After the Blackhawk Purchase of 1832, settlement of eastern Iowa was
opened up to white settlers the next year. Antoine LeClaire, who served
as the translator at the purchase, received large tracts of land from
grateful members of the Sauk tribe. With this land, he and others
founded the city of Davenport, named after Col. George Davenport, a
successful fur trader. Other towns cropped up throughout Scott County,
newly formed in 1837. Over the next several decades, Davenport and these
other towns throughout the county grew and gave rise to successful,
interesting citizens of their own. Some were inventors like William
Bettendorf, who created the Bettendorf Truck. Others were lawyers and
mayors, such as Ebenezer Cook and Ernst Claussen. Whatever their
profession or the path they took in life, many left their mark on Scott
County. They now lay in their final resting spot in the cemeteries of
Scott County.