The former slave Dred Scott lived three years in the 1830s on today’s Arsenal Island, and a new historical marker honors his life and the way he changed American history.
Leaders of QC PastPort and Visit Quad Cities gathered in Rock Island Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 18) to dedicate the 26th destination for QC PastPort, on the Great River Trail east of Schwiebert Park, near the Arsenal Bridge.
The new destination marker for Dred Scott marks a “pivotal point in the growth of QC PastPort with the help of our founding supporters, Visit Quad Cities and the city of Rock Island,” PastPort president and Media Link, Inc. owner Natalie Linville-Mass said Tuesday.
“For Visit Quad Cities, this is the ninth destination they’ve sponsored. Their support is what makes destinations like this one come to life,” she said of the group’s mission to raise awareness of how important QC history is to the history of the nation. “Thank you to the Visit Quad Cities staff for your enduring support and guidance as we work to develop this unique way to experience the Quad Cities.”
“We are pleased to sponsor QC PastPort because this platform does a great job of bringing our area’s history to life in a unique and engaging way,” said Katrina Keuning, brand and content strategist, Visit Quad Cities. “We look forward to people learning more about the Dred Scott experience through this interactive approach as cultural and heritage tourism helps share the amazing story of the QC. And we encourage visitors and residents alike to explore the stories behind Dred Scott and uncover more of the history, places, and special people that have helped shape our region.”
QC PastPort exists “because we realized it’s important to make a connection between the people who came before us, and how we move forward today,” Linville-Mass said at Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting event. “Looking out from this destination is where Fort Armstrong was located from 1816-1856. Dred Scott was a resident of this fort from 1833-1836. Imagine what it would have been like on this spot 200 years ago.
"These destinations, the pictures, the stories, and the audio productions at each marker put you back in that place and time. There’s a gravity to standing in the place where it happened.
“It gives us empathy to what these folks went through, and it helps us understand how the courage of one person can make a lasting change to create a better community for all of us,” she said. “In the case of Dred Scott, his one action and then his persistence with that one action changed our country and the world.”
Scott (1799-1858) was owned by Dr. John Emerson, who was a fort surgeon in the 1830s, on the U.S. military installation that preceded the Rock Island Arsenal. Dr. Emerson purchased Dred Scott in St. Louis, and brought him to Fort Armstrong where he was stationed for three years. Illinois was a free state. At the time, if you were brought to a free state, you could sue for your freedom.
In 1836, Emerson was called to serve at Fort Snelling in St. Paul, Minnesota. Minnesota was a part of a territory at the time, not a state. However, it was deemed a free territory. It was at Fort Snelling where he met Harriet. The two of them were allowed to be married, and they subsequently had two children.
Emerson came to Davenport by himself after renting out Dred Scott in St. Louis and was hoping to open up a physician's office here, Linville-Mass said earlier Tuesday.
“He really loved this area, decided it was time to retire from the military. And so in 1843, he came up here. And he was in the process of constructing the building which is now Emerson Place on 2nd Street. And he never lived in that place. He actually was housed in Antoine LeClaire's Hotel at the time. And he got pneumonia around Christmas and passed away.”
In 1847, four years after Emerson’s death, Dred and Harriet made the decision to sue for their freedom based on their time living in a free state and a free territory. The case went through the courts for over 11 years. Much of this time, they were imprisoned in the County Jail for their own protection.
In 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to give the Scotts their freedom, because Blacks were considered 3/5 of a person and therefore they could not be a full citizen of the United States.
This decision put free Black Americans in jeopardy of their freedom, it threw out the thought of a free state versus a slave state, and many say it was the decision which led to the Civil War (1861-1865), and President Abraham Lincoln freeing slaves in the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, Linville-Mass noted. Dred Scott did not live to see that day, having died in 1858 in St. Louis from consumption.
A QC team effort
Putting together these PastPort destinations is a group effort, Linville-Mass said, noting that multimedia about each destination are available online.
The audio productions are recorded and edited by Jim O’Hara. There are local actors in each of these productions. “I am so proud to be in a community with so many talented local actors,” she said, adding that the audio production of Dred Scott features the talents of Curtis Lewis and Morgan Sexton, who reenact conversations between Scott and Emerson in an audio segment of about three minutes.
Visitors can access the PastPort information online by texting a number displayed at each destination, with a plethora of photos and text. You will receive a link to the specific web page.
“So they could read through it and see the pictures and become a part of it. And there's an audio production that's in there too, that’s really pretty powerful,” Linville-Mass said. “And those are all local actors, so every single one of our destinations has local talent who, with their dialect, we go back and we work through the history of what a conversation could have been like at that time and include the facts of what it would have been like traveling at that time up the Mississippi River.”
“We also rely on historic experts and organizations who volunteer their time to help us edit the narratives we create, and share their information with us. In this case, we truly appreciate the help of author Regena Trant Schantz. Please check out her book, ‘The Trader at Rock Island’,” she said.
Media Link staff does the research, creates these narratives and puts all of this together. “For this sign, I want to thank Josh Boelter, Linda Anderson, Grey Allison, and Maggie Stahl on their work on making this possible,” Linville-Mass said.
For this destination, the information on Dred Scott’s experience in this area is limited. So, she also hired Orrin Konheim, a Washington, D.C.-based researcher, to help sift through records at the Library of Congress, as well as at the Smithsonian.
“This is a lot more detailed than many of our other destinations,” Linville-Mass said Tuesday. “We went to incredible lengths to try to gather this information that we didn't have to do for the other destinations.
“I also want to thank the developers who have made this dream a reality. Thank you to Brad Sapp and his team at Rise Above Creative,” she said. “I told you, this is truly a community-wide effort.”
“With each destination, we also encourage people to find out more about our other historic locations and organizations who are also working to preserve our shared history. In this destination, we are asking people to check out and donate to Black Resources,” Linville-Mass said at the dedication.
She also encourages people to find out more about Dred Scott and his legacy through The Dred Scott Heritage Foundation.
“There is so much information out there about Dred Scott, focused on what happened in the process leading up to the court decision in 1857, and there's a lot focused on Dr. Emerson,” Linville-Mass said earlier Tuesday. “There's not a lot of focus on what happened here in Rock Island and more specifically on Fort Armstrong. And so we really did have to do some digging.”
Markers displayed since 2021
QC PastPort has been putting up destination signs for about five years, and many of its destinations are in Rock Island.
“It has been really inspiring just to be able to see how these folks live, to be able to put yourself in their shoes, and to really understand that, one or two actions really made this huge difference and really changed the course of what happened, and for the good,” she said. “And many of them made mistakes and really screwed up, but then we all really make mistakes.”
“A big part of this is really just helping people understand that these people who came before us, they're human, and we could just as easily have lived in that situation, and this is how they made it through,” Linville-Mass said. “Look at what your situation is, and it's a little bit easier. And what would it take for you to be able to make that step.”
The city of Rock Island has sponsored 10 destinations, she noted.
“They made it possible. They really wanted to invest in this, and I am so grateful for their help in doing this,” Linville-Mass said. “And there's so many other locations for them that we could do that, the funding's just not there yet. It's amazing how many different stories we have and how much our area just ties to the larger picture of how this country developed. And just how you persevere and are able to make lemonade out of lemons. It's just incredible.
“Visit Quad Cities has agreed to 10 destinations as well. The one that we have left for them is we're going to do a destination for Saukenuk Village. And so we're working with them and the Meskwaki, and those 2 are the next ones on our radar that we're trying to finish up,” she added.
Founded in the summer of 2018, the idea of QC PastPort was sparked by Rachel Thomas and Linville-Mass at the Big Table event, where locals gathered to brainstorm ways to improve the Quad Cities. Linville-Mass says, “We had some great discussions about building pride in who we are as Quad Citizens. People shared their concerns about losing landmark buildings and the need for our leaders to recognize their importance in defining our community.”
Inspired by this event, they developed an innovative way to actively share our heritage with both locals and visitors, helping everyone connect more deeply with our historical past. “There is a gravity to be in the place where it happened,” the PastPort website says. “Fueled by this vision, Rachel and Natalie began developing the concept and branding for a series of interactive signs at historic destinations throughout the QC, allowing everyone to understand how we arrived at this moment and envision our future.”
“Our history enriches our communities and can serve as an economic driver in the Quad Cities,” the group website says.
“The Quad Cities Chamber hosted a panel of relocation experts who manage relocation efforts for large corporations around the world. All of them were pleasantly surprised by our quality of life, with some of them noting their unfamiliarity with the area’s history after seeing our signs along the Mississippi River’s bike path. This feedback solidified our plan for an interactive signage program called QC PastPort.”
For a map of destinations and more information, visit QC PastPort HERE.
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