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CHistory
History · East Moline

East Moline’s post office opened in 1899, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #534 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1958 on, and the census since 1910.

1899first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Alan Light · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How East Moline began

When was East Moline founded?

1899

The East Moline post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1903.

First census: 2,665 in 19102020 census: 21,374127 years

How historic is East Moline?

C

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first East Moline post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1903.
History grade

What drives East Moline’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, East Moline is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #534 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of East Moline’s overall grade.
Founding era1899, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194012.7% of homes (±2.2) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 32%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 31%

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so East Moline’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1903.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about East Moline’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start East Moline’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how East Moline’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMorrow-Pech Optical: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

East Moline, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of East Moline yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

East Moline is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 21,374 at the 2020 census. East Moline was incorporated in April 1907. It is one of the five Quad Cities at the confluence of the Rock and Mississippi rivers, along with neighboring Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa.

Its first post office opened in 1899. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 21,302 in 2010, 21,374 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about East Moline in 1908

Passages that mention East Moline, cut from the printed page as they were published.

two legal voters of the district petitioned the county court for the organization under the general law, of a village to be named the Village of East Moline. The 20th day of December was appointed as an election day to vote for or against village organization; election to be held at John Deere scho…
Historic Rock Island County1908 · page 102Read the page →
Read the text

two legal voters of the district petitioned the county court for the organization under the general law, of a village to be named the Village of East Moline. The 20th day of December was appointed as an election day to vote for or against village organization; election to be held at John Deere school building. The result of said election was

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In Moline he platted Prospect Park and First and Second Fairmount Additions. In the year 1895 platted the Town of East Moline on a tract of twelve hundred acres. Mr. Guyer's public services to the Cities of Rock Island and INIoline have been great.
Historic Rock Island County1908 · page 16Read the page →
Read the text

In Moline he platted Prospect Park and First and Second Fairmount Additions. In the year 1895 platted the Town of East Moline on a tract of twelve hundred acres. Mr. Guyer's public services to the Cities of Rock Island and INIoline have been great.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

East Moline, 1899 to 1989

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899Post officeThe East Moline post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901Born hereRay Klingbiel is born here
  5. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1984Born hereEric Wisely is born here
  7. 1984Born hereJon Banks is born here
  8. 1989In the archiveMorrow-Pech Optical
By decade

East Moline, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
Morrow-Pech Optical1989Morrow-Pech Optical
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today11 recent
The Word Church2023The Word ChurchLight Mission Pentecostal Church2023Light Mission Pentecostal Church1982 Buick Regal "Evil Dreams" at the Rod & Custom Auto Show BendXPO 202220221982 Buick Regal "Evil Dreams" at the Rod & Custom Au…Summit Ridge Condominiums2017Summit Ridge CondominiumsSaint Mary's Church2017Saint Mary's ChurchMount Zion Missionary Baptist Church2017Mount Zion Missionary Baptist ChurchAssumption Greek Orthodox Church2017Assumption Greek Orthodox ChurchMolineILEF2March20162016MolineILEF2March2016East Moline, Illinois and Riverdale, Iowa Along Mississippi River2014East Moline, Illinois and Riverdale, Iowa Along Missi…East Moline, Illinois and Riverdale, Iowa Along Mississippi River2014East Moline, Illinois and Riverdale, Iowa Along Missi…East Moline Correctional Facility2008East Moline Correctional Facility
On the map

East Moline on the map, 1958 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of East Moline. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

East Moline on the 1958 USGS mapEast Moline on the 1961 USGS mapEast Moline on the 1981 USGS map1958Davenport sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of East Moline.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Morrow-Pech Optical
Retake this viewMorrow-Pech Optical, 1989

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on East Moline’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

East Moline, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 21,431

Between 2,665 and 21,431 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on East Moline’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in East Moline

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
E
Eric WiselyAmerican mixed martial arts fighter · b. 1984
J
Jon BanksAmerican football player · b. 1984
R
Ray KlingbielAmerican judge · b. 1901
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

East Moline’s post office has been open since 1899.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Babcock
Gone or out of use
Lincoln Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside East Moline
ResthavenSaint Mary's Catholic Church

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Moline5 historic placesASouth Moline TownshipIts storyCMoline Township6 historic placesA+Campbell's IslandIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSilvisIts storyC−BarstowIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHampton1 historic placeB+Hampton Township1 historic placeB+

Questions about East Moline’s history

What year was East Moline founded?

The East Moline post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1903.

How does East Moline rank for history?

East Moline is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #534 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in East Moline?

13% of East Moline’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1968.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.