Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rapids City yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Rapids City is a village in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 964 at the time of the 2020 census; up from 959 at the 2010 census.
Its first post office opened in 1857. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 959 in 2010, 964 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Rapids City, 1885–1908
Passages that mention Rapids City, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Portrait and biographical album of Rock Island County, Illinois1885 · page 803Read the page →
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Rapids City is part of School District No. 8, which was formed after the village was laid out. A schoolhouse was built at the time. Josiah Rickel was the first teacher in this house. In 1875 a new schoolhouse was erected. Two teachers are constantly employed. There are 200 children of school age in the village.
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Portrait and biographical album of Rock Island County, Illinois1885 · page 486Read the page →
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In the winter of 1873 he came to Savanna, Carroll County, 111., where for two years he was engaged in learning telegraphy and railroading. He then accepted a position as station agent at Rapids City, in 1876, where he has since continued in the employ of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company. Mr. Webb was united in marriage to Miss Clara E. Mitchell, a native of Rapids City, Aug. 30,
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of the garrison welcoming the reinforcement, they believed it the shouts of triumph of the Indians at the capture of the fort, and Elder Kinney of Rapids City, a devout Presbyterian
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (3), 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.
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