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1894 Map of Davenport

Name: 1894 Topographic Map of Davenport
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1917
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1917

About this map

The Mississippi River serves as the dominant geographic and economic anchor for this late 19th-century survey of Scott County. The city of Davenport is shown in its growing grid pattern along the riverbank, looking across to Rock Island and the Iowa Illinois Boundary Line. The landscape is a complex network of early railroads, including the Chicago Rock-Island and Pacific Railroad and the Chicago Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, which fueled the growth of interior agricultural settlements like Eldridge and Donahue.

Away from the urban riverfront, the map details a rural landscape punctuated by distinct landmarks such as the Green Tree Tavern and various groves including Walnut Grove and Allens Grove. Numerous watercourses, from the northern Wapsipinicon River to interior streams like Duck Creek and Crow Creek, reveal the drainage patterns that defined township boundaries and farm placements before the modern era of intensive development.