Discover Moline: City of Mills

On Aug. 9, Kirk Marske of Moline Centre will lead two walking tours based on his eATLAS Adventures that spotlight Moline’s history. At 11 a.m., you’ll explore 16 locations on River Drive (originally 3rd Ave.) starting at Skinner Block Courtyard (1520 River Dr.). He’ll follow it at 1 p.m. with a tour that starts at The Atlas Collective – Brews & Books and visits 20 stops on 5th Ave. Along the way at both, you’ll discover the history of those buildings and how men like John Deere, Porter Skinner, John Gould, and D.C. Dimock helped shape Moline. Both events are free, and you can RSVP at Facebook (River Drive, 5th Ave.).

By Dave Lifton (@daveeatschicago)

In 1836, David Sears, a native of Upstate New York, relocated to the area formed by the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers. A year later, he and his partners built a dam across Sylvan Slough to connect the mainland and Rock Island Arsenal, and the water generated enough hydroelectricity to power Sears’ mills. 

They named the area Rock Island Mills. However, when a plat was made in 1843, the founders decided to rechristen it, with Moline (based on the French word for mill – moulin – because it was quickly becoming a mill town) and Hesperia (in honor of Hesperus, the Greek god of the evening star in the west) as the options. Charles Atkinson, one of the landowners, is reported to have chosen Moline. 

With about 1,000 residents, Moline was incorporated as a town on April 21^st, 1848. That same year, a blacksmith, John Deere, relocated his growing plow company from Grand Detour, Ill., to Moline to be able to use the Mississippi for power, receiving materials, and shipping his products.

The Chicago and Rock Island Railroad arrived in 1854, becoming the first line to connect the Mississippi River with the Windy City. The railroad constructed the first bridge across the river, through Rock Island Arsenal to Davenport, Iowa, two years later. 

With the railroad came immigrants, primarily from Belgium, Sweden, and Germany, to work in the mills and factories. The stretch of 3^rd Ave. between 15^th St. and 18^th St. became the downtown commercial district. As of the 1870 Census, Moline had 12,485 people, and it was re-incorporated as a city on April 21^st, 1872. Daniel Wheelock beat out John Deere to become the first mayor, although Deere would win in his second bid a year later and serve one two-year term. 

With Deere & Co., now run by his son Charles, branching out into other farming equipment, Moline continued its growth in the 20^th century. The commercial district was extended to 5^th Ave. via 15^th St., Riverside Park was built in 1920, and Andrew Carnegie gave the city $17,000 for the construction of a new downtown library, which opened in 1904. 

Airplanes started landing at Franing Field in 1919, leading to the formation of Moline Municipal Airport (now Quad Cities International Airport) three years later. Along with Rock Island and Davenport, Iowa, the region became known as the Tri-Cities (East Moline would enter the triumvirate in the 1930s to create the Quad Cities. Bettendorf, Iowa, joined after World War II, but the region kept the Quad Cities moniker). 

Big time sports came to the area in 1946, when the Buffalo Bisons of the National Basketball League (NBL), 13 games into its existence, relocated to Moline and became the Tri-City Blackhawks. After two seasons, the Blackhawks became a founding member of the NBA when the NBL merged with the Basketball Association of America. But after the 1950-51 season, the team moved to Milwaukee and was rebranded as the Hawks. 

However, the growth eventually came at a price. The arrival of SouthPark Mall in 1974 pulled retailers out of downtown. Then, the Farm Crisis of the 1980s saw John Deere lose nearly $230 million in 1986. The company – long Moline’s largest employer – laid off thousands of people and moved many of its factories out of town, although its global headquarters remain. The LeClaire Hotel, which is Moline’s tallest building at 15 stories and hosted Presidents Kennedy and Reagan, shuttered its doors. 

Help arrived at the decade’s close. Renew Moline, a 501(c)(3) was established in 1989 with the goal of reversing the downturn and revitalizing downtown by rebranding it as Moline Centre. This has been accomplished through preserving historic buildings, attracting new businesses, and projects like the John Deere Commons, a mixed-use development at the site of Deere’s first factory in town that includes a museum, hotel, and the 12,000-seat Vibrant Arena at the Mark. 

As the author was writing this, he kept hearing Dolly Parton singing “Moline” to the tune of “Jolene” in his head.