1.
National Register of Historic Places
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The National Register of Historic Places is the United States federal governments official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation. The passage of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966 established the National Register, of the more than one million properties on the National Register,80,000 are listed individually. The remainder are contributing resources within historic districts, each year approximately 30,000 properties are added to the National Register as part of districts or by individual listings. For most of its history the National Register has been administered by the National Park Service and its goals are to help property owners and interest groups, such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, coordinate, identify, and protect historic sites in the United States. While National Register listings are mostly symbolic, their recognition of significance provides some financial incentive to owners of listed properties, protection of the property is not guaranteed. During the nomination process, the property is evaluated in terms of the four criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, the application of those criteria has been the subject of criticism by academics of history and preservation, as well as the public and politicians. Occasionally, historic sites outside the proper, but associated with the United States are also listed. Properties can be nominated in a variety of forms, including individual properties, historic districts, the Register categorizes general listings into one of five types of properties, district, site, structure, building, or object. National Register Historic Districts are defined geographical areas consisting of contributing and non-contributing properties, some properties are added automatically to the National Register when they become administered by the National Park Service. These include National Historic Landmarks, National Historic Sites, National Historical Parks, National Military Parks/Battlefields, National Memorials, on October 15,1966, the Historic Preservation Act created the National Register of Historic Places and the corresponding State Historic Preservation Offices. Initially, the National Register consisted of the National Historic Landmarks designated before the Registers creation, approval of the act, which was amended in 1980 and 1992, represented the first time the United States had a broad-based historic preservation policy. To administer the newly created National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service of the U. S. Department of the Interior, hartzog, Jr. established an administrative division named the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation. Hartzog charged OAHP with creating the National Register program mandated by the 1966 law, ernest Connally was the Offices first director. Within OAHP new divisions were created to deal with the National Register, the first official Keeper of the Register was William J. Murtagh, an architectural historian. During the Registers earliest years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPOs were small, understaffed, and underfunded. A few years later in 1979, the NPS history programs affiliated with both the U. S. National Parks system and the National Register were categorized formally into two Assistant Directorates. Established were the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation and the Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation, from 1978 until 1981, the main agency for the National Register was the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service of the United States Department of the Interior. In February 1983, the two assistant directorates were merged to promote efficiency and recognize the interdependency of their programs, jerry L. Rogers was selected to direct this newly merged associate directorate
2.
Historic districts in the United States
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Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided into two categories, contributing and non-contributing. Districts greatly vary in size, some have hundreds of structures, the U. S. federal government designates historic districts through the United States Department of Interior under the auspices of the National Park Service. Federally designated historic districts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, state-level historic districts may follow similar criteria or may require adherence to certain historic rehabilitation standards. Local historic district designation offers, by far, the most legal protection for historic properties because most land use decisions are made at the local level, local districts are generally administered by the county or municipal government. The first U. S. historic district was established in Charleston, South Carolina in 1931, Charleston city government designated an Old and Historic District by local ordinance and created a board of architectural review to oversee it. New Orleans followed in 1937, establishing the Vieux Carré Commission, other localities picked up on the concept, with the city of Philadelphia enacting its historic preservation ordinance in 1955. The Supreme Court case validated the protection of resources as an entirely permissible governmental goal. In 1966 the federal government created the National Register of Historic Places, conference of Mayors had stated Americans suffered from rootlessness. By the 1980s there were thousands of federally designated historic districts, Historic districts are generally two types of properties, contributing and non-contributing. In general, contributing properties are integral parts of the historic context, in addition to the two types of classification within historic districts, properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places are classified into five broad categories. They are, building, structure, site, district and object, all but the eponymous district category are also applied to historic districts listed on the National Register. A listing on the National Register of Historic Places is governmental acknowledgment of a historic district, however, the Register is an honorary status with some federal financial incentives. The National Register of Historic Places defines a historic district per U. S. federal law, a district may also comprise individual elements separated geographically but linked by association or history. Districts established under U. S. federal guidelines generally begin the process of designation through a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, the National Register is the official recognition by the U. S. government of cultural resources worthy of preservation. While designation through the National Register does offer a district or property some protections, if the federal government is not involved, then the listing on the National Register provides the site, property or district no protections. If, however, company A was under federal contract the Smith House would be protected, a federal designation is little more than recognition by the government that the resource is worthy of preservation. Usually, the National Register does not list religious structures, moved structures, reconstructed structures, however, if a property falls into one of those categories and are integral parts of districts that do meet the criteria then an exception allowing their listing will be made. Historic district listings, like all National Register nominations, can be rejected on the basis of owner disapproval, in the case of historic districts, a majority of owners must object in order to nullify a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places
3.
American Civil War
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The American Civil War was an internal conflict fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states grouped together as the Confederate States of America, the Union won the war, which remains the bloodiest in U. S. history. Among the 34 U. S. states in February 1861, War broke out in April 1861 when Confederates attacked the U. S. fortress of Fort Sumter. The Confederacy grew to eleven states, it claimed two more states, the Indian Territory, and the southern portions of the western territories of Arizona. The Confederacy was never recognized by the United States government nor by any foreign country. The states that remained loyal, including border states where slavery was legal, were known as the Union or the North, the war ended with the surrender of all the Confederate armies and the dissolution of the Confederate government in the spring of 1865. The war had its origin in the issue of slavery. The Confederacy collapsed and 4 million slaves were freed, but before his inauguration, seven slave states with cotton-based economies formed the Confederacy. The first six to declare secession had the highest proportions of slaves in their populations, the first seven with state legislatures to resolve for secession included split majorities for unionists Douglas and Bell in Georgia with 51% and Louisiana with 55%. Alabama had voted 46% for those unionists, Mississippi with 40%, Florida with 38%, Texas with 25%, of these, only Texas held a referendum on secession. Eight remaining slave states continued to reject calls for secession, outgoing Democratic President James Buchanan and the incoming Republicans rejected secession as illegal. Lincolns March 4,1861 inaugural address declared that his administration would not initiate a civil war, speaking directly to the Southern States, he reaffirmed, I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists. I believe I have no right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. After Confederate forces seized numerous federal forts within territory claimed by the Confederacy, efforts at compromise failed, the Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on King Cotton that they would intervene, but none did, and none recognized the new Confederate States of America. Hostilities began on April 12,1861, when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, while in the Western Theater the Union made significant permanent gains, in the Eastern Theater, the battle was inconclusive in 1861–62. The autumn 1862 Confederate campaigns into Maryland and Kentucky failed, dissuading British intervention, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal. To the west, by summer 1862 the Union destroyed the Confederate river navy, then much of their western armies, the 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. In 1863, Robert E. Lees Confederate incursion north ended at the Battle of Gettysburg, Western successes led to Ulysses S. Grants command of all Union armies in 1864
4.
Mississippi River
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The Mississippi River is the chief river of the largest drainage system on the North American continent. Flowing entirely in the United States, it rises in northern Minnesota, with its many tributaries, the Mississippis watershed drains all or parts of 31 U. S. states and 2 Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. The Mississippi ranks as the fourth longest and fifteenth largest river in the world by discharge, the river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Native Americans long lived along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, most were hunter-gatherers, but some, such as the Mound Builders, formed prolific agricultural societies. The arrival of Europeans in the 16th century changed the way of life as first explorers, then settlers. The river served first as a barrier, forming borders for New Spain, New France, and the early United States, and then as a vital transportation artery and communications link. Formed from thick layers of the silt deposits, the Mississippi embayment is one of the most fertile agricultural regions of the country. In recent years, the river has shown a shift towards the Atchafalaya River channel in the Delta. The word itself comes from Messipi, the French rendering of the Anishinaabe name for the river, see below in the History section for additional information. In addition to historical traditions shown by names, there are at least two measures of a rivers identity, one being the largest branch, and the other being the longest branch. Using the largest-branch criterion, the Ohio would be the branch of the Lower Mississippi. Using the longest-branch criterion, the Middle Mississippi-Missouri-Jefferson-Beaverhead-Red Rock-Hellroaring Creek River would be the main branch and its length of at least 3,745 mi is exceeded only by the Nile, the Amazon, and perhaps the Yangtze River among the longest rivers in the world. The source of this waterway is at Browers Spring,8,800 feet above sea level in southwestern Montana and this is exemplified by the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the phrase Trans-Mississippi as used in the name of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition. It is common to qualify a regionally superlative landmark in relation to it, the New Madrid Seismic Zone along the river is also noteworthy. These various basic geographical aspects of the river in turn underlie its human history and present uses of the waterway, the Upper Mississippi runs from its headwaters to its confluence with the Missouri River at St. Louis, Missouri. The source of the Upper Mississippi branch is traditionally accepted as Lake Itasca,1,475 feet above sea level in Itasca State Park in Clearwater County, however, the lake is in turn fed by a number of smaller streams. From its origin at Lake Itasca to St. Louis, Missouri, fourteen of these dams are located above Minneapolis in the headwaters region and serve multiple purposes, including power generation and recreation. The remaining 29 dams, beginning in downtown Minneapolis, all locks and were constructed to improve commercial navigation of the upper river
5.
Davenport, Iowa
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Davenport was founded on May 14,1836 by Antoine Le Claire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk War stationed at nearby Fort Armstrong. According to the 2010 census, the city had a population of 99,685, located approximately halfway between Chicago and Des Moines, Davenport is on the border of Iowa and Illinois. The city is prone to frequent flooding due to its location on the Mississippi River, there are two main universities, Saint Ambrose University and Palmer College of Chiropractic, which is where the first chiropractic adjustment took place. Several annual music festivals take place in Davenport, including the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, The Mississippi Valley Fair, an internationally known 7-mile foot race called the Bix 7 is run during the festival. The city has a Class A minor league team, the Quad Cities River Bandits. Davenport has 50 plus parks and facilities, as well as over 20 miles of paths for biking or walking. Four interstates and two major United States Highways serve the city, Davenport has seen steady population growth since its incorporation, with an exception being the 1980s, when the population decreased due to job loss. The Quad Cities was ranked as the most affordable metropolitan area in 2010 by Forbes, in 2007, Davenport, along with neighboring Rock Island, won the City Livability Award in the small-city category from the U. S. In 2012, Davenport as well as the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area was ranked among the areas in the nation in the growth of high-tech jobs. The current mayor of Davenport is Frank Klipsch, the land was originally owned by the Sauk people, Meskwaki, and Ho-Chunk – indigenous peoples of the Americas. In 1803 France sold it to the United States under the Louisiana Purchase, lieutenant Zebulon Pike was the first United States representative to officially visit the Upper Mississippi River area. On August 27,1805, Pike camped on the present day site of Davenport, in 1832, a group of Sauk, Meskwaki, and Kickapoo people were defeated by the United States in the Black Hawk War. The United States government then concluded the Black Hawk Purchase, sometimes called the Forty-Mile Strip or Scotts Purchase, the purchase was made for $640,000 on September 21,1832 and contained an area of some 6 million acres, at a price equivalent to 11 cents/acre. Although named after the defeated chief Black Hawk, he was being held prisoner at the time, the purchase was therefore agreed to by Sauk chief Keokuk, who had remained neutral in the war. It was made on the site of present-day Davenport, army General Winfield Scott and Governor of Illinois, John Reynolds, acted on behalf of the United States, with the future Davenport founder, half-Native, Antoine Le Claire serving as translator. Chief Keokuk gave a portion of land to Antoine Le Claires wife, Marguerite. Antoine built their home on the spot where the agreement was signed. Antoine did so, finishing the Treaty House in the spring of 1833, Davenport was established on May 14,1836 by Le Claire, and named after his friend Colonel George Davenport, who was stationed at Fort Armstrong during the war
6.
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
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The eastern half of the system merged into the Soo Line Railroad on January 1,1986. The company went through several names and faced bankruptcy several times in that period. The company incorporated in 1847, but changed its name to the Milwaukee and its first line, all of 5 miles, opened between Milwaukee and Wauwatosa, on November 20,1850. Extensions followed to Waukesha in February 1851, Madison, and finally the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien in 1857. As a result of the panic of 1857, the M&M went into receivership in 1859. In 1867, Alexander Mitchell combined the M&PdC with the Milwaukee and St. Paul under the name Milwaukee, critical to the development and financing of the railroad was the acquisition of significant land grants. Prominent individual investors in the line included Alexander Mitchell, Russell Sage, Jeremiah Milbank, in 1874, the name was changed to Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul. By 1887, the railroad had lines running through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, the company General Offices were later located in Chicagos Railway Exchange building until 1924, at which time they moved to Chicago Union Station. In the 1890s the Milwaukees directors felt they had to extend the railroad to the Pacific in order to remain competitive with other roads, a survey in 1901 estimated costs to build to the Pacific Northwest as $45 million. In 1905 the board approved the Pacific Extension, now estimated at $60 million, the contract for the western part of the route was awarded to Horace Chapin Henry of Seattle. Construction began in 1906 and was completed in 1909, the two main mountain ranges that had to be crossed required major civil engineering works and additional locomotive power. The completion of 2,300 miles of railroad through some of the most varied topography in the nation in three years was a major feat. Some historians question the choice of route, since it bypassed some population centers, much of the line paralleled the Northern Pacific Railway. It was primarily a long-haul route, Trains magazine called the building of the extension egregious and a disaster. George H. Drury listed the Pacific Extension as one of several decisions made by the Milwaukees management which contributed to the companys eventual failure. Operating conditions in the regions of the Pacific Extension proved difficult. In winter, temperatures dropped to −40 °F, making it challenging for steam locomotives to generate sufficient steam, the line snaked through mountainous areas, resulting in long steep grades and sharp curves. Electrification provided an answer, especially with abundant hydroelectric power in the mountains, between 1914–1916, the Milwaukee implemented a 3,000 volt direct current overhead system between Harlowton, Montana and Avery, Idaho, a distance of 438 miles
7.
Sioux
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The Sioux /ˈsuː/ are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations peoples in North America. The term can refer to any group within the Great Sioux Nation or to any of the nations many language dialects. The Sioux comprise three major divisions based on divisions, the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota. The Santee Dakota reside in the extreme east of the Dakotas, Minnesota, the Yankton and Yanktonai Dakota, collectively also referred to by the endonym Wičhíyena, reside in the Minnesota River area. They are considered to be the middle Sioux, and have in the past been erroneously classified as Nakota, the actual Nakota are the Assiniboine and Stoney of Western Canada and Montana. The Lakota, also called Teton, are the westernmost Sioux, known for their hunting, the name Sioux was adopted in English by the 1760s from French. It is abbreviated from Nadouessioux, first attested by Jean Nicolet in 1640, the name is sometimes said to be derived from an Ojibwe exonym for the Sioux meaning little snakes. The spelling in -x is due to the French plural marker, the Proto-Algonquian form *na·towe·wa, meaning Northern Iroquoian, has reflexes in several daughter languages that refer to a small rattlesnake. An alternative explanation is derivation from an exonym na·towe·ssiw, from a verb meaning to speak a foreign language. The current Ojibwe term for the Sioux and related groups is Bwaanag, presumably, this refers to the style of cooking the Sioux used in the past. The alternative English spelling of Ogallala is considered improper, the historical Sioux referred to the Great Sioux Nation as the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, meaning Seven Council Fires. Each fire was a symbol of an oyate, the seven nations that comprise the Sioux are, Bdewákaŋthuŋwaŋ, Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ, Waȟpékhute, Sisíthuŋwaŋ, the Iháŋkthuŋwaŋ, Iháŋkthuŋwaŋna, and the Thítȟuŋwaŋ. The Seven Council Fires would assemble each summer to hold council, renew kinships, decide tribal matters, the seven divisions would select four leaders known as Wičháša Yatápika from among the leaders of each division. The last meeting of the Seven Council Fires was in 1850, today the Teton, Santee and the Minnesota Dakota, and Yankton/Yanktonai are usually known, respectively, as the Lakota, Eastern Dakota, or Western Dakota. In any of the three dialects, Lakota or Dakota translate to mean friend or ally, referring to the alliance that once bound the Great Sioux Nation. The Dakota are first recorded to have resided at the source of the Mississippi River during the seventeenth century, by 1700 some had migrated to present-day South Dakota. Late in the 17th century, the Dakota entered into an alliance with French merchants, the French were trying to gain advantage in the struggle for the North American fur trade against the English, who had recently established the Hudsons Bay Company. The first recorded encounter between the Sioux and the French occurred when Radisson and Groseilliers reached what is now Wisconsin during the winter of 1659–60
8.
Abraham Lincoln
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Abraham Lincoln was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War—its bloodiest war and perhaps its greatest moral, constitutional, in doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy. Born in Hodgenville, Kentucky, Lincoln grew up on the frontier in Kentucky. Largely self-educated, he became a lawyer in Illinois, a Whig Party leader, elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1846, Lincoln promoted rapid modernization of the economy through banks, tariffs, and railroads. Reentering politics in 1854, he became a leader in building the new Republican Party, in 1860, Lincoln secured the Republican Party presidential nomination as a moderate from a swing state. Though he gained little support in the slaveholding states of the South. Subsequently, on April 12,1861, a Confederate attack on Fort Sumter inspired the North to enthusiastically rally behind the Union. Politically, Lincoln fought back by pitting his opponents against each other, by carefully planned political patronage and his Gettysburg Address became an iconic endorsement of the principles of nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy. Lincoln initially concentrated on the military and political dimensions of the war and his primary goal was to reunite the nation. He suspended habeas corpus, leading to the ex parte Merryman decision. Lincoln closely supervised the war effort, especially the selection of top generals, including his most successful general, Lincoln tried repeatedly to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, each time a general failed, Lincoln substituted another, until finally Grant succeeded. As the war progressed, his moves toward ending slavery included the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. On April 14,1865, five days after the surrender of Confederate commanding general Robert E. Lee, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton launched a manhunt for Booth, and 12 days later on April 26, Lincoln has been consistently ranked both by scholars and the public as among the greatest U. S. presidents. Abraham Lincoln was born February 12,1809, the child of Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in a one-room log cabin on the Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville. He was a descendant of Samuel Lincoln, an Englishman who migrated from Hingham, Norfolk to its namesake of Hingham, samuels grandson and great-grandson began the familys western migration, which passed through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Lincolns paternal grandfather and namesake, Captain Abraham Lincoln, moved the family from Virginia to Jefferson County, Captain Lincoln was killed in an Indian raid in 1786. His children, including eight-year-old Thomas, the presidents father
9.
Standard Oil
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Standard Oil Co. Inc. was an American oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller as a corporation in Ohio and its controversial history as one of the worlds first and largest multinational corporations ended in 1911, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that Standard Oil was an illegal monopoly. The Standard Oil trust streamlined production and logistics, lowered costs, trust-busting critics accused Standard Oil of using aggressive pricing to destroy competitors and form a monopoly that threatened other businesses. John D. Rockefeller was a founder, chairman and major shareholder and its successors such as ExxonMobil, BP, and Chevron are still counted among the companies with the largest income worldwide. By 1882, his top aide was John Dustin Archbold, after 1896, Rockefeller disengaged from business to concentrate on his philanthropy, leaving Archbold in control. Other notable Standard Oil principals include Henry Flagler, developer of the Florida East Coast Railway and resort cities, and Henry H. Rogers, Standard Oils name came from the companys manufacturing standards, which preceded todays ASTM standards. In 1870 Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil in Ohio, of the initial 10,000 shares, John D. In the early years, John D. Rockefeller dominated the combine and he quickly distributed power and the tasks of policy formation to a system of committees, but always remained the largest shareholder. Authority was centralized in the main office in Cleveland. In response to state trying to limit the scale of companies, Rockefeller and his associates developed innovative ways of organizing. On January 2,1882, they combined their disparate companies, spread across dozens of states and this organization proved so successful that other giant enterprises adopted this trust form. The company grew by increasing sales and also through acquisitions, after purchasing competing firms, Rockefeller shut down those he believed to be inefficient and kept the others. Smaller companies decried such deals as unfair because they were not producing enough oil to qualify for discounts, in 1872, Rockefeller joined the South Improvement Co. which would have allowed him to receive rebates for shipping and receive drawbacks on oil his competitors shipped. But when this became known, competitors convinced the Pennsylvania Legislature to revoke South Improvements charter. No oil was shipped under this arrangement. Standards actions and secret transport deals helped its kerosene price to drop from 58 to 26 cents from 1865 to 1870, competitors disliked the companys business practices, but consumers liked the lower prices. Standard Oil, being formed well before the discovery of the Spindletop oil field, the company was perceived to own and control all aspects of the trade. In 1885, Standard Oil of Ohio moved its headquarters from Cleveland to its permanent headquarters at 26 Broadway in New York City
10.
St. Katherine's Historic District
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St. Katherines Historic District is located on the east side Davenport, Iowa, United States and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the location of two built by two lumber barons until it became the campus of an Episcopal girls school named St. Katharines Hall. The name was altered to St. Katharine-St, marks School when it became coeducational. It is currently the location of a living facility called St. Katherines Living Center. The historic district is a campus of 9.37 acres, at the time of its nomination to the National Register it was made up of six buildings. Two of the buildings were built as houses, Cambria Place, the other buildings include a large combination classroom and dormitory building, a chapel, and a combination classroom and gymnasium building. The sixth building was a dormitory that was not a contributing property and has subsequently been torn down. The district is located in the southeast corner of the LeClaire Reserve, the landscaped grounds are on the side of a hill overlooking a mixed residential and light industrial area along the Mississippi River to the south. To the east is the Bridge Avenue Historic District, a neighborhood dating from the 1870s to the 1910s. The LeClaire Reserve, which is made up of residential neighborhoods, is located to the north. Rev. William Stevens Perry, the second Bishop of Iowa announced his intention to build a school for girls in Davenport, the diocese already operated Griswold College in Davenport. It was founded on property of the former Iowa College, now known as Grinnell College after it moved to Grinnell, the school had been founded in 1859 by the Rt. Rev. Henry Washington Lee, the first Bishop of Iowa, a high school for boys, called Kemper Hall, was created later on the campus in 1885. The school was closed in 1899. The college property today is the location of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, St. Katharines Hall replaced Trinity School for girls, which was located in the parish hall of the cathedral. The diocese was able to consider opening a new school for girls based on the will of Sarah Burr from New York City and she had bequeathed $30,000 for such a purpose. They chose a residence on the east side of Davenport called Cambria Place, adelia Rice was the schools first principal. Its initial enrollment was 25 students, the institution was considered a superior church boarding school with a college preparatory curriculum
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