The gathering was, the Chicago Daily Tribune reported, “the most brilliant ever assembled in the West.”
On June 5, 1854, more than 600 distinguished politicians (including former President Millard Fillmore, eight governors and three U.S. senators), businessmen and journalists boarded two trains that would take them to Rock Island, Ill., from where they would be joined by hundreds of others for a steamboat trip up the Mississippi River to St. Paul in what was then Minnesota Territory.
By the time the trip ended back in Chicago five days later, some 1,200 people would take part in this celebration of America’s first railroad connection to the Mississippi.
Along the way, they would marvel at the Illinois prairie, explore Galena and other river towns, cruise Lake Pepin and gawk at St. Anthony Falls. Back then, on this Grand Excursion, they were called “excursionists.” Today, we’d call them tourists.
This summer, more than 40 communities between the Quad Cities of Illinois/Iowa and the Twin Cities of Minnesota will be marking the 150th anniversary of that journey with a celebration of everyday life along the river as part of Grand Excursion 2004. Festivities for today’s travelers will include hundreds of events–festivals, fireworks, “Taste of” celebrations, parades, re-enactments and more.
But the highlight will be the Grand Excursion Flotilla, which during 11 glorious days (June 25-July 5) will return the Mississippi to the days when paddlewheel riverboats ruled the river. There are three ways to join the journey:
By boat: This Big River adventure gets under way on Friday, June 25, as the paddlewheel riverboats Harriet Bishop, Anson Northrop, Julia Belle Swain, Spirit of Peoria and Celebration Belle gather in the Quad Cities.
That day and the next, the riverboats will offer an assortment of cruises. They’ll include breakfast, lunch and dinner cruises; race/parade cruises and moonlight cruises.
The fleet will be joined on June 26 by the Grande Dames of the river–the Delta Queen and the Mississippi Queen, the only riverboats offering overnight trips and accommodations. (The Queens depart St. Louis on June 23, with four-night cruise passengers disembarking in Bettendorf, Iowa, on June 27.) A welcoming ceremony on the Iowa side at Davenport’s Le Claire Park on that Saturday afternoon offers a good opportunity to see all seven riverboats together.
The Grand Flotilla departs the Quad Cities on June 27 in a magnificent spectacle of smoke, steam and churning paddlewheels not seen on the river in nearly a century.
Seven-night cruises (disembarking July 4 in St. Paul) are offered on the two Queens. Ports of call for the Mississippi Queen are Dubuque, Iowa; Prairie du Chien, Wis.; Winona, Wabasha, Red Wing and St. Paul, Minn. The Delta Queen stops at Dubuque and McGregor, Iowa; La Crosse, Wis.; Lake City, Red Wing and St. Paul, Minn.
One-way day cruises are available on the other five riverboats, which do not have sleeping berths. Ports of call include Clinton, Dubuque and Guttenberg, Iowa; Savanna, Ill.; Prairie du Chien, La Crosse, and Prescott, Wis.; Winona, Wabasha, Lake City, Red Wing, Hastings, St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn. Not all boats call at all ports, but cruises are offered at each stop.
Passengers who book these day cruises may also purchase overnight accommodations, luggage handling (it’s not allowed on board) and bus transportation back to the point of departure.
The entire flotilla will dock in Dubuque on June 28 and in St. Paul on July 4.
By train: Also on Friday, June 25, a passenger train headed by the beautifully restored steam locomotive Milwaukee Road No. 261 leaves Chicago for Rock Island, commemorating the 1854 rail journey. The train will be greeted with a welcoming ceremony at Rock Island late that afternoon.
That will be followed by a Davenport to Sabula, Iowa, round trip on June 26 and a Rock Island to Bureau, Ill., round trip on June 27.
Then the train will do northbound one-way rail excursions from Davenport to Dubuque on June 28, Dubuque to La Crosse on June 29 and La Crosse to Minneapolis on June 30. Passengers taking these excursions may also book hotel rooms or return motor-coach transportation to the city of origin.
From St. Paul, a round trip will be offered to La Crosse on July 2 and to La Crescent, Minn., on July 3. Shuttle trips between St. Paul and Minneapolis are available on July 4.
By bike: A 400-mile, eight-day bike ride leaves Rock Island on June 27, coinciding with the Grand Flotilla. A rider fee includes camping accommodations and transportation of tents and luggage from each campsite to the final destination of St. Paul.
The boats, the train and the bikes will all end up in St. Paul for the city’s Grand Flotilla Weekend (July 3-5). Just as when the first Grand Excursion ended here 150 years ago, there will be great excitement. But this time there will be fireworks too.
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1854: `The Rock Island and St. Anthony Excursion’
EXCERPTS FROM CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE ACCOUNTS
Thursday, June 1, 1854
“The excursion train will leave this city, at 8 o’clock Monday morning, arriving at Rock Island at 4 o’clock P.M., when the passengers will go directly on board the steamers. . . . Dinner will be served on board the boats soon after the arrival of the Train. And after a display of fire works from the fort at Rock Island in the evening, the Boats will start on their trip up the River and return to Rock Island on Saturday morning.”
Thursday, June 8, 1854
“Entering the mouth of the Galena river, a most delightful stream, we proceed up some seven miles, when a voice from the upper deck announces that Galena was in sight. Instantly all was in commotion and anxiety to obtain the first glimpse of this city, of which so much has been said and anticipated. A bend in the river brought us into full view of the city, and we were more than justified with the tout ensemble which presented itself. Standing upon the deck, we could see the city, built upon her seven times seven hills, and sending up her spires and steeples toward high Heaven, from the summit of eminences, which, of themselves, were temples. . . .
“Galena is situated on both sides of the river of that name, and has a population of 10,000 souls. Built upon an arm of the Mississippi, it is thrown far enough inland to make it the commercial centre of the mining country by which it is surrounded, and to enable it to command, for all time, the trade the great staple therein produced. Its citizens claim for it the advantage of being the virtual terminus of the Illinois Central Railroad, for, they agree that at this point it first strikes navigable water. . . .
“At present, the business of Galena, without aid from railroads, with only the advantages growing out of her position, probably exceeds that of any other town of equal population in the United States. . . .
” ‘The scenery,’ says one well qualified to appreciate it, “combines every element of beauty and grandeur–giving us the sunlit prairie with its soft swell, waving grass and thousand flowers; the sombre depths of the primeval forest; and castellated cliffs rising hundreds of feet, with beetling crags that a Titan might have piled.”
Tuesday, June 13, 1854
“Just before night the clouds cleared away, as if to allow us to see a most beautiful and enchanting spectacle, a clear sunset on the Mississippi. We were at this time rapidly approaching the entrance of Lake Pepin, and the scene was, if possible, more bold and romantic than ever. We ascended to the upper deck, to drink in the loveliness of the scene, and remained there, in silent but deep admiration until the shades of night shut out every beauty from our view. We wished for a pencil of a Hogarth to paint that landscape. An attempt to describe its beauties with our pen, would be mockery. . . .
“Our fleet came in sight of the City of St. Paul about eight o’clock in the morning. . . . The city stands on two ledges or bluffs, the lowest of which is sixty-five feet above high water mark. . . . [The] site is magnificent, and we have never seen a spot better adapted by Nature for a showy and delightful display of architecture and gardening than the natural terrace of hills upon which it stands. It is, commercially speaking, the key to all the vast regions north of it, and, by the Minnesota River, to the immense valley drained by that important tributary to the Mississippi. . . .
“Shortly after our arrival at the city, our entire company bundled itself into vehicles of every imaginable class and variety, from a four-horse coach to a one horse water cart. . . . and set forth upon the expedition to the City and Falls of St. Anthony, the first falls in the Mississippi river, and situated eight or nine miles above St. Paul. . . . A portion of this country is heavily timbered, and the remainder of it is prairie, and such prairie! We have nothing to equal it in Illinois, although we have here prairies which are famed for their beauty the world over. Our prairies are flat, undiversified, and for the most part tiresome from their monotony. Here, on the contrary, are a succession of the most beautiful hills imaginable, bounded on one side by the river, and, stretching on the other as far as the eye can see. . . . About half way to St. Anthony, some genius has erected an observatory. . . . You are charged the sum of one dime (good and lawful currency of this Republic) for the privilege of ascending to the top of this edifice, upon accomplishing which feat you behold a panorama of beauty and sublimity which enrapture you. . . .
“The first view of the Falls of St. Anthony is obtained from the road, and does not sustain the expectations which are generally entertained of its beauty and sublimity. This disappointment, however, is soon amply dissipated, and gives way to the most profound satisfaction upon a nearer and more favorable view being secured. . . . [T]he native grandeur and beauty of the scene forces itself upon your heart, and compels you to bow down before the majesty and power of the God whose wrath, perhaps, forced the mighty rocks asunder, piled them in Titan heights upon each other, and sent the rushing waves of the Mississippi over them, roaring down their massive sides, as if in anger at their restraint. We spent three hours on this spot, and never were three hours of our life more pleasantly, and we hope more profitably spent. . . .
“It is true that we were not overwhelmed as we were at Niagara, with the great height of the water’s fall, their deafening roar, and the lofty character of their scenery. The falls of St. Anthony are more within the grasp of the human mind, and are therefore looked upon with more real pleasure.”
Monday, June 26, 1854
“Those of our readers whose business will allow them to do so, cannot do anything better than to pick up a portmanteau . . . and start off on an excursion to the country. . . .Let them go down to the passenger depot of the Rock Island Railroad and buy a ticket for Rock Island, take a seat in the car, open up the Daily Tribune, and read the leader. This being done, and the patient being thereby thrown into a highly pleasant and well contented frame of mind, he will find himself about the neighborhood of Blue Island, the second station out of Chicago, and from which point the country begins to grow so charming as to afford him occupation and amusement enough to merely view the ever changing, but always lovely features. Rushing on over the prairie, along the banks of most enchanting creeks, half hidden in the shade of ancient trees, whose overhanging boughs dip in the sparkling water, through deep and mournful forests, wild and unbroken as when the Indian and the deer skulked beneath their branches; past new and flourishing villages, smart and bustling towns, and well cultivated and rich farms, are very long our traveler will come in sight of the Illinois river, and the twin towns of LaSalle and Peru. Rushing through them, he will enter again upon one of the most beautiful prairies which the eye of man has ever beheld, clad in living green and bedecked with flowers of every hue. He will stick his head out of it, and drink in the beauties of the scene. On, on, he goes, and eight hours from the time he left Chicago, he will land in the city of Rock Island. Here he will, for the first time, perhaps, fully appreciate the joys which we have brought him to experience. The majestic Mississippi flows at his feet, separating the cities of Rock Island and Davenport, the latter of which will attract his attention and command his admiration. He steps upon the steam ferry boat, pays five cents, and in three minutes lands in Iowa.”
IF YOU GO
TICKETS, ETC.
For more information, including an extensive calendar of events, and to make reservations, go to www.grandexcursion.com or call 866-439-2004.
THE FLOTILLA
The 11-day Grand Excursion Flotilla will take place June 25 through July 5, beginning with a train trip from Chicago to the Quad Cities and then–by boat, train and bike–at various locations along the Mississippi River between the Quad Cities and the Twin Cities. More than 40 communities along the river will be taking part in the celebration.
BY BOAT
Day fares range from $24 to $148 for adults and $10 to $69 for children (2-12). A service fee is added to each ticket.
Overnight cruises on the Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen cost from $1,295 to $1,895 for the four-night St. Louis-Quad Cities trips (June 23-27), from $2,265 to $3,315 for the seven-night Quad Cities-St. Paul trips and from $3,300 to $5,115 for the combined 11-night St. Louis-St. Paul trips. All fares are per person based on double occupancy.
BY TRAIN
Prices range from $26 to $179 for Coach, $55 to $299 for First Class and $86 to $369 for Premium Class. On one-way trips, return motor-coach transportation to the city of origin costs $35.
BY BIKE
The registration fee for the bike ride is $225; the application deadline is June 1. An additional fee ($45) is charged for return motor-coach transportation.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
The participating communities by states (with dates of special events):
Illinois: Cordova (June 26), East Dubuque (June 25-July 5), East Moline (June 27), Fulton (June 27), Galena (May 17-June 30), Moline (June 25-26), Rock Island (June 24-27), Savanna (June 26-27).
Iowa: Bellevue (June 27-28), Bet-tendorf (June 25-27), Clinton (June 27-28), Davenport (June 25-27), Dubuque (June 24-30), Guttenberg (June 27-29), Lan-sing (June 29-30), Le Claire (June 25-27), McGregor (June 25-July 4), Marquette (June 25-July 6).
Wisconsin: Alma ( July 1-8), Cassville (June 26-29), De Soto (June 29), Diamond Bluff ( July 2-3), Ferryville (June 25-July 5), Genoa (June 29-30), La Crosse (June 29-July 4), Maiden Rock (June 26), Pepin (July 1-3), Potosi (June 26-27), Prairie du Chien (June 25-July 5), Prescott ( July 1-5), Stockholm (July 1-3), Trempealeau (June 30-July 11).
Minnesota: Hastings (July 2-3), Lake City (June 25-27, July 2), Minneapolis (May 17-Dec. 31), Red Wing (June 30-July 4), Reeds Landing (June 24-July 4), St. Paul (May 17-Dec. 31), South St. Paul (July 3), Wabasha (June 30, July 2), Winona (June 30-July 1).
— D.D
