The Rock Island Arsenal and Rock Island in the World Wars

‘Rock Island Needs Machinists’: The Rock Island Arsenal and Rock Island in the World Wars

By Jordan Monson Western Illinois University

“Availability of workers… was vital to the successful operation of Rock Island Arsenal in the World War, just as it must be in any future military crisis in which the country may become involved.”1 Industries and businesses have a huge impact on the development of a community. No business can be successful without labor provided by communities, and communities rarely grow without the availability of jobs provided by businesses. In this same way, the Rock Island Arsenal has had a huge impact on the surrounding communities of Rock

Island, Moline, Davenport, and Bettendorf, collectively known as the Quad Cities. Indeed, in an article published in 2018, Aarik Woods points out that the Rock Island Arsenal is far and away the largest employer in the region, and the economic impact of the Arsenal on the Quad Cities was more than one billion dollars.2 With that large of an economic impact, it is safe to say that the success of the Arsenal and the success of the Quad Cities are tied at the hip. However, the

Rock Island Arsenal often goes through extreme variation in production and employment numbers, with “The Arsenal’s employment and production traditionally being cyclical in nature… increasing during national emergencies and declining during peacetime.”3 These mobilization and demobilization patterns of the Arsenal were most pronounced during the period between the first and second world wars. This pattern, with how vital the Arsenal is to Rock

Island and the Quad Cities, would have a significant impact on the community. However, the connection between the Arsenal and the Quad Cities is something that has gone largely

1 Arsenal Publishing Company, of the tri-cities, War’s Greatest Workshop, Rock Island Arsenal: Historical, Topographical, and Illustrative (Rock Island, Illinois: The Arsenal Publishing co., of the Tri-cities, not Inc., 1922), 120. 2 Aarik Woods, “Rock Island Arsenal’s Annual Economic Impact more than $1 Billion,” Our Quad Cities, January 23, 2018. https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/rock-island-arsenals-annual-economic-impact-more-than-1- billion/ 3 Thomas J. Slattery, Rock Island Arsenal: An Arsenal for Democracy, World War II 50th Anniversary (Rock Island, Illinois: Historical Office, US Army Armament, Munitions and Chemical Command, 1992), 3. 1

unexplored by writers and historians, with scholarship largely focusing on the Arsenal’s contributions to the war effort or regarding the Arsenal as a separate entity from the Quad Cities.

When studying the time period between World War I and the end of World War II, it becomes clear that the Rock Island Arsenal’s cyclical employment patterns had a significant impact on

Rock Island and the Quad Cities.

The historiography of the Rock Island Arsenal is actually somewhat limited, especially since the 1990s. Two of the most recent historical works on the Rock Island Arsenal during this time period are from Thomas Slattery, who published Rock Island Arsenal: An Arsenal for

Democracy (1992) and An Illustrated History of the Rock Island Arsenal (1990). Rock Island

Arsenal: An Arsenal for Democracy is a well-written article on the role of the Rock Island

Arsenal during WWII, including its role as a facilitator to private industries in the region switching to war production, while An Illustrated History of the Rock Island Arsenal covers the history of the Arsenal up through the 19th century.

Many of the secondary works on the topic are even less recent, which is the case with Ira

Oliver Nothstein’s 1940 article “Rock Island and the Rock Island Arsenal.” The article provides a comprehensive history of the Island and Rock Island Arsenal from the settlement of the area through WWI. The Arsenal Publishing Company’s War’s Greatest Workshop, Rock Island

Arsenal: Historical, Topographical, and Illustrative, published in 1922, provides an excellent, in depth look at the Rock Island Arsenal’s operations before and during WWI. Rock Island

Arsenal’s pamphlet “A Short History of the Island of Rock Island: Including the Story of the

Time Capsule,” published in 1967, provides a very short history of the Rock Island Arsenal throughout its history, from its inception up to the Korean War.

Finally, and most importantly, the historiography on Rock Island Arsenal almost never focuses on the connections and impacts between the Rock Island Arsenal and the surrounding communities of the Quad Cities. Most of the scholarly works already listed focus on the history and contributions of the Rock Island Arsenal itself, without spending a lot of time focusing on the surrounding Quad Cities. Even scholarly works dedicated to the Quad Cities will often give the Arsenal its own section and not give many details on the Arsenal’s impacts on the Quad

Cities, which is the case in Robert Bouilly’s article “Arsenal Island,” within the 1982 work Quad

Cities: Joined by a River.

The Quad Cities has always been tied to the Rock Island Arsenal, even before the Arsenal itself was founded. The history of both Rock Island and the Rock Island Arsenal begins with the establishment of Fort Armstrong. Fort Armstrong was established in response to attacks on

American troops by Black Hawk, serving with the British during the War of 1812.4 In response to these attacks, “…another and larger expedition was fitted out, the object of which was to punish the Indians at Rock Island and to establish a fort at or near that place.”5 Established around 1815, Fort Armstrong became the predecessor to the Rock Island Arsenal, and the small village that sprang up around it, consisting of the staff and guards of the fort, became the predecessor to the Quad Cities.6 The next big development in the Quad Cities was the arrival of white squatters in the Quad City area, seeking both fertile lands and the protection offered by

Fort Armstrong.7 Once the local Native American population had been removed, settlers flocked to the area, eventually founding the cities of Rock Island and Davenport, marking the official

4 Ira Oliver Nothstein, “Rock Island and the Rock Island Arsenal,” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 33, no. 4 (September 1940): 315-316. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40187950?seq=13#metadata_info_tab_contents 5 Nothstein, “Rock Island,” 316. 6 Nothstein, “Rock Island,” 318-319. 7 Nothstein, “Rock Island,” 312-322. 3

beginning of the Quad Cities.8 No longer requiring a fort for protection, Fort Armstrong was converted into an armory in 1840, which was then converted again into the Rock Island Arsenal in 1861.9 The Arsenal would not be completed until 1893, and the Arsenal would see its first real action during the Spanish-American War, making leather goods for the army.10 According to a publication from the Rock Island Arsenal, “The Spanish-American War marked the beginning of a new era for Rock Island Arsenal.”11 The Arsenal at this time saw its first big employment jump to 2900, and for the first time Quad Cities businessmen and lobbyists actively fought against the downsizing of the Arsenal after the war, now seeing that “the community had a substantial stake in keeping up employment at the Arsenal.”12 Despite this, however, employment at the Arsenal would dip back to around 1200 employees in the post-war years, and would remain at this level until the onset of the First World War.13

The First World War saw a large increase in employment numbers at the Rock Island

Arsenal, which had a huge impact on the Quad Cities and Rock Island, particularly in terms of population. The availability of jobs is always a significant pull factor for people moving into a community. The outset of World War I had an enormous impact on the availability of jobs in the

Rock Island area, especially considering the rapid expansion of the employment in the Rock

Island Arsenal. According to the Arsenal Publishing Company,

For some time prior to the outbreak of the World War in 1914, the employees at Rock Island Arsenal totaled approximately 1800 men and 175 women… the disturbance on the Mexican border started increased activities… High speed and maximum production then

8 Nothstein, “Rock Island,” 325-326. 9 Nothstein, “Rock Island,” 326-329. 10 Nothstein, “Rock Island,” 335-337. 11 Rock Island Arsenal, A Short History of the Island of Rock Island, 1816-1966; including the story of the time capsule (Rock Island, Illinois: Rock Island Arsenal, 967), 24. 12 Robert Bouilly, “Arsenal Island,” in Quad Cities: Joined by a River, ed. Frederick Anderson (Davenport: Lee Enterprises, 1982), 127. 13 Bouilly, “Arsenal Island,” 127. 4

became the watchword, and employees were added at a rate close to 250 or 300 each month.14

This rapid expansion of employees at the Arsenal would continue throughout the continuation of the First World War, increasing in its rapidity after the United States entered the war, until the number of employees at the Arsenal had reached nearly 15,000 in November of

1918.15 With over 10,000 new jobs available at the Rock Island Arsenal, with conditions for employees that “cannot be equaled by any other body of men in the vicinity,”16 you would expect that there would be a great number of people interested in moving to the Quad Cities to take advantage of the work. Indeed, there is a great amount of evidence to suggest this is the case, by examining census data, newspaper articles, and secondary scholarship.

The availability of jobs at the Rock Island Arsenal during First World War led to a significant increase in the population of the surrounding area. There was a population of only

24,000 in the city of Rock Island, and only just over 70,000 in the entire county according to the

1910 Census.17 With the sheer number of jobs becoming available at the Arsenal, the city and county would see a drastic population jump as people moved to the Quad Cities to take up jobs at the Arsenal. The population of Rock Island County would jump from 70,404 in the 1910 Census to over 92,000 in the 1920 census, an increase of over 22,000 people.18 The population jump in the city of Rock Island itself was even more staggering. Per the 1920 Census, while the

14 Arsenal Publishing Company, War’s Greatest Workshop, 16. 15 Arsenal Publishing Company, War’s Greatest Workshop, 16. 16 Arsenal Publishing Company, War’s Greatest Workshop, 46. 17 United States Census Bureau, “Census of Population and Housing, 1910: Statistics for Illinois,” Dana Durand (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1913): 462. https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/36894832v2ch04.pdf#[0,{%22name%22:%22FitH%22},807] 18 United States Census Bureau, “Census of Population and Housing, 1920: State Compendium Illinois,” Sam L. Rogers and W.M Stewart (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1924): 102. https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/06229686v8- 13ch5.pdf#[0,{%22name%22:%22FitH%22},814] 5

population of the city increased by less than 5,000 people from 1900 to 1910, the city saw that growth more than double during the course of the war, with the city gaining more than 10,000 people from 1910 to 1920.19 However, the jump in growth was not simply limited to the city and county of Rock Island; the entire Quad City area benefitted during this time period. According to the Arsenal Publishing Company, “Growth of the cities surrounding the Arsenal has been rapid… Population of the five municipalities increased from 96,117 in 1910 to 146,880 in 1920, a rate of growth far above the average the country over, being more than fifty per cent.”20 During the period that the Rock Island Arsenal had a drastic increase in employment numbers, census data shows that Rock Island and the Quad Cities also showed a drastic increase in population count.

This increase in the population of Rock Island and the surrounding areas can be directly tied to the expansion of the workforce at the Rock Island Arsenal. Unfortunately, as the 1910

Census points out, census records “do not include the statistics for an establishment operated by the Federal Government-the arsenal at Rock Island.”21 However, the data still indicates that the population coming into the Quad City area was taking up jobs at the Rock Island Arsenal. If the majority of the population moving into the area was taking up jobs in the Arsenal, you would expect that the number of employees engaged in manufacturing in this area would stay relatively the same, since the employees at the Arsenal are not listed on the census. At the same time, you would expect to see a drastic, disproportional increase in the value of goods produced in the area, which would normally make little sense if the number of workers stayed relatively stable.

Indeed, this is exactly the phenomenon we see when examining census data for this region.

19 Census Bureau, “1920 Census,” 203. 20 Arsenal Publishing Company, War’s Greatest Workshop, 124. 21 Census Bureau, “1910 Census,” 253. 6

Looking at the data for the cities of Rock Island, Moline, and Davenport, the three biggest cities in the Quad Cities, the number of wage-earning manufacturing employees increases by a total of only around 1500 employees. The city of Davenport actually shows a significant decrease in the number of employees in manufacturing.22 Nevertheless, in all three cities, there was a massive increase in the value of products being produced between 1909 and 1919; altogether, the three cities combined to increase the value of manufactured products from forty-three million dollars to around one-hundred million dollars, well over doubling their value despite a relatively meagre increase in the number of workers.23

The city of Rock Island in particular nearly quadrupled the value of manufactured goods produced in the city.24 In contrast, in nearly every other instance, a significant increase in the value of manufactured goods is paired with a significant increase in the number of workers employed in manufacturing. In Centralia and Champaign, for example, the value of goods produced triples, but this is coupled with the number of employees in these towns also increasing drastically, from 273 in Centralia to a combined 2,000 employed in manufacturing.25 Even in larger cities, such as East St. Louis, this trend holds true. There, an incredible increase in the value of goods produced is coupled with an increase in employees by over 3,000. What this phenomenon in the Quad Cities indicates is that the people moving to the area were largely taking up jobs at the Rock Island Arsenal, which the census does not keep employment data on.

The rapid influx of workers into the Quad City area due to the availability of jobs at the

Rock Island Arsenal had a significant impact on the community, especially in terms of housing.

22 Census Bureau, “1920 Census,” 315, 422. 23 Census Bureau, “1920 Census,” 315, 422. 24 Census Bureau, “1920 Census,” 315. 25 Census Bureau, “1920 Census,” 315. 7

The tens of thousands of people moving into the area needed a place to stay, and there are few communities that have the spare room to house this number of people without accommodations.

According to the Rock Island Arsenal regarding the workers coming into the city, “All were housed without much inconvenience, though the government undertook a project to provide homes in all five cities.”26 This account shows that the workers essentially changed the landscape of the Quad Cities, as they required additional housing in order to live and work for the Arsenal.

But this housing project did not just change the physical landscape of the Quad Cities; it changed the job landscape as well. The government housing projects required workers to build the houses, and these workers often came from the Quad Cities. According to an article in the Rock Island

Argus, “At present there are 1,687 workmen employed on the government housing projects on this side of the river.”27 This created nearly 1,700 additional jobs available to the Quad Cities in addition to the increased Arsenal employment, even months after the war in Europe had concluded.

The housing boom, though, exacerbated an already existing housing problem, as the government housing project could not field enough homes to house the new workers. As a 1918 article in the Moline Dispatch notes, the Quad Cities had been experiencing a housing shortage

“long before the thousands of war workers began their pilgrimage to (the Quad Cities).”28 The influx of workers that the Arsenal created, worsened an existing problem, and the housing program simply could not keep up. According to an article in the Rock Island Argus, the program built relatively few houses, and these were not completed until after the conclusion of the war.

26 Arsenal Publishing Company, War’s Greatest Workshop, 120. 27 “Reduce Number of House Workmen,” Rock Island Argus, January 23, 1919. https://www.newspapers.com/image/436351311/?terms=rock%2Bisland%2Barsenal%2Bgovernment%2Bhousing 28 “Gamble Predicts All Housing Work Will Be Completed Here,” The Moline Dispatch, December 16, 1918. https://www.newspapers.com/image/339204620/?terms=rock%2Bisland%2Bhousing%2Bshortage 8

“One of the most successful, as well as the first of the government housing projects in the country, was conducted in Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline, and which was consummated with the sale of 460 houses in the three cities…”29 Only 460 homes were built and sold before

1920, and this does not nearly cover the over ten thousand who came to work at the Arsenal during the First World War. Indeed, according to the Quad City Times, which published an article about the government housing project in 1918, only around 600 total homes were completed in the entirety of the Quad City area.30 In order to house all the workers who came in to work at the Arsenal, which according to the Quad City Times was over 14,000 people,31 the over twenty people would have had to share each house, many of which only had four or five rooms, and measuring only twenty-four by thirty-two feet.32 This illustrates how the influx of workers into the Rock Island Arsenal created a severe housing shortage in the Quad Cities.

The acute housing shortage that the population influx created led to a squatter problem in the Quad Cities, with new residents needing to find alternative shelter due to the lack of available housing. The Bretschnieder brothers were one of many Quad City residents forced to find a place to live. According to an article in the Rock Island Argus, “Unable to find a home in the Tri-cities suitable for living purposes, George and Harry Bretschnieder, the former a machinist and the latter a tool and die maker at the Rock Island Arsenal brought their cabin boat ‘Ninawa’ from

29 “Housing Sales Given Impetus in Tri-Cities,” Rock Island Argus, December 31, 1919. https://www.newspapers.com/image/436517509/?terms=Housing%2BSales%2BRock%2BIsland%2BArsenal 30 Alma Gaul, “Homes for the Homefront: 600-plus Homes were Built for War Workers,” Quad City Times, March 23, 2018. https://qctimes.com/news/local/homes-for-the-homefront--plus-homes-were-built- for/article_fcb42e57-eb9d-5431-a4cb-683e0ebb9e10.html 31 Gaul, “Homes for the Homefront,” Quad City Times. 32 “Architects Furnish Expert Description of Government Houses Being Erected In City and Detailed Explanation of Construction,” Rock Island Argus, December 31, 1918. https://www.newspapers.com/image/436510950/?terms=rock%2Bisland%2Barsenal%2Bgovernment%2Bhousing 9

Chicago and are now living in it.”33 Despite the lack of alternatives, Quad City and Arsenal authorities often attempted to break up these squatter camps. In 1917, a year before the

Brettschneider brothers arrived, the Rock Island Arsenal ordered a “squatter town” of houseboats near the Arsenal be dispersed, under the threat that their boats be towed out to the Mississippi and be allowed to drift away.34 Squatter camps and houseboat towns would continue to be a problem throughout the housing crisis, with conflicts often arising between the authorities and the camps. In 1919, for example, an article in Davenport’s Daily Times notes that authorities were going to attempt to collect rent from a squatter camp/shantytown, but many residents were making it clear that they “will refuse to pay and claim squatters’ rights.”35

The impact of the Rock Island Arsenal on the Quad Cities during the First World War is not limited to the population influx and the housing problems that coincided with it. There were also significant economic impacts that the Arsenal made on the surrounding Quad Cities. Over the course of the First World War, the United States government invested an incredible amount of money into the Rock Island Arsenal. According to the Arsenal Publishing Company, the federal government allotted almost $110,000,000 to the Rock Island Arsenal over the course of the war.36 The Arsenal Publishing Company also breaks down how this money was spent, with

“$66,526,540.31… devoted to the manufacture of war materials… $17,120,515.51 for labor...”37

These numbers also included another 17 million for new machinery and buildings, 4 million for

33 “Housing Problem Solved When Two Use Motorboat,” Rock Island Argus, September 25, 1918. https://www.newspapers.com/image/436341955/?terms=Rock%2BIsland%2BArsenal%2Bworkers%2Bmoving%2B in 34 “Houseboats to be Moved Out,” Rock Island Argus, April 9, 1917. https://www.newspapers.com/image/436379787/?terms=rock%2Bisland%2Bsquatters 35 “Must Pay Rent or Move from City Property,” The Davenport Daily Times, February 22, 1919. https://www.newspapers.com/image/302460820/?terms=rock%2Bisland%2Bsquatters 36 Arsenal Publishing Company, War’s Greatest Workshop, 8-9. 37 Arsenal Publishing Company, War’s Greatest Workshop, 9. 10

temporary structures, and 1.5 million for a proving grounds in Savannah, Illinois.38 As you can see, over the course of the war the government invested tens of millions of dollars into the

Arsenal, with over 17 million going directly into the pockets of Quad Cities workers in the form of wages for their labor. This number does not even accurately depict the volume of money invested into the Quad City community in the form of wages. The Arsenal Publishing Company states that “It must be understood, however, that these figures are for the manufacturing department of the Arsenal, and do not include the huge sums expended for labor and material by the construction companies at work there.”39 All of these expenditures combined constitute a huge economic investment in the Quad City community.

This sizable investment would have a significant impact on the economic wellbeing of

Quad City community. In War’s Greatest Workshop, published only a few years after the conclusion of the war, it states that the community was much more affluent than other communities at the time; “…the people are well above the average, taking the country over, in education and wealth. The percentage of families with an income of $3,000 or more is 7.06, against an average of 1.94 per cent for the entire United States. The percentage with incomes between $1,800 and $3,000 is 23.60, while that for the entire country is but 11.06 per cent.”40

This prosperity that the Quad Cities saw in the postwar years was reflected in increased construction and development of the area. A year-end issue of the Rock Island Argus noted that over a million dollars had been spent on construction efforts in 1924, including tripling the amount of sidewalk laid from the previous year, with all indications being that construction

38 Arsenal Publishing Company, War’s Greatest Workshop, 9. 39 Arsenal Publishing Company, War’s Greatest Workshop, 16. 40 Arsenal Publishing Company, War’s Greatest Workshop, 120. 11

efforts would increase in the year after.41 Much of this can be attributed to the great amount of funds invested into the community during the First World War.

The demobilization of the Arsenal after the First World War also had a significant impact on the community of the Quad Cities. With the end of the war, the federal government began greatly reducing the number of employees in the Rock Island Arsenal. According to Thomas

Slattery, employment at the Rock Island Arsenal “reached its lowest ebb of 618 in 1924.”42

Robert Bouilly paints an even bleaker picture, claiming that employment was reduced to just

225.43 Dropping employment at the Arsenal by nearly 13,000 workers, the Quad City was bound to feel the effects of such drastic layoffs. According to the 1930 Census for Illinois, the population for Rock Island County at this time was 98,191.44 The population for the county of

Rock Island jumped by over 31% to 22,000 people, between the 1910 and 1920 censuses.

Therefore, a growth of less than 6,000 people between 1920 and 1930 is well below the increase that the county saw during the First World War. Indeed, compared to data in the 1920 Census, this is the lowest rate of population growth the county had seen since between 1880 and 1890.45

The cities of Rock Island and Moline saw a similar stunting of their growth, gaining only around

2,000 residents each according to the 1930 Census.46 This is significantly lower than the approximately 5,000 residents the cities had been gaining per census before the war.47

41 “Million Spent for Buildings of Many Kinds,” Rock Island Argus, December 31, 1924. https://www.newspapers.com/image/482382936/?terms=rock%2Bisland%2Bconstruction%2Btotals 42 Slattery, Rock Island Arsenal: An Arsenal for Democracy, 3. 43 Bouilly, “Arsenal Island,” 130. 44 United States Census Bureau, “Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930, Population Vol III, Part I,” R.P. Lamont and W.M. Stuart (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1932), 606. https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/10612963v3p1ch05.pdf#[0,{%22name%22:%22FitH%22},79 9] 45 United States Census Bureau, “1920 Census,” 12. 46 United States Census Bureau, “1930 Census,” 612. 47 United States Census Bureau, “1920 Census,” 29-30. 12

This lack of growth shown in Rock Island and Rock Island County was not reflected in the other communities in Illinois, indicating that the stunted growth we see during this time period was connected with the layoffs at the Arsenal. Examining the census data for 1920 and

1930, other cities were seemingly unaffected by whatever was causing the stunted growth in

Rock Island. For example, the cities of Chicago and Champaign both continued to grow at the rate they had during and before the war, gaining 500,000 and 5,000 residents, respectively.48

Some cities even saw huge population boosts, such as Springfield, which gained 10,000 residents during the decade.49 What this indicates is that the rest of the state was not impacted by whatever severely stunted Rock Island’s growth during this decade, implying that the massive layoffs at the Rock Island Arsenal was a likely culprit.

Another reason that Rock Island’s population growth was so low after the layoffs at the

Arsenal is because, as sources indicate, many of the workers of the Rock Island Arsenal left the area after they were laid off. Indeed, as early as 1920, many workers of the Rock Island Arsenal indicated that if layoffs were to come, they intended to leave the Quad Cities. According to an article in the Rock Island Argus, “If there is a big layoff ahead you can’t rest assured that these men will be absorbed into your local factories. The men at the Arsenal are the pick of the country… If the Arsenal closes they will go where their class of work is in demand and the tri- cities will lose close to 8,000 families.”50 When the massive layoff at the Arsenal came to fruition, “…practically every former employee who had any knowledge whatsoever of small arms work had secured employment with commercial firms engaged in that line of work and had

48 United States Census Bureau, “1930 Census,” 609. 49 United States Census Bureau, “1930 Census,” 612. 50 “Say Manufacturers Oppose Continuing Operation of Arsenal on Present Plan,” Rock Island Argus, April 17, 1920. https://www.newspapers.com/image/436414747/?terms=Rock%2BIsland%2BArsenal%2Bworkers%2Bmoving%2B in 13

gone East to the seat of those industries.”51 This helps to explain why Rock Island saw such a dearth of people coming into the county during this decade; not only was the Arsenal no longer offering enticing job opportunities, as was seen during the First World War, but many of the former workers of the Arsenal would go on to leave the Quad Cities.

The Second World War would bring change to the Rock Island Arsenal during the 1940s, and this in turn would have a significant impact on the surrounding Quad City community. In the mid-1930s, the Rock Island Arsenal would receive more work updating obsolete equipment and producing material for the Navy, which put “thousands of men to work.”52 The number of workers in the Arsenal would continue to rise, reaching over 2700 in 1939.53 After American entry into the war in 1941, employment at the Arsenal skyrocketed into its highest level ever, numbering 18,675 workers in 1943.54

Just like during the First World War, this rapid skyrocketing in employment numbers at the Arsenal had a significant impact on the surrounding Quad City communities, particularly in the form of population growth. According to the United States Census Bureau, from 1930 to

1940, while the Arsenal was in its initial stages of mobilization, the county of Rock Island jumped by over 10,000 people, from 98,000 to over 113,000.55 The city of Rock Island itself also returned to its pre-slump rate of growth, gaining 5,000 people.56 Once again, these jumps in population are not shown in the population figures for cities outside of Rock Island, indicating

51 Rock Island Arsenal, Short History of the Island of Rock Island, 28. 52 Rock Island Arsenal, Short History of the Island of Rock Island, 30. 53 Rock Island Arsenal, Short History of the Island of Rock Island, 32. 54 Rock Island Arsenal, Short History of the Island of Rock Island, 32. 55 United States Census Bureau, “Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940-Population Volume II: Characteristics of the Population- Part II,” Jesse H. Jones (Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1943), 522. https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/33973538v2p2ch6.pdf 56 United States Census Bureau, “1940 Census,” 626. https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/33973538v2p2ch7.pdf 14

that the jump is likely due to the employment spike at the Arsenal. Springfield, for example, which had saw a jump of over 10,000 the decade before, gained less than 4,000 during this decade.57 The city of Champaign also saw a small lull in growth, gaining only 3,000, while the city of Chicago actually stalled in population growth, growing by only 20,000 when normally it would grow by approximately 500,000.58 Even in these early stages of the Arsenal’s mobilization, we see that the expansion of the Arsenal had a significant impact on the population of the Quad Cities.

The decade upon the United States’ entry into the war, 1940-1950, had an even greater impact on the population of the Quad Cities. This was the Arsenal’s greatest period of expansion, where it would reach its peak employment of 18,000, and because the Rock Island Arsenal made a conscious effort to recruit workers from outside the Quad Cities. According to the Rock Island

Arsenal’s pamphlet A Short History, “As it became more difficult in 1940 to obtain applicants for skilled positions, approximately one hundred radio stations in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and

Michigan were requested to broadcast the urgent need for skilled workers… various newspapers were requested to publish news items…”59 These advertisements would carry on throughout the rest of the war, and would often post the daily rates of labor for the available jobs, such as in the

Proviso Township Herald’s article “Government Needs Machinists.”60 The Arsenal would call on people’s patriotic duty in order to try and recruit in their advertisements, saying they were

57 United States Census Bureau, “1940 Census,” 626. 58 United States Census Bureau, “1940 Census,” 619, 637. 59 Rock Island Arsenal, Short History of the Island of Rock Island, 32-33. 60 “Government Needs Machinists,” The Proviso Township Herald, January 22, 1942. http://www.idaillinois.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/mppl/id/1650/rec/1 15

calling on those who were “…patriotically inclined and willing to help.”61 These factors attracted many into moving into the Quad City area during this decade.

According to the 1950 Census, the City of Rock Island gained yet another 6,000 residents before 1950, bringing its total to nearly 50,000.62 Many cities near Rock Island and the Arsenal also saw significant population jumps during this decade, including Coal Valley Township and

Black Hawk Township, both of which doubled their populations from 1940 to 1950.63

Meanwhile, settlements in the county that were significantly further from the Arsenal, including

Reynolds, Andalusia Township, and Edgington Township, saw minimal, if any, population growth during this decade, showing that the growth in the county was centered around the

Arsenal.64 Overall, the County of Rock Island saw a boom of over 20,000 residents between

1940 and 1950, a mark far exceeding the 6,000 residents gained during the lean years at the

Arsenal.65

Just as in the First World War, this rapid influx of population created a housing issue for the Quad City community. While some of this was alleviated with many new residents moving into townships just outside the city, such as Blackhawk township, the housing problem still required action. This included more federal housing projects, with one of the first of them, the

Arsenal Courts, opening as early as May of 1941.66 The Rock Island community also received

61 “Recruiters in Arsenal Seek More Workers” The Rock Island Argus, January 11, 1945. https://www.newspapers.com/image/548176096/?terms=Rock%2BIsland%2BArsenal%2Bworkers%2Bmoving%2B in 62 United States Census Bureau, “Census of Population: 1950, Volume I, Number of Inhabitants,” Charles Sawyer and Roy V. Peel (Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1952), 13-11. https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/23761117v1ch05.pdf 63 United States Census Bureau, “1950 Census,” 13-23. 64 United States Census Bureau, “1950 Census,” 13-23. 65 United States Census Bureau, “1950 Census,” 13-23. 66 “Arsenal Courts Being Occupied,” The Moline Daily Dispatch, May 13, 1941. https://www.newspapers.com/image/341272004/?terms=Rock%2BIsland%2BArsenal%2Bworkers%2Bmoving%2B in 16

special permission from the federal government to build housing for the workers at the Arsenal.

According to historian Roger Biles, “While housing construction came to an abrupt halt in most

Illinois communities during the war, Rock Island received special permission… to build emergency housing to offset the local shortage.”67 The employment spike at the Arsenal thereby created another housing problem for the Quad City community that had to be overcome with federal aid.

Finally, the spike in employment during the Second World War impacted the daily lives of Quad Citians by providing ample work opportunities and a way to contribute to the war effort.

Despite the fact that the Arsenal had reached its highest level of employment in its history, it still did not have enough workers to fulfill all of the orders coming in. This led to a situation where

Quad City residents volunteered their time at the Arsenal to do their patriotic duty and earn a little extra money. For example, Sadie Kling, who was a fifty-nine-year-old grandmother at the time, would volunteer her days off at the Rock Island Arsenal in order to “help my country.”68

The Rock Island Arsenal had a significant impact on the development and daily life of

Rock Island and the Quad Cities between the first and second world wars. The drastic mobilization and demobilization during this time period led to population booms and significant slowdowns, brought people into the cities and drove them away again, and helped shape the area into what it is today. Rock Island and the Quad Cities still stands ready for the next time the

Arsenal gives out the call that Rock Island needs machinists.

67 Roger Biles, Illinois: A History of the Land and Its People (DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2005), 246. 68 “Grandmother Gives Days Off to a War Plant,” The Chicago Daily Tribune, March 3, 1943. https://search.proquest.com/hnpchicagotribune/docview/176716996/1208DBE9B9FD4DCBPQ/72?accountid=1498 2 17

Bibliography

Primary

Newspapers:

Chicago Daily Tribune (1943) Davenport Daily Times (1919) Moline Dispatch (1918, 1941) Proviso Township Herald (1942) Quad City Times (2018) Rock Island Argus (1917-1919, 1920, 1924, 1945)

Government Documents:

Arsenal Publishing Company, of the tri-cities. War’s Greatest Workshop, Rock Island Arsenal: Historical, Topographical, and Illustrative. Rock Island, Illinois: The Arsenal Publishing co., of the Tri-cities, not Inc., 1922. Rock Island Arsenal. “A Short History of the Island of Rock Island: Including the Story of the Time Capsule.” Rock Island, Illinois: Rock Island Arsenal, 1967. United States Census Bureau. “Census of Population and Housing, 1910: Statistics for Illinois.” Dana Durand. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1913. https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/36894832v2ch04.pdf#[0,{%22nam e%22:%22FitH%22},807] United States Census Bureau. “Census of Population and Housing, 1920: State Compendium Illinois.” Sam L. Rogers and W.M Stewart. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1924. 102. https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/06229686v8- 13ch5.pdf#[0,{%22name%22:%22FitH%22},814] United States Census Bureau. “Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930, Population Vol III, Part I.” R.P. Lamont and W.M. Steuart. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1932. https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/10612963v3p1ch05.pdf#[0,{%22n ame%22:%22FitH%22},799] United States Census Bureau. “Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940-Population Volume II: Characteristics of the Population- Part II.” Jesse H. Jones. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1943. https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/33973538v2p2ch6.pdf United States Census Bureau. “Census of Population: 1950, Volume I, Number of Inhabitants.” Charles Sawyer, Roy V. Peel. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1952. https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/23761117v1ch05.pdf

Secondary

Biles, Roger. Illinois: A History of the Land and Its People. Dekalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2005. Bouilly, Robert. “Arsenal Island.” Quad Cities: Joined by a River, ed. Frederick Anderson. Davenport, Iowa: Lee Enterprises, 1982. Nothstein, Ira Oliver. "Rock Island and the Rock Island Arsenal." Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 33, no. 3 (1940): 304-40. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40187950. Slattery, Thomas J. Rock Island Arsenal: An Arsenal for Democracy, World War II 50th Anniversary. Rock Island, Illinois: Historical Office, US Army Armament, Munitions and Chemical Command, 1992.