The history of Rock Island County, once known as the "farm implement capital of the world," starts well before that industry sprung up on the Mississippi River at a point where the river runs east to west. Fur trading, farming, mining, milling, and lumber all played a key role in the county's formation. As the railroad moved west, the first rail bridge over the Mississippi at Rock Island created a transportation hub and furthered the area's process of industrialization. This volume of vintage pictures looks at the county from the early 1800s, prior to its creation, through the mid-1960s. It...
The history of Rock Island County, once known as the "farm implement capital of the world," starts well before that industry sprung up on the Mississi...
