry Cantwell "Harry" Wallace (May 11, 1866 – October 25, 1924) was an American farmer, journalist, and political activist who served as the Secretary of Agriculture from 1921 to 1924 under Republican presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvi ...

, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Rock Island *

Friedrich Weyerhäuser Friedrich (Frederick) Weyerhäuser (November 21, 1834 – April 4, 1914), also spelled Weyerhaeuser, was a German-American timber mogul and founder of the Weyerhaeuser Company, which owns saw mills, paper factories, and other business enterprise ...

, lumber baron, Rock Island *

Dwight Deere Wiman Dwight Deere Wiman (August 8, 1895 – January 20, 1951) was an American silent movie actor, playwright and theatrical director. He is best known as a Broadway producer. Biography Early life and education Dwight Wiman was born in Moline, Illi ...

, Broadway producer, Moline *

Bryan Woods Bryan Woods (born September 14, 1984) is an American writer, director, and producer. He was born in Davenport, Iowa and raised in Bettendorf. Woods co-writes and co-directs with filmmaking partner Scott Beck. Together they co-wrote ''A Quiet Pla ...

, filmmaker, Bettendorf

Education

Colleges and universities

* Augustana College – A private, four-year liberal arts college in Rock Island. * Bible Missionary Institute – A Bible college in Rock Island affiliated with the Bible Missionary Church. *

Black Hawk College Black Hawk College is a public community college in Illinois with campuses in Moline and Galva. History Black Hawk College is a community college with campuses located in Moline and in Kewanee ( south of Kewanee). Founded in 1946 as Moline ...

– Community college in Moline, with a satellite campus in

Kewanee, Illinois Kewanee () is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. "Kewanee" is the Winnebago word for greater prairie chicken, which lived there. The population was 12,509 at the 2020 census, down from 12,944 in 2000. Geography According to the ...

. * Eastern Iowa Community College District – Consisting of campuses in Bettendorf, Clinton, and Muscatine. Bettendorf's campus is known as

Scott Community College Scott Community College is a community college in Riverdale, Iowa, near Bettendorf,

. *

Palmer Chiropractic College Palmer College of Chiropractic is a private chiropractic college with its main campus in Davenport, Iowa. It was established in 1897 by Daniel David Palmer and was the first school of chiropractic in the world. The college's name was originall ...

– Davenport, first chiropractic school in the world. *

Saint Ambrose University St. Ambrose University is a private Catholic university in Davenport, Iowa. It was founded as a school of commerce for young men in 1882. History Foundation St. Ambrose was founded as a seminary and school of commerce for young men in 1882, know ...

- A university in Davenport. *

Upper Iowa University Upper Iowa University (UIU) is a private university in Fayette, Iowa. It enrolls around 6000 students and offers distance education programs that include 15 centers in the U.S., an online program, an independent study program, and centers in ...

– A satellite campus in Bettendorf. *

Western Illinois University-Quad Cities Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. History Western Illin ...

– The only public, four-year university in the Quad Cities region. The campus is located in Moline along the Mississippi Riverfront at the former site of the John Deere Technical Site.

Culture

Since 1916, the region has supported the

Quad City Symphony Orchestra The Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO) is a United States symphony orchestra based in Davenport, Iowa, and representing the Quad Cities area. The current music director and conductor is Mark Russell Smith. Established in 1916, the orchestra has a ...

, which presents a year-round schedule of concerts at the Adler Theatre in Davenport and Centennial Hall in Rock Island. The Handel Oratorio Society, dating to 1880, is the second-oldest organization of its kind in the nation and presents annual performances of "Messiah" along with another major work for choir and orchestra. The Augustana Choir, founded at Rock Island's Augustana College in 1934, is one of the nation's leading collegiate choruses. Major outdoor summer music festivals include the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival, Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, and River Roots Live. The Quad Cities' three traditional community theaters – Playcrafters Barn Theatre (founded in 1920, comedies and dramas) and Quad City Music Guild (1948, musicals) in Moline, and Genesius guild (1957, outdoor Shakespeare and Greek comedies and tragedies) in Rock Island – were joined in 1976 by Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, a professional dinner theater in downtown Rock Island's historic Fort Theatre. Ballet is performed at

Ballet Quad Cities Ballet Quad Cities is a ballet company located in Rock Island, Illinois. It was founded in 1996 by Joedy Cook. The company performs both classical and contemporary dance at various venues in the greater Quad Cities region of Illinois and Iow ...

ComedySportz ComedySportz (CSz) is an improvisational comedy organization started in 1984 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by a group of local comedians including Dick Chudnow, Bob Orvis, Brian Green, and others. Match format The traditional format of a ComedySportz ...

provides

improv comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

. Bluebox Limited is a Bettendorf-based film production company, and many outside productions companies have filmed movies in the Quad Cities in recent years. Historic buildings and sites listed on state and the

interpret the history of people's settlement and lives in the area.

Media

The Quad Cities is the 151st largest

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

in the United States. It is ranked 97th by

Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...

for the 2008–09 television season with 309,600 television households. The area is served by over 13 commercial radio stations, 8 non-commercial radio stations, 3 low power FM radio stations, 8 TV stations and 3 daily newspapers. In 2012, the Mississippi Valley Fair that is held in Davenport served as the film location for

Rodney Atkins Rodney Allan Atkins (born March 28, 1969) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Curb Records in 1996, he charted his first single on the ''Billboard'' country chart in 1997, but did not release an album until 2003's '' ...

' music video " Just Wanna Rock N' Roll." Also in 2012, the PBS ''

Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

'' documentary ''Poor Kids'' was filmed in and around the Quad Cities showing poverty from a child's perspective.

Transportation

Four interstate highways serve the Quad Cities:

, Interstate 280, Interstate 74 serve both states while Interstate 88 serves just Illinois. United States highways include U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 67 which run through both Iowa and Illinois, while U.S. Route 61 serves just Iowa and

U.S. Route 150 U.S. Route 150 (US 150) is a 571-mile (919 km) long northwest-southeast United States highway, signed as east–west. It runs from U.S. Route 6 outside of Moline, Illinois to U.S. Route 25 in Mount Vernon, Kentucky. Route description ...

serves just Illinois. A total of five bridges accessible by automobiles connect Iowa with Illinois in the Quad Cities across the

. The Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge carries Interstate 80 and connects

Le Claire, Iowa LeClaire is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,710 in 2020, a 65.4% increase from 2,847 in 2000, making it one of the fastest-growing communities in the Quad Cities. LeClaire is considered a suburb and part of th ...

, with

Rapids City, Illinois Rapids City is a village in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 959 at the 2010 census, up from 953 in 2000. Geography Rapids City is located at (41.581083, -90.344324). According to the 2010 census, Rapids City has ...

. Continuing downstream, the

I-74 Bridge The Interstate 74 Bridge, officially known as the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge, and often called ''The Twin Bridges'', or the ''I-74 Bridge'', are basket-handle, through arch twin bridges that carry Interstate 74 across the Mississippi River a ...

connects

Bettendorf, Iowa Bettendorf is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. It is the 15th largest city of Iowa and the third-largest city in the "Quad Cities". It is part of the Davenport– Moline– Rock Island, IA- IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The popul ...

, with

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Islan ...

, and is the busiest bridge with an average of 70,400 cars a day. The

connects

Downtown Davenport ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English language, English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central ...

with the

. Three bridges connect Davenport with

Rock Island, Illinois 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 37,108 at the 2020 census. Located on t ...

; The Rock Island Centennial Bridge, The Crescent Rail Bridge, and the furthest downstream bridge, the

Sergeant John F. Baker, Jr. Bridge The Sergeant John F. Baker Jr. Bridge, also known as the Baker Bridge or Interstate 280 Bridge, carries Interstate 280 (I-280) across the Mississippi River between Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. The bridge opened in 1973 wi ...

which carries I-280. Several state highways also serve the area.

Iowa Highway 22 Iowa Highway 22 (Iowa 22) is a west–east state highway that traverses primarily rural areas in east-central Iowa. The highway begins near Thornburg at an intersection with Iowa Highway 21 and ends in southwestern Davenport, at U.S. Hig ...

is on Davenport's southwest side and runs west through the county, while

Iowa Highway 130 Iowa Highway 130 (Iowa 130) is a state highway that traverses northwestern Scott County and eastern Cedar County in eastern Iowa. It begins in Tipton at Iowa 38 and ends at Interstate 80 (I-80) / U.S. Highway 61 (US 61) in ...

runs along Northwest Boulevard on Davenport's north edge.

Illinois Route 5 Illinois Route 5 (IL 5) is a four-lane road in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, that runs from U.S. Route 67 (US 67) in Rock Island to the interchange of Interstate 80 (I-80) and the toll-free portion of I-88, a distanc ...

(John Deere Road) runs from Rock Island east till it runs into Interstate 88.

Illinois Route 92 Illinois Route 92 (IL 92 or Route 92) is an east–west state highway in northwest Illinois. It runs from the Norbert F. Beckey Bridge across the Mississippi River where it meets the eastern end of Iowa Highway 92, east to U.S. Route ...

runs along the

, while Illinois Route 84 runs along the east side of Rock Island County.

Illinois Route 192 Illinois Route 192 is a east–west state highway in northwest Illinois. It runs from its western terminus at Illinois Route 92 northwest of Edgington to its eastern terminus at Illinois Route 94 in Taylor Ridge. The route is located entire ...

connects Highway 92 with

Illinois Route 94 Illinois Route 94 is a north–south state highway in western Illinois. It runs from U.S. Route 24 (US 24) just east of Camp Point to U.S. Route 67 just south of Oak Grove, just south of the Quad Cities area. This is a distance of . ...

near Taylor Ridge. The Chicago – Kansas City Expressway also serves the area along Interstates 74, 80, and 88. There are three transit operators in the Quad Cities with limited interconnection between them. Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District (

Quad Cities MetroLINK The Quad Cities MetroLINK, officially the Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District, provides mass transportation for the Illinois half of the Quad Cities metro area. Both Iowa cities that make up the region have their own systems, ...

) serves the Illinois cities of Rock Island, Moline, East Moline, Milan, Silvis, Carbon Cliff, Hampton and Colona. It has 12 routes and a fleet of about 52 buses. It operates a river craft during summer months. In Iowa,

Davenport Citibus Davenport CitiBus is the transit agency serving Davenport, Iowa. USA. CitiBus has a total of twenty-one vehicles and covers approximately of the city. CitiBus connects with both Bettendorf Transit and the Illinois Quad Cities mass transit syst ...

has 10 fixed routes and operates 20 buses, seven days a week and Bettendorf Transit operates three routes, Monday–Saturday, and has eight buses.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

currently does not serve the Quad Cities. The closest station is about away in

Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistic ...

. In 2008,

United States Senators The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and p ...

Tom Harkin Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Io ...

Chuck Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the senior United States senator from Iowa, having held the seat since 1981. In 2022, h ...

Dick Durbin Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin has served as the Senate De ...

, and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

sent a letter to Amtrak asking them to begin plans to bring rail service to the Quad Cities. In October 2010, a $230 million federal fund was announced that will bring Amtrak service to the Quad Cities, with a

new line New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

running from Moline to Chicago. They hoped to have the line completed in 2015, and offer two round trips daily to Chicago. In December 2011, the federal government awarded $177 million in funding for the

connection. Budgetary and logistical issues have delayed the completion of all necessary track improvements, but the project is still in development. The multi-modal Moline Q Station building was completed in early 2018, with the attached Westin Element hotel opening in February. When the full project is completed, it will establish passenger rail through the Quad Cities, for the first time since the 1970s. The Quad Cities is served by the Quad Cities International Airport, Illinois' third-busiest airport, located in Moline. The airport is marketed as a regional alternative to the larger airports in Chicago, nearly away. The smaller Davenport Municipal Airport is the home of the Quad City Air Show.

Sports

From 1907 to 1926, Rock Island was home to the NFL's

Rock Island Independents The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team, based in Rock Island, Illinois, from 1907 to 1926. The Independents were a founding National Football League franchise. They hosted what has been retrospectively designated ...

. The franchise was a charter member on the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL) in 1920. The first NFL Game ever was played by the Independents at

Douglas Park Douglas Park was a football stadium in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, the home ground of Hamilton Academical from 1888 to 1994. The stadium holds the record for Hamilton Academical's largest ever attendance, 28,690 people against Hearts in 1 ...

in September 1920. Football legend

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

was a member of the team in 1924. The Tri-Cities Blackhawks, named in honor of the Sauk war chief

, was the next top-level professional sports franchise. The club played in the National Basketball League (NBL) from 1946 until its merger in 1949 with the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

to become the

(NBA). Hall of famer

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. ...

coached the Blackhawks during their first NBA season. After the 1950–51 basketball season, the team moved to

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, where they were named the Hawks. After a second move to

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, the team is now the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. Professional basketball returned to the Quad Cities during the 1980s and 1990s with the Quad City Thunder of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball mi ...

. The CBA served as the NBA's premier developmental league and produced many highly regarded NBA stars. From 1987 through the 1992–93 season, the Thunder played at Wharton Field House in Moline. Starting with the 1993–94 season, the team played at The MARK of the Quad Cities (now the

.) After the CBA folded in 2001, the Thunder franchise ceased operations permanently. The TaxSlayer Center occasionally hosts

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

conference tournaments as well as NBA and NHL exhibitions. The Quad Cities has hosted minor league baseball teams since the Davenport Brown Stockings first played in 1878. The

Rock Island Islanders The Rock Island Islanders was the primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Rock Island, Illinois, one of the Quad Cities, between 1892 and 1937. Rock Island teams played as members of the Illinois–Iowa League (1892), Western Ass ...

and

Moline Plowboys The Moline Plowboys was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Moline, Illinois, one of the Quad Cities. Moline teams played as members the 1892 Illinois-Iowa League, 1894 Western Association, the Mississippi Valley League ( ...

each fielded teams for many seasons. The Islanders began play in 1901 and played primarily at

. The Plowboys were founded in 1914. Their home was Browning Field. The Davenport franchise has been a member of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganiza ...

since 1960. They have played at

since 1931. Today, the

are High Class A affiliate of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

The

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

makes an annual stop in the Quad Cities. The golf tournament is currently known as the

John Deere Classic The John Deere Classic is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in July, usually the week before The Open Championship, at TPC Deere Run in the Quad Cities community of Silvis, Illinois. History The tournament be ...

. It has drawn dozens of top PGA players over the years, including

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( hif, विजय सिंह ; born 22 February 1963), nicknamed "The Big Fijian", is a Fijians, Fijian professional golfer. He has won 34 events on the PGA Tour, including three Men's major golf championships, major championsh ...

, and

Payne Stewart William Payne Stewart (January 30, 1957 – October 25, 1999) was an American professional golfer who won eleven PGA Tour events, including three major championships, the last of which came just a few months before his death in an airplane acci ...

. The Quad Cities

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

has run annually in late September since 1998. Roughly 400-500 participants race through the four cities, beginning and ending in Moline. The race weekend also offers a half marathon and a 5K as well as races for children. Kenyan Kiplangat Terer holds the men's record with a 2:14:04, run in 2013. Ethiopian Hirut Guangul holds the woman's record at 2:35:07, from her 2012 win.

Sports teams

Quad City River Bandits Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to: Government * Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States * Quadrilateral group, an informal group which in ...

is a Class A

minor league baseball team in Davenport. Their home games are played at

, formerly John O'Donnell Stadium. The Davenport team has existed under a variety of names and

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

team affiliations since 1901. The River Bandits are currently affiliated with the

. *

Quad City Mallards The Quad City Mallards were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa that competed in the International Hockey League, Central Hockey League and ECHL. They were named after the Mallards team ...

were an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

team that played from 2009 to 2018 with home games held at the

in Moline. The new Mallards replaced the former

Quad City Flames The Quad City Flames were an American professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 2007 to 2009. They were owned by QC Sports Ventures Inc., an ownership group based out of the Quad Cities. The Flames played at the ...

AHL team which played from 2007 to 2009. The original Mallards played in the

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Uni ...

from 1995 to 2007. * The

Quad City Storm The Quad City Storm is a professional minor league hockey team to begin play in the 2018–19 season as a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The team is based in the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa, with home games at the Vi ...

was launched for the 2018–19 season in the

Southern Professional Hockey League The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league based in Huntersville, North Carolina, with teams located primarily in the southeastern United States as well as Illinois and Indiana in the midw ...

. * The

Quad City Steamwheelers The Quad City Steamwheelers were a professional arena football team. They were a charter member of the AF2 and played their home games at iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois. The team was founded on September 1, 1999 when the Quad Cities was ...

were an AF2

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

franchise that also played at the

. The Steamwheelers won the league's title game, the

ArenaCup The ArenaCup was the af2's championship game. For the league's first five years, it was held at the arena of the higher seeded team. However, the 2005 ArenaCup was the first to be played at a neutral site in Bossier City, Louisiana. The 2006 Ar ...

, in 2000 and 2001. After the AF2 league folded following its 2009 season, the Steamwheelers also ceased operations. * A new

organization launched for the 2018 season in

Champions Indoor Football Champions Indoor Football (CIF) is a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2014 out of the merger between the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) and Lone Star Football League (LSFL), plus one team fr ...

and then moved to the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams am ...

for 2019. *

Quad City Silverbacks The Quad Cities Silverbacks was an International Fight League team based in the Quad Cities region of the United States. Coached by former UFC Welterweight Champion and founder of the very successful Miletich Fighting Systems camp, Pat Miletich ...

were a professional

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incor ...

team competing in the now-defunct

International Fight League The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion billed as the world's first MMA league. It was founded on January 7, 2006, and closed on July 31, 2008.

. Home matches took place at the iWireless Center. *

formed and based a

gym and fight team,

Miletich Fighting Systems Miletich Fighting Systems (MFS) was a mixed martial arts (MMA) training organization. It was recognized as an excellent training camp. It has been the training camp for fighters such as Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, Jens Pulver, Robbie Lawler, a ...

, in the Quad Cities.

is among MMA's first 'super-camps', and housed many of the consensus greatest fighters of the early 2000s, such as

Jens Pulver Jens Johnnie Pulver (born December 6, 1974) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist and undefeated boxer and kickboxer. Pulver was the inaugural UFC Lightweight Champion in addition to serving as the head coach on '' The Ultim ...

, Matt Hughes,

Robbie Lawler Robert Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist who has been competing since 2001. He is the former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in Strikeforc ...

, and

Jeremy Horn Jeremy Graham Horn (born August 25, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist. Horn is best known for fighting in smaller American promotions, he has also competed in some of the premiere mixed martial arts organizations around the world, incl ...

, among others. * The

Quad City Riverhawks The Quad City Riverhawks were a team of the Premier Basketball League that previously played in the modern American Basketball Association (ABA). History The team began play as a member of the ABA in 2006. The team played at the Activities Cent ...

was a PBL (

Premier Basketball League The Premier Basketball League, often abbreviated to the PBL, is an American professional men's basketball minor league that began play in January 2008. The league folded after the 2017 season. It was announced that the league would be revived un ...

) team. They played home games at Wharton Field House in Moline during the 2008 season. They ended with that season. Previously, the

Quad City Thunder The Quad City Thunder was a Continental Basketball Association franchise that was based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. They played in the CBA from the 1987–88 season until the CBA folded in 2001. The Thunder were successful on the co ...

were a CBA team playing in the late 1980s thru 2000, first at Wharton and then at The Mark. * The Quad City Raiders are a semi-professional minor league football team that was formed in 2011 to serve the Quad City area. The Raiders play in the MidStates Football League and have reached the semi-finals in the league playoffs each season.

Notes

References

External links

QuadCities.com
nbsp;– Local information guide, business directory, event calendar
Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau

''Quad City Times'' newspaper

Quad-Cities Online
nbsp;– Local information
QCANews.com
{{authority control Metropolitan areas of Iowa Metropolitan areas of Illinois

History

Early history

Evolution of an identity

1980s–current

Proposed mergers

Geography

Demographics

Race and ethnicity

Religion

Landmarks

Noteworthy companies

Top employers

Notable people

Education

Colleges and universities

Culture

Media

Transportation

Sports

Sports teams

See also

See also

Notes

References

External links