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The History of Rock Island in Post Cards Thanks to Frederick Weyerhaeuser and his brother-in-law F. C. A. Denkmann, Rock Island and the Quad Cities were
a destination for many of those logs. In the background we see the Crescent Bridge, which indicates that the picture was taken looking west from near
where the Centennial Bridge is now - probably the photographer was standing near the top of another riverboat.
We also see men atop the log raft but can't tell what they are doing. Since the outline of the log raft is very
irregular, it may be that it's in the process of being broken into smaller rafts, which will then be stored in
pens near their sawmill destination until they can be sawn. Weyerhaeuser & Denkmann maintained their first sawmill just around the bend downriver at First Street and
Fourth Avenue, where a barge terminal is located today. There had been sawmills in the Quad City area since the
1830s, and that on the end of Fourth Avenue was one of the oldest. Weyerhaeuser &. Denkmann acquired this sawmill,
located just north of the Kahlke boatyards, around 1860. In the very early days, local sawmills cut hardwood timber
from the nearby bluffs. As the nearby local lumber was cut, Weyerhauser and others looked elsewhere for a source of logs. They found
it in the woods of northwestern Wisconsin. Huge white pine trees were cut and floated down the rivers to Rock Island
and other destinations. In the very beginning, the logs were simply dumped into the river up north and fished out
at their final destination - but big logs floating uncontrolled down the river were not conducive to navigation
safety. It didn't take long until the logs were tied together, forming huge rafts. The raft depicted on today's postcard is relatively small, as the average length of a raft was about two blocks
long. The largest log rafts were three blocks long and a block wide. But even a large pack of lashed-together logs
can be a navigational hazard. The problem of controlling the travel of the rafts was solved when Rock Islander
Sam Van Sant (who later became governor of Minnesota) invented the special purpose raftboat to push the log rafts.
In Rock Island, Weyerhauser and Denkmann owned their own raftboats, which were built at the Kahlke Brothers boatyard
next door to the sawmill. Thus the pictured North Star was probably built locally. Rock Island had two big sawmills, both eventually owned by Weyerhaeuser & Denkmann. The first was their
west end one at Fourth Avenue. F. C. A. Denkmann and his wife lived nearby at 122 Fourth Avenue. The second Weyerhaeuser
& Denkmann sawmill was located near the foot of 27th Street, in the "Y" formed by the railroad tracks
where some of the tracks curve to go across the bridge. In later years, the 27th Street mill continued in operation
as Rock Island Sash and Door. In the late 1800s, when the easily floated trees in Wisconsin or Minnesota were all cut, it was found to be
uneconomical to log inland from the rivers. With foresight, Weyerhaeuser & Denkmann looked farther afield to
the rich forests of Washington and Oregon. The company eventually moved to the northwest and where they became
the largest timberholders in the United States, both as a firm and as individuals. November 18, 1905 at 8 pm marked the end of the sawmill era in Rock Island. That date and time is variously
reported as either the arrival of the last log raft or the time the west end sawmill turned its saws off for the
last time. So why do we think our postcard might depict that last log raft destined for Rock Island? Our postcard
depicts a Rock Island boat, and Weyerhauser & Denkmann operated the only Rock Island sawmills. This raft is
downstream of the 27th Street sawmill, probably destined for the west end sawmill. We can see the Crescent Bridge
in the background, which wasn't built until 1900, so we know the approximate date of the card. Therefore, we think
this postcard might be more significant that first glance indicates. It depicts the end of the historic sawmill
era - an era that contributed mightily to our city and our community. Although a few log rafts continued down the river after 1905, they went to other sawmills in other communities.
The summer of 1915 saw the last log raft, of Minnesota white pine, pushed down river by the Ottumwa Belle. Memories
of sawmill years lingered in Rock Island, even though that last raft changed our history forever. For years after
the mills closed there was more than just memory -there was smoke. One of the byproducts of sawmills is sawdust.
Lots of sawdust. After decades of sawing wood, the mills were pretty much surrounded by sawdust, covered by layers
of river silt. As a result, even 20 years after all the local mills closed, there were underground sawdust fires.
In the west end sawmill area, sawdust fires regularly occurred along the river from Third to Thirteenth Avenues. The riverfront path provides access to both of our historic sawmill sites. Take a stroll and look at them. And
see the photographic RiverWay markers near the Kahlke boatyards in the west end and the other near the railroad
bridge at 27th Street. The 27th Street photo shows another log raft, penned up awaiting sawing in the adjacent
sawmill. Printed with permission The view is taken from about 15th Avenue and 24th Street looking toward the southwest - about where Rock Island's
recycling center is located today. We can clearly see at least three large areas of water as well as a small round
structure in their midst with a slightly larger rectangular building to the left. Those two structures are identified
on Sanborn maps as valve houses. Two buildings in the distant right background are homes that are still standing
on 22nd Street in the Highland Park Historic District. Although established as a city in 1841, it took another thirty years for Rock Island to create a public water
facility. In 1871, the Rock Island City Council allocated $75,000 to build a pumping station and install water
mains. Water from the Mississippi would simply be pumped directly into the water mains without any way to process
and purify. That first pumping station was located at the north end of 6th Street, near where the Crescent Bridge reaches
the shore nowadays. It was soon evident that the location was unsatisfactory - first, because the inlet pipe didn't
extend very far into the river, and second, because the intake was located very close to the sewage (untreated
of course) outlet. When the river froze and the channel was narrowed, sewage could -- and did -- contaminate the
water. After several outbreaks of "winter cholera," the city decided the pumping station must be moved,
but couldn't afford the move. Local philanthropist and civic booster P. L. Cable came to the rescue by donating $25,000 to assist in the 1882
construction of a new pumping station at the foot of 24th Street. That pumping station, remodeled by architect
Benj. Horn in the 1930s, remains there today. But it still pumped river water directly into the mains without processing. In 1891, Hon. Ben T. Cable, another prominent citizen, donated a "Jewel type" filter for the incoming
water. This filter would at least ensure clear, if not totally purified, water. The water was then sent directly
into the mains at a maximum rate of 2 million gallons per 24 hours. A big problem still remained, since occasionally
the demand was as great as 3 million gallons per 24 hours and, without a reservoir system, the pumps and filter
simply could not keep up with demand. Finally, in 1897, a group of businessmen identified as "capitalists" purchased 26 acres atop the bluff
between 22nd and 24th Streets, 13th to 18th Avenues, and in turn resold it to the city at a cost of $1000 per acre.
Construction of two settling basins and three slow sand filters was completed in 1899, and a main reservoir of
10 million gallons was completed in 1900. The settling basins allowed particulate material to settle out of the
water, then the sand filters further clarified the water. The slow sand filters were later replaced with rapid mechanical sand filters in 1911, resulting in a capacity
of 6 million gallons per 24 hours. Additional filters were added in the late 1930s to further increase the capacity.
Chemical treatment of the water - chlorination - was not used until the late 1920s. In 1908, it was reported that Rock Island had 4400 private water consumers and 250 fire hydrants as well as
one water tower located near 30th Street. Our postcard represents the waterworks at about that time, and shows
the three sand filters. The settling basins were located directly north of the filters, while the open reservoir
for the clean water was just across 16th Avenue on the southeast corner of Reservoir Park. The small building just
right of center near the houses was adjacent to the reservoir. Both the reservoir and building were demolished
when the four covered "dome" reservoirs next to 18th Avenue were constructed in the late 1930s. The settling
basins continued in use until 1999. Even today it's much the same story. Water is drawn in from pipes extending to the middle of the Mississippi
River by the 24th Street pumping station, which then pumps the water to the filtering and purification works at
our postcard location. After processing - much more comprehensive nowadays -- the pure drinking water is stored
in the four domes. Finally, all the water is distributed by gravity, either flowing naturally to lower areas of
the city or being pumped up into several "standpipes" or water towers throughout town. In all cases,
it is the difference in height between the water source and its use that provides constant pressure to our faucets
and hydrants. It is also worth noting that our complete water processing and storage system is safely enclosed. Concurrent with the development of Rock Island's blufftop waterworks was the creation of its large parks. From
its earliest years, the extra land around the waterworks was known as Reservoir Park. By 1902 woodcutters were
warned to go elsewhere to cut their wood supplies (previously woodcutting had occurred in both Longview and Reservoir
Parks). Today, the open property is still called Reservoir Park and, with the exception of the parts actively used
for water processing, is maintained by our Parks and Recreation Department. Reservoir Park is also part of the Highland Park Historic District that, in 1986, was recognized as Rock Island's
first historic district. The residential part of Highland Park is the four square blocks between 20th and 22nd
Streets just south of 16th Avenue. It was platted in 1895 and the last house was built about 1928. Two earlier
Highland Park houses can be seen in the right background on our postcard. We can identify those two houses as the Ward House, built about 1906, and, farthest right, the Wilmerton-Carll
House, built about 1907. Another house was built between these two around 1914 - later than the picture on this
postcard. The frame Ward house was the first one of three houses that John and Ella Ward built for resale in Highland
Park. It was probably designed by architect George Stauduhar, who was one of the first Highland Park residents
and designed many other homes there. The Wilmerton house was constructed for the president of the Rock Island Publishing Company which published
the TriCity Morning Journal. It is built using a heavily textured brick, similar to brick used in the nearby Villa
de Chantal. Both the Wilmerton and the Ward houses were designed in what is known as the American Foursquare style. We propose a toast. Next time you open the faucet and draw a glass of Rock Island's sparkling pure water, raise
it in salute to our 140 year old public water system and all who made and make it possible. And then give another
tip of the glass to our Highland Park Historic District and its Reservoir Park. |
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