This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.
Rock Island and Chicago have hardly ever been on speaking terms since they were founded in the 1830s, so the fact that one of the first additions to the City of Rock Island was named the "Chicago Addition" was not a sign of respect. Instead, blame Fernando Jones, a real estate developer who could not make up his mind.
Jones had come to Chicago in 1835, when it was still Fort Dearborn. He opened the first hardware store in Chicago, but then decided to return east for more schooling. He next moved back west to Jackson, Michigan, where he began three newspapers before returning to Chicago.
He had already decided, however, that the new Illinois town of Stephenson, due west of Chicago on the Mississippi, was destined to become the great Queen City of the West, and he moved here in 1842 just after it had been renamed Rock Island.
On the other hand, Fernando Jones must have thought that Chicago might be fated to outdo Rock Island. Just in case, he named the addition to Rock Island he and two other developers were laying out the Chicago Addition. No sense taking chances. The Chicago Addition today runs from the Mississippi to Fourth Avenue and from 1st to 11th streets in Rock Island.
Two years later, Jones' hunch swung back toward Chicago, and he moved there again to place his energies at the disposal of the city. He became an alderman, a trustee of Chicago City Hospital and the University of Chicago.
Then, in 1871, the Great Chicago Fire hit, giving rival Rock Island at least a chance of taking over as Queen City. Unfortunately, for us, this same restless Fernando Jones had on his own, before the fire, prepared a complete set of abstract books listing all the conveyances of Chicago real estate, tax sales, and judgments in all the courts. It was Jones' records that allowed Chicago to replace the public records which had all been destroyed by the fire, and thus to rebuild.
And so, Chicago won the Queen battle. Still missing from the public record is any indication that our Rock Island booster might have hedged his bets in the Windy City and named a small addition to Chicago "Rock Island."
Rock Island Lines with Roald Tweet is underwritten by Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
