Davenport is a city situated in Scott County, Iowa, USA. The city is situated along the Mississippi River and is the largest city and the county seat of Scott County. On May 14, the year 1836 Antoine LeClaire founded Davenport. He name the city for George Davenport, his friend who was a colonel in the Black Hawk War and was stationed nearby within Fort Armstrong.
The population of the city of Davenport is approaching 100,000 inhabitants according to 2010 census numbers. Presently, it is the 3rd largest city within Iowa. In the year 2011, the city mayor, Bill Gluba declared the city of Davenport the biggest of the Quad Cities. The Quad Cities consist of neighboring Bettendorf and likewise the cities of East Moline, Moline and Rock Island within Illinois. The combined population of the Quad Cities is roughly 379,690.
During 1832, the Black Hawk War was ended when Keokuk and General Winfield Scott signed a treaty. Antoine Le Claire was part French and part Pottawattamie Indian so he acted as the translator for the peace treaty negotiations. The city was established in 1836 and he named it in tribute to Colonel Davenport, who was his friend. The person responsible providing supplies to Fort Armstrong was Colonel George Davenport. Moreover, he was involved in making plans for the 1st railroad bridge that will cross the Mississippi River.
In order to take care of many hundreds of homeless children once the Civil War was over, the Iowa Soldiers Orphan's Home was established. Later on, it became the residence for orphans from all counties as well as kids from broken homes in the state of Iowa.
In the 1920s, the construction trade was booming and the economy was booming. Following the WWII, the economy started to thrive again. Several notable companies like Oscar Meyer and Ralston Purina constructed factories within the western area of the city of Davenport. During the 1980s, a severe downturn in farming caused a big number of individuals to lose their jobs. This was devastating to the economy of the city as well as to the rest of the Quad Cities. The Caterpillar Plant was also shut down during this time.
Davenport has a diversified economy including wholesale and retail services and manufacturing as among the major sectors. In the Quad Cities, John Deere is the biggest company. The service sector comprises a large portion of jobs provided by businesses related to tourism and the many gambling casinos in the area.
Some of the common jobs are provided by the manufacturing of things like for example construction machinery, agriculture implements, sheet aluminum, airplane parts, foundry products, meat and food products, electronic parts, military equipment and cement.
Within the city of Davenport, some of the main jobs where most of the people have a college degree comprise registered nurses, medical and clinical laboratory technicians, financial managers, computer systems analysts, manufacturing and wholesale sales reps, and computer programmers.
The cities top non-agricultural employment jobs are in the fields of transportation and utilities, trade, manufacturing, health education and health services, government, professional and business services, finance and leisure and hospitality.