History
The voters of Scott County were responsible for choosing the county seat in the election of 1838. The newly incorporated city of Rockingham, along with neighboring Davenport, were the competitors. After Davenport had seemingly won, cries of fraud were raised following the election, so another election was held in August. This time Davenport, Rockingham and Winfield (Scott) were the competitors. Davenport, however, offered more land, buildings and cash donations than the other two towns and eventually won by default. [3]
The Rockingham Post Office was opened March 11, 1837 and discontinued December 16, 1847 (the same year that the town itself ceased to exist). [1] [4]
County seat dilemma
In 1837, shortly after Scott County was formed Rockingham, and rival neighbor Davenport both campaigned to become the county seat. As stated by the Iowa Territory, the city with the most votes at the February 1838 election, would become the county seat. [5] On the eve of the election, Davenporters secured the temporary service of Dubuque laborers so that they could vote in the election. Davenport won the election. Rockingham supporters however, did not like this. They protested the elections to the territorial Governor. The Governor of the territory refused to certify the results of the election. A second election was scheduled for the following August. To avoid another import of voters, the Governor set a sixty-day residency requirement. Both cities proved to be corrupt as the second election drew near. Davenport, was again the victor, by only two votes. [5] A third election was set by the Territorial Legislature for the summer of 1840. As the August election drew nearer, Rockinghamers grew tired of the county seat cause. Antoine LeClaire's $3,000 contribution, and the efforts of other Davenporters were difficult to challenge. Davenport easily won the third election. To ensure the question of county seat would not arise again, Davenport built the first county courthouse. [5]
Rockingham Township may have been annexed, but a road in Southwest Davenport (the area where the former township once was) carries its name to this day: Rockingham Road. [6]
Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a combined statistical area population of 474,019, ranking as the 147th-largest MSA and 91st-largest CSA in the nation. According to the 2020 census, the city had a population of 101,724, making it Iowa's third-most populous city after Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836, by Antoine Le Claire and named for his friend George Davenport.
Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 174,669, making it the third-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Davenport.
Davenport, Iowa, was part of the Louisiana Purchase. In 1814, during the War of 1812 the British military, along with the Saux and Fox Indian tribes fought against the Americans near Davenport. In August, Major Zachary Taylor, later President, fought a battle east of what is now Credit Island Park, in Davenport. An outpost was set up at Fort Armstrong and George Davenport and Antoine LeClaire were stationed there.
Antoine Le Claire was a US Army interpreter, landowner in Scott County, Iowa, and Rock Island County, Illinois, businessman, philanthropist and principal founder of Davenport, Iowa.
St. Mary's Catholic Church was a parish of the Diocese of Davenport. The church building is located in the west end of Davenport, Iowa, United States, at the corner of Fillmore and W. 6th Streets. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church Complex. The designation includes the church building and rectory on the west side of Fillmore Street, and the former parochial school building and convent on the east side. A former school building operated by the parish two blocks north on West Eighth Street is also on the National Register and is listed as St. Mary's Academy. The parish ceased operations in July 2020 when it was merged into St. Anthony's Church downtown. The parish campus is being acquired by the nonprofit organization Humility Homes & Services, which is operated by the Congregation of the Humility of Mary.
Bethel A.M.E. Church is located in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
St. John's United Methodist Church is located in central Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
First Presbyterian Church is located in central Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The congregation is associated with the Presbyterian Church (USA).
St. Mary's Academy is a historic building located in a residential area of the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The building was built as a school building for St. Mary's Catholic Church, which is listed separately on the National Register.
Clarissa C. Cook Library/Blue Ribbon News Building was located at 528 Brady Street, Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was noted on the National Register of Historic Places in April, 1983 as Cook Memorial Library and listed in July 1983 under the "Clarissa C. Cook Library/Blue Ribbon News Bldg." name. It has subsequently been torn down, and was delisted from the National Register in 2014.
Clarissa Cook Home for the Friendless is a historic building located in the west end of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The Hose Station No. 1 is a historic building located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1999. In 2019 it was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Motor Row and Industrial Historic District.
The Arthur Ebeling House is a historic building located on the west side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. The Colonial Revival house was designed by its original owner, Arthur Ebeling. It was built from 1912 to 1913 and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Hiram Price/Henry Vollmer House is a historic building located on the Brady Street Hill in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The home is named for two members of the United States House of Representatives who lived in the house, Hiram Price and Henry Vollmer, who both represented Iowa's 2nd congressional district. The building is now a part of the campus of Palmer College of Chiropractic where it houses the Office of Strategic Development.
The D.C. Eldridge House is a historic building located on the east side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984.
The Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa, United States was built from 1955 to 1956 and extensively renovated over a ten-year period between 1998 and 2009. It is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration. It is part of a larger county complex that includes the county jail, administration building and juvenile detention facility. In 2020 the courthouse was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Dr. Heinrich Matthey House is a historic building located in the Hamburg Historic District in Davenport, Iowa, United States. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The house was individually listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1993.
The Lambrite–Iles–Petersen House is a historic home located in the Hamburg Historic District in Davenport, Iowa, United States. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The house was individually listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 2012. This was the first residence built in the city in the Italian villa style and one of the earliest examples in the state of Iowa. The house is named for three of its early owners: Joseph Lambrite, a lumber mill owner who built the house, Dr. Thomas Iles, a physician, and John H.C. Petersen, who founded Davenport's largest department store that grew to become Von Maur.
The West End is an area of the city of Davenport, Iowa, and is bordered by both W. 9th street, W. 8th Street, N. Marquette Street, the Mississippi River, and I-280. Its main streets are Rockingham Road, Telegraph Road, N. Division Street, and N. Marquette St. The area is also known to be "West Davenport".
The Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in the central business district of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 43 resources, which included 33 contributing buildings, one contributing structure, and nine non-contributing buildings. In addition, the district also contains 33 buildings that are individually listed on the National Register. This historic district is bordered by four other districts: the Crescent Warehouse Historic District and the Davenport Motor Row and Industrial Historic District on the east, the Hamburg Historic District to the northwest, and the West Third Street Historic District on the west.
United States 
Iowa 
