User:Ervin 2007/Rock Island Arsenal

Overview
The Rock Island Arsenal comprises 946 acres (383 ha) and is located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. Rock Island was previously used as the summer camp site for Sauk Native Americans, and the dispute over tribal ownership led to the Black Hawk War of 1832, after the primary leader of the Sauk, Black Hawk. It is now to the United States Army First Army Headquarters, and the United States Army Center of Excellence for Additive Manufacturing.

The island was originally established as a government site in 1816, with the building of Fort Armstrong. It is now the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal in the United States. It has manufactured military equipment and ordnance since the 1880s. In 1919–1920 one hundred of the Anglo-American or Liberty Mark VIII tanks were manufactured there, although too late for World War I. In 1988 it was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Originally established as both an arsenal and a center for the manufacturing of leather accoutrements and field gear, today it provides manufacturing, logistics, and base support services for the United States Armed Forces. The Arsenal is the only active U.S. Army foundry, and manufactures ordnance and equipment, including artillery, gun mounts, recoil mechanisms, small arms, aircraft weapons sub-systems, grenade launchers, weapons simulators, and a host of associated components. Some of the Arsenal's most successful products include the M198 and M119 towed howitzers, and the M1A1 gun mount. About 250 military personnel and 6,000 civilians are currently employed there and the population from the 2020 census was a small 182 people.

Post Information
First time visitors must stop at the Visitor Welcome Center at the Moline Gate, visitors with valid passes may use any gate.

Visitor Welcome Center:

Monday-Sunday: 7 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Gate Hours
Moline Gate:

o Open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day

Davenport Gate:

o Monday - Friday: 2 p.m.. - 5:30 p.m. with Outbound traffic only.

Rock Island Gate:

o Monday - Friday: 5:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m. with Outbound traffic only from 10:30 p.m. - midnight

o Saturday: 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.

o Sunday: 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.

We know it today as Rock Island Arsenal but before that it was Fort Armstrong (1816 to 1862). Even before it was Fort Armstrong, thanks to its strategic positioning along the Mississippi River, it was a haven for Native Americans. The United States came into possession of the island in 1804 in the Harrison Peace Treaty with the Chief of the Fox and Sac Tribes. From 1804 to 1812 the island was unoccupied by the U.S. Army; however, it was the scene of a small conflict out the outbreak of the War of 1812 with Great Britain. Following that, in 1814 it was the site of a U.S. Army expedition from St Louis to use the island as a guard post to control traffic on the Mississippi and maintain watch over the local Native Americans.

== Early Historical Timeline == 1809: Declared a federal military reservation by an Act of Congress

1816: Fort Armstrong built on the island

1818: George Davenport, U.S. Army sutler established trading post

1832: Served as U.S. Army HQ for Blackhawk War

1833: George Davenport mansion built

1836: Abandoned, but remained ordnance depot

1845: George Davenport killed by Banditti of the Prairie

1856: First railroad built across the Mississippi River

1862: Rock Island Arsenal (the name we know it to be today) established by an Act of Congress

1862: First Commanding Officer of Rock Island Major Charles P. Kingsbury.

1863-1865: Rock Island Prison Barracks existed for Confederate Soldiers

1865: Second Commanding Officer of Rock Island Arsenal, Brevet Brigadier General Thomas J. Rodman, also known as the Father of Rock Island Arsenal for his contributions

1867: Clock Tower Building erected, still standing and is the home of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

1871: First military quarters built on Rock Island, named, Quarters One, an Italianate villa. At 20,000 square feet it is one of the largest government single family residences in the United States

1872: First Government bridge built across the Mississippi River, replaced the railroad bridge destroyed by a steamboat

Womens History
During the first World War, demand for war materials drastically increased which resulted in a demand for skilled labor. Due to the draft of men, women had to fill the gap at the arsenal. This is often referred to as the women draft as they had to backfill the men leaving to fight in order to keep meet the demands of the war time efforts in the factories. Rock Island Arsenal increased from 175 female employees in 1914 to 300 in 1917, a drastic increase in the time before women’s suffrage. Women were absolutely critical to the war time effort of World War I and Rock Island Arsenal was no exception.