Rock Island Roadhouse: Captured in Pictures

The first people known to have inhabited the area now called Rock Island County were Native Americans. Which tribes originally occupied this land is uncertain, but by the early seventeenth century it served as hunting grounds for the once-powerful Illini, or Illinois, Confederation. This confederation was composed chiefly of the Tamaroa, Michigamea, Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Peoria tribes, and also included the Mascouten, sometimes referred to as the “sixth tribe.” All of these peoples were part of the larger Algonquian nation. 

The land once belonged to the Sauk Native Americans, who for generations used the area as their summer home. The village stood for hundreds of years and supported thousands of Native people. Even the small island where the Rock Island Arsenal now stands was once a peaceful summer retreat where the Sauk harvested fruits and vegetables and honored their ancestors.

In the book Early Rock Island, it is recorded that in the spring of 1831, Black Hawk and his tribe returned from their winter hunt to find the white settler population had dramatically increased. The settlers were living on Sauk land—inside their homes.

The Sauk people discovered that their family graves had been plowed over, leaving the bare bones of their ancestors exposed on the ground. White settlers’ wagons stood atop their corn hills. Enraged and heartbroken, Black Hawk tore down fences, destroyed livestock, and threatened violence against the settlers.

Black Hawk later explained the depth of this violation in his own words:

“With us it is a custom to visit the graves of our friends and keep them in repair for many years. The mother will go alone to weep over the grave of her child. After he has been successful in war, the brave, with pleasure, visits the grave of his father and repaints the post that marks where he lies. There is no place like that where the bones of our forefathers lie to go when in grief. Here, prostrate by the tombs of our forefathers, will the Great Spirit take pity on us.”
 

Black Hawk was told that the land had been sold by his “white father” in Washington. He could not understand how someone else could sell land that had never belonged to them.

Both Jonah Case and Judge Spencer are listed on affidavits documenting the escalating conflict. Conditions became so severe that settlers sought refuge at Fort Armstrong, which stood on the island now occupied by the Rock Island Arsenal.

When the Illinois Militia arrived, Black Hawk outmaneuvered them, hiding his people south of Rock Island. Furious that the Sauk were not present, the soldiers burned the village to the ground—a village that had served as a summer home to thousands of Native Americans for centuries.

Rock Island County was formed in 1831 from Jo Daviess County. It was named for Rock Island, an island in the Mississippi River. 

The land on which the YMCA was built was known as the Spencer Addition, along with the nearby Case Addition. These tracts were disputed for many years. In approximately 1838, the President awarded Judge John Spencer and his brother-in-law, Jonah Case, forty acres each in what is now present-day Rock Island. Prior to 1831, settlers had been occupying Native American lands illegally. 

During the Civil War, the Rock Island Arsenal was converted into a Confederate prison camp, becoming one of the largest and most notorious Union prisons of the war. Over its 20 months of operation, approximately 12,400 Confederate soldiers would be confined on the island.

The prison opened in November 1863, but it was December 3, 1863, that marked a turning point. On that day, 5,592 Confederate prisoners arrived on the island—many transferred from Camp Douglas, while others had been captured during the battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. As they stepped onto the island, temperatures had plunged to 32 degrees below zero.

From the moment they arrived, conditions were brutal. The prison’s water supply and drainage systems were inadequate, creating severe sanitation problems. Prisoners were crowded into unfinished barracks, and within weeks disease began to spread. A smallpox epidemic soon swept through the camp, sickening thousands and killing more than 600 men in just three months.

Conditions worsened in 1864. Poor drainage caused a stagnant marsh to form in the southwest corner of the compound, becoming a breeding ground for disease. The suffering at Rock Island grew so severe that newspapers of the time compared it to Andersonville Prison.

Inside the prison walls, a clearly marked “dead line” enforced order through fear. Any prisoner who crossed it—whether by accident or desperation—was shot on sight.

By the time the prison closed, 1,964 prisoners and 171 guards had died, primarily from disease. This represented a mortality rate of approximately 16 percent, leaving behind a legacy of suffering that still lingers on the island.

 According to accounts published in the Rock Island Argus, Kemble School was erected in 1858 as the Third Ward School and stood at the corner of 19th Street and Fifth Avenue, directly opposite what would later become the YMCA site.  It was the oldest public school building in Rock Island and, at that time, held two distinctions that set it apart: it was the only school building in the city ever used for factory purposes, and it was the only public building in the city named for an individual—a distinction that would later change as additional buildings were named in honor of people.

Originally constructed as a four-room schoolhouse, the building operated as the Third Ward School until 1892, when it was declared unfit for use and left vacant for several years. During that period, the structure was used by Peaslee Shoe, accounting for its unique place in local history as the only former school building used for factory operations.

In 1897, the Board of Education approved plans to return the building to service. The former school was renovated, expanded to six rooms, and modernized to the extent possible for the time.

An earlier article published on May 8, 1859, documented a troubling incident tied to the school’s early history. Thomas Blakesley, a principal at the school described as being over sixty years of age, was arrested on charges of raping two female students under the age of ten.  Newspaper accounts noted that this was not the first time he had been accused of such acts.

Kemble School continued to operate into the early 20th century before closing permanently in the fall of 1926. On March 8, 1927, the property was purchased by the Young Men's Christian Association for $8,002, allowing for the expansion of the YMCA playground.

The residences located at 1912 through 1926 Fifth Avenue, facing the Lutheran church at 20th Street, were primarily used as rental properties and boarding houses at various times. Many of the occupants were German Lutheran immigrants, reflecting the character of the neighborhood during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The lot on which the current building now stands was purchased in May of 1912 for $23,000. Shortly thereafter, public notice was given that the properties located at 1912, 1916, 1918, 1924, and 1925–1926 Fifth Avenue at 20th Street were being offered for sale, as the land had been acquired by the Young Men's Christian Association as the site for a new building. All of the homes on the property were listed for sale, with the exception of 1922 Fifth Avenue.

Before construction of the YMCA began, a number of notable—and in some cases troubling—events occurred on this land. The following sections document these events by address, preserving a record of the people, incidents, and histories tied to each property prior to the building’s construction.

Historical accounts published in the Rock Island Argus document both deaths and notable incidents that occurred on the property at 1912 Fifth Avenue prior to the construction of the YMCA building.

On the evening of June 21, 1901, police were summoned to the property after a report of a possible burglary. At approximately 10:00 p.m., the patrol wagon was called to the residence of Joseph Meyser at 1912 Fifth Avenue. Officers thoroughly searched the house but found no intruder and no evidence of forced entry. It was later believed that the sound of a door closing—caused by a draft of air—had led a lodger, who was alone in the house at the time, to believe a burglar was present.

On June 14, 1906, John Meyser Jr. died inside the residence on the property at approximately 2:00 a.m. He was a painter by trade and had been ill since the previous fall. His death was attributed to consumption (aka   tuberculosis (TB) 

Very little is known about the history of 1916 Fifth Avenue prior to the construction of the YMCA building. Available records offer only a brief glimpse into the property’s use during the early 20th century.

A notice published on December 2, 1902, in the Rock Island Argus advertised unfurnished rooms on the first floor for housekeeping at 1916 Fifth Avenue, indicating the residence was used as a rental or boarding property at that time.

No additional deaths or significant incidents tied directly to the property have been located in surviving records.

 Very little is known about the history of 1918 Fifth Avenue prior to the construction of the YMCA building. Surviving newspaper records provide only limited insight into the property’s use.

Several advertisements published in the Rock Island Argus offered rooms for rent at this address, indicating that the residence functioned as a boarding house during the early 20th century.

No documented deaths or significant incidents directly tied to the property have been identified in the available records.

Historical accounts published in the Rock Island Argus document multiple deaths and notable incidents that occurred on the property at 1922 Fifth Avenue prior to the construction of the YMCA building. For many years, the residence operated as a boarding house, and several individuals lived and died within the home.

On March 3, 1885, Samuel Dunlap died on the property after suffering from Bright’s disease of the kidneys. Dunlap was an early settler of Rock Island County, having arrived in the 1840s. He was an accomplished musician who gave lessons for a living and was also a composer of some talent. He died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Anna Ginter, at this address.

On February 25, 1887, Judge B. B. Benedict died inside the residence on the property while visiting with his wife at the home of Mrs. Anna Ginter. During his stay, Judge Benedict became involved in the Boelger murder case, eventually joining Major Beardsley in the defense. In the early morning hours, Mrs. Benedict awoke to her husband’s labored breathing and was unable to revive him. Dr. Truesdale was summoned and concluded that the judge had ingested a poisonous mixture that spread through his system, ultimately causing his death.

On August 23, 1901, Mrs. Anna Ginter died on the property from paralysis. Four years earlier, she had suffered a stroke and continued to experience complications and additional strokes in the years that followed. Mrs. Ginter lived at the home with her three daughters, and together they operated the residence as a boarding house. Multiple deaths were reported to have occurred during its operation. One of her daughters, Kate Babcock, also resided at this address.

On August 10, 1907, Alexander Don died on the property at approximately 6:00 a.m. He had made the Ginter home his residence for several years. His death followed a prolonged illness related to the infirmities of old age. Don was 77 years old and originally from Montreal, Canada.

On January 17, 1910, Kate Babcock, daughter of Anna Ginter, died on the property at approximately 1:00 p.m. after several weeks of illness involving multiple complications. She was 62 years old at the time of her death.

While not a death, a notable incident was reported on January 14, 1911. Harry Stork was arrested on a larceny charge after allegedly stealing money from roomers inside the lodging house at 1922 Fifth Avenue. Stork, who was known to police and had recently been a patient at Watertown Hospital (a state run psychiatric facility), rented a room at the residence. After the landlady left, he allegedly entered other rooms on the floor and stole $19 from the clothing of E. A. Fiske and approximately $3 from another roomer. The theft was discovered after Stork had left the property, and police were notified.

Historical accounts published in the Rock Island Argus document multiple deaths that occurred on the property at 1924 Fifth Avenue prior to the construction of the YMCA building.

On March 12, 1909, Lucinda S. Eaton died on the property after a two-week battle with typhoid pneumonia.

Less than a year later, on July 16, 1910, William Y. Johnston died inside the residence on the same property from heart failure, reportedly brought on by a nervous breakdown.

Historical records and newspaper accounts document a series of significant and often troubling events associated with the property at 1926 Fifth Avenue prior to the construction of the YMCA building.

The property was owned by Jesse M. Gray, a switchman employed by the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. Gray experienced repeated misfortune throughout his life, both personally and professionally. He was injured multiple times while working on the railroad.

One of his sons, Arthur Gray, narrowly survived a catastrophic accident at the age of 12. As a train approached, a witness shouted for the boy to lie flat on the ground. Arthur did so, and the train passed directly over him, sparing his life by only inches.

Jesse Gray had two sons named Charles. One died at an early age. The surviving son, Charles Gray, often referred to as “Tod,” developed a reputation for violence and frequent encounters with law enforcement.

On July 19, 1880, the Morning Democrat of Davenport, Iowa, reported that Charles Gray was arrested after engaging in a drunken fight with John Anderson near the Rock Island & Pacific Railroad depot.

On September 25, 1884, newspaper reports stated that Charles Gray was fined $10 plus costs for assaulting a young woman named May Samuels on a public street.

On January 25, 1885, Charles Gray was identified as a member of the Rock Island group known as the “Social Six,” who were facing allegations of rape.  Linnie Mead, the primary witness in the case, was scheduled to testify against the group but fled shortly before the trial, and the case did not proceed.

Later records indicate that the property at 1926 Fifth Avenue was also used as a residence and place of business. On June 10, 1899, the Rock Island Argus published an advertisement stating that Dr. S. H. Miller treated diseases of horses and cattle, performed surgical operations, and treated dogs, with all calls promptly attended to at his residence at 1926 Fifth Avenue.

Additional records note that Dr. S. H. Miller was later sued for $5,000 in damages for an alleged beating of John Kem of Davenport, further adding to the troubled history associated with the property.