Two towns were platted on the Mississippi River by the end of that decade, Parkhurst to the north and Le Claire to the south.

Le Claire sits at the head of a 15-mile (24 km) stretch of river down to Davenport that is strewn with rocks and was known as the Upper Rapids.

The Le Claire Marine Railway boatyards were established by Thomas Lancaster and Levi Chamberlin in the early 1850s.

's son Samuel made his living off the river at Le Claire before moving to Minnesota where he eventually became the state's governor.

[2] The town stagnated until the 1950s when the continued growth of the Quad Cities down river turned Le Claire into a bedroom community of the larger metro area.

By the late 20th century the houses remained occupied and in good condition, but the commercial buildings were largely empty and rundown.

The buildings on the east side of the street have exposed basements because the land drops steeply to the river at that point.

Most of the commercial buildings from the later decades of the 19th century are brick Italianate structures that feature flat roofs and parapetted fronts.

[2] Houses from this period featured styles that were popular in the late Victorian era: Queen Anne, Eastiake, Shingle, as well as the Italianate.

The old Le Claire city hall at 201-203 N. Cody has a concave hipped roof, pedimented window hoods, and a decorative cornice.