Colonel Davenport Historical Foundation
Timeline of the House
1833-1834 George Davenport built Federal-style house. It's one of the farthest west examples of this type of architecture in the country.
1845 George Davenport is murdered.
1857 Davenport family moves out of the house.
1863 Captain Reynolds, in charge of the Arsenal prison barracks, rented the house. Then in December, Col. Johnson rented the house as the prison headquarters.
1864 Lloyd family took residence.
1867 Property was sold to the U.S. Government. It was abandoned and fell into severe disrepair with the east, west, and south winds collapsing.
1907 Davenport's granddaughters and a group called the Old Settlers and Pioneers were able to save and restore the main structure, but had to raze the three deteriorating wings.
1959-1966 Quad City Homebuilders and volunteers further restored the Davenport house with a new roof, siding, interior plaster, and exterior and interior paint. The house was opened for tours.
1976 Local chapters of Questers antique group chose the house as their Bicentennial renovation project.
1978 Colonel Davenport Historical Foundation is created with the goals of preserving the house and sharing its rich history with the public.
1986 The roof was replaced on the house.
1989 CDHF replaced the window sashes with ones that were like the original ones thanks to a grant from the Adler Foundation. The 1906 siding was also replaced with stylistically-accurate pine wood siding.
1990-1991 The federal-style portico on the front of the house was reconstructed thanks to a grant from Adler Foundation.
1995 The chimneys were restored and the stucco was removed revealing the Mississippi riverbend stone thanks to a grant from the Riverboat Development Authority.
1998 The west wing of the house was reconstructed and houses the gift shop thanks to grants from the State of Illinois, Riverboat Development Authority, and Scott County Regional Authority.
2003 Archeological dig of east wing area and yard is completed in preparation for reconstruction. Fur trade exhibit was completed on the second floor.
2005 Windows and siding were replaced on the front of the house thanks to a grant from the Riverboat Development Authority.
2007 The south side of the house is resided, the windows redone, and the porch and accessible ramp rebuilt thanks to the Quad City Homebuilders, McCartney Construction, Ehrecke Construction, and a grant from the Scott County Regional Authority.
2010 Downstairs interior painted and wood trim was recoated with a wood grain supported by a matching grant from the Runge Family Foundation.
2011 Groundbreaking of reconstruction of the east wing project
2015 East wing construction finished thanks to grants from the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, Doris & Victor Day Foundation, RIA Development Group, Scott County Regional Authority, and many volunteers.
2018 New exhibits in the east wing completed thanks to grants from the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, Hubbell-Waterman Foundation, Regional Development Authority, and Rock Island Arsenal Welcome Club.
