Editing Rock Island, Illinois (section)

==History==
[[File:New Harper, Rock Island, IL.jpg|thumb|The Harper House]]

The original portion of what is now known as Rock Island was called Farnhamsburg – after the original two homes were built by Colonel [[George Davenport]] and [[Russell Farnham]] in 1826. Davenport and Farnham were business partners, trading with the local [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. The original city plat was filed on July 10, 1835, and was named Stephenson. It was renamed Rock Island in March 1841.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rigov.org/99/Rock-Island-History|title=Rock Island History - Rock Island, IL - Official Website|website=www.rigov.org|access-date=May 2, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502170719/http://www.rigov.org/99/Rock-Island-History|archive-date=May 2, 2018}}</ref>

The southern portion of Rock Island, including today's Watch Hill area, was originally known as Searstown. It was named after David B. Sears, who built the Sears Power Dam on the [[Rock River (Mississippi River tributary)|Rock River]]. Searstown was annexed by Rock Island in 1915. This area has been a fortuitous place first for settlement and then for steamboat traffic, bridges, and railroads.

The [[Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad]] (RI) was founded here in 1851, known informally as the [[Rock Island Line]]; over the next century, the railroad grew to serve fourteen states but ended in bankruptcy in 1980.<ref>{{cite book |last = Drury |first = George H. |title = The Historical Guide to North American Railroads: Histories, Figures, and Features of more than 160 Railroads Abandoned or Merged since 1930 |publisher = [[Kalmbach Publishing]] |year = 1994 |location = [[Waukesha, Wisconsin]] |pages = 87–93 |isbn = 0-89024-072-8}}</ref> As part of later nineteenth-century development, two first-class hotels: the [[Harper House (Rock Island, Illinois)|Harper House]] (built by [[Ben Harper (politician)|Ben Harper]] and opened in February 1871) and the Rock Island House were built in town.<ref>Diane Oestreich: [http://www.rockislandpreservation.org/postcards-from-home/harper-house-hotel/ "Harper House Hotel. 2nd Avenue & 19th Street"], ''Rock Island Presrvation Society'', February 2013.</ref> The Rock Island Arsenal has manufactured military equipment and ordnance for the [[U.S. Army]] since the 1880s.

The [[Rock Island Southern Railway]] was an [[interurban]] line that ran from Rock Island to [[Monmouth, Illinois]], then onward to [[Galesburg, Illinois]]. It was built between 1906 and 1910. A portion of the trackage, from Rock Island to [[Preemption, Illinois]], was shared with the CRI&P line that served the coal mines in [[Cable, Illinois]], and [[Sherrard, Illinois]]. The line finally folded in 1952.

Construction began in April 2017 for a new Rock Island County courthouse. The $28 million project was completed in the fall of 2018, and the old courthouse was expected to be torn down upon completion of the new building.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wqad.com/2017/03/22/first-look-at-new-courthouse-in-rock-island-county-construction-expected-to-start-next-month/|title=Construction on new Rock Island County courthouse to begin in April|date=March 22, 2017|website=WQAD.com|access-date=March 23, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323030943/http://wqad.com/2017/03/22/first-look-at-new-courthouse-in-rock-island-county-construction-expected-to-start-next-month/|archive-date=March 23, 2017}}</ref> However, resident opposition delayed the demolition, with the phrase "Save Our Courthouse" being used by opponents to the demolition. The old courthouse was demolished in April 2023.