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Rock Island
History of first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River
A pictorial history of the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River and its three successors
by Curtis C. Roseman
When the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad was completed in 1854 under the direction of Henry Farnam and his partner Joseph Sheffield, it became the first to connect the East with the Mississippi River. This map shows the completion dates at various points along the route westward from Chicago. One of the reasons this route was chosen was the relative ease with which the Mississippi could be bridged at Rock Island. This reach of the Mississippi River, the location of the Rock Island Rapids, is geologically youthful. Its narrow channel with a limestone island (Rock Island) could be used as a stepping-stone for the bridge. (Map drawn by the Cartography class at Augustana College, Spring 2003, under the direction of Kathy Dowd)
