Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf.The city is home to Rock Island Arsenal, the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal in the US, which employs 6,000 people.
The original Rock Island, from which the city gets its name, is the largest island in the Mississippi River. It is now called Arsenal Island.
Prior to European contact, this area was settled for thousands of years by various indigenous peoples. By the early nineteenth century, it was occupied chiefly by the historic Sauk Native Americans. Their major village of Saukenuk was located on the south side of Rock Island, along the Rock River. After the War of 1812, the United States built Fort Armstrong on the island for defensive reasons in 1816.
Saukenuk was the birthplace of the Sauk war chief Black Hawk, for whom the Black Hawk War of 1831–1832 was named. Fort Armstrong served as the US military's headquarters for the war.
Rock Island has been named one of the 10 most exciting places in Illinois. Movoto Real Estate, a national real estate company, put Rock Island behind only Evanston and Woodstock and ahead of Chicago in its list of the state's 10 most fun cities.
This cache is in honor of ROCK Island and its historical significance to this entire area.