Jewels of Our Collection

Leon Bismark “Bix” Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.

With Louis Armstrong and Muggsy Spanier, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s. Little do many know, he was from Davenport, Iowa, and went to Davenport High School.

On January 28, 1918, Bix enrolled in the Davenport High School. The odd, middle of the year enrollment was caused by his having contracted scarlet fever in 1911; thus, he had not completed third grade during the 1911-1912 school year and was half a year behind. Bix had enrolled in grade 8-A at Tyler School on September 3, 1917 and had completed the grade on January 25, 1918.  Bix , not counting the absence due to illness, spent a total of eight and a half years in grammar school. The 1920-1921 school year was the last year Bix attended the Davenport High School. His grades were poor throughout his high school years, and he missed school frequently. For example, in the school year 1920-1921, Bix was absent from school 54 days. His grades were almost equally distributed between Fair (70 to 80) and Poor (60 to 70). Needless to say that Bix did not graduate from high school at the end of the 1921 school year. In fact, Bix had not earned enough credits to enroll as a senior. In order to complete his high school education, in September 1921, Bix was enrolled in Lake Forest Academy, 30 miles north of Chicago. It turned out that Bix never finished high school: he was expelled from Lake Forest Academy in May 1922 for unauthorized escapades.

In 1920, Bix was a member of the Boy’s Glee Club. In the photograph, taken of the group in 1920, Bix is in the last row, first from the right. Bix sang baritone. On May 28, 1920, the Boy’s Glee Club participated in a Concert-Vaudeville program at the Grand Opera House. Bix was a member of the “Black Jazz Babies” and sang “Far Away In The South.” Bix also participated with another boy, Raymond Moore, in a Jazz Specialty number, “Ma Punkin Sue.”

For more information, please visit Bix’s Bixography or visit our Museum.

Phebe Sudlow, teacher and warrior in the fight for equal rights

Phebe Sudlow was a teacher and a warrior in the fight for equal rights. She now has an Intermediate School named after her. If that wasn’t enough, she also was the first female to hold the position of Superintendent in the United States.

Phebe’s teaching methods and successes brought her to the attention of Abram S. Kissell, who was at the time the Superintendent of both the Scott County schools and the Davenport school system. By 1858, Mr. Kissell had moved Phebe to sub-district Number 5, as assistant of the district.

In 1859, Phebe was appointed assistant principal at Grammar School Number 2 and District School Number 3 . Her yearly salary was $350, less than the set wages for a man in the same position. By the next year, at the age of 29, Phebe was principal of both schools—possibly the first woman principal of a public school in the United States—at $400 dollars a year.

During her years in Davenport, Phebe argued with the board of education against gender-based teacher salaries, believing that men and women deserved equal pay for equal positions and experience. Although the board refused to listen at first, Phebe persisted. Eventually, the board did agree to pay all teachers, whether male or female, on the same scale, setting a precedent that had an impact not only on Davenport, but on other Iowa school systems as well.

In 1872, Phebe became principal of the Davenport Training School for Teachers, during which time she also held the position of principal of Grammar School Number 8 (present day Harrison School). Her annual salary was by then $1200, which was considered very good for the time.

On June 19, 1874, Phebe made educational history. She was unanimously chosen by the Davenport board of education to be the new Superintendent of Davenport Schools, the first woman in the history of the United States to be hired at this level of school administration. But before she agreed to take the position, Phebe had questions about the terms of employment, which included a salary somewhat less than William Edward Crosby, her male predecessor, had earned. She told the board, “Gentlemen, if you are cutting the salary because of my experience, I have nothing to say; but if you are doing this because I am a woman, I’ll have nothing more to do with it.” Phebe was immediately hired at the greater salary.

Phebe served as Superintendent for four years, during which she oversaw the construction of a new high school at Pershing and East 6th Streets (this building was later refitted as School Number 9, or Lincoln School, after the present day high school on Main Street was built). Although Davenport citizens may have been skeptical at first to have a woman in charge of the city’s schools, they soon found that she was a great asset to the community. As the Citizen’s Association of Davenport stated in one of their booklets, “All the public schools of the city are now under the charge of a lady Superintendent, who is fully competent for her responsible duties.”

For more information, please visit Phebe Sudlow’s Page or visit our Museum.

We have a wide variety of handwritten Registration Records we have preserved in our museum

We have:

• “Old” Adams (No 2 Schoolhouse)
• “Old” Buchanan (No 14 Schoolhouse)
• “Old” Fillmore (No 12 Schoolhouse)
• “Old” Jackson (No 6 Schoolhouse)
• “Old” Jefferson (No 3 Schoolhouse)
• Johnson
• “Old” Madison (No 4 Schoolhouse)
• “Old” Monroe (No 5 Schoolhouse)
• “Old” Harrison (No 8 Schoolhouse)
• “Old” Pierce (No 13 Schoolhouse)
• “Old” Polk (No 10 Schoolhouse)
• “Old” Taylor (No 11 Schoolhouse)
• “Old” Tyler (No 9 Schoolhouse)
• “Old” Van Buren (No 7 Schoolhouse)
• “Old” Washington (No 1 Schoolhouse)

For more information, please visit our Museum.

Susan Glaspell – famous author, playwright, and Pulitzer Prize winner

Today, Susan Glaspell is known for her famous work, such as Fidelity, a strongly feminist play. Little do many know, the nationally famous Susan Glaspell grew up in Davenport, Iowa. While attending a Davenport Public School, Glaspell was featured in a book they bound and sent to the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Glaspell’s article about the heart, full with illustration, along with the rest of the books sent, are in our collection at the library.

For More information, visit- the Susan Glaspell Foundation’s Website or visit the Museum

“Susie” Glaspell’s early article

Susie Glaspell Heart article actor actress playwright early

Yearbooks of Davenport High Schools

In our museum, we have almost every yearbook from every high school. Feel free to stop in and glance through some. We have:

• The Blackhawk (Central) years: 1908-2012
• The Norwica (North) years: 1986-2011
• The Shaheen (West) years: 1961-2010
• Walcott Int.:  1961-64, 1979-2002, 2005-2007
• Williams Int.: 1993, 2000, 2008
• Young Int.: 1984, 1986-1992, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2007
• Sudlow Int.: 1980-1986
• Central: 1908-2012
• West: 1961- 2010
• North: 1986- 2011

For more information, please visit our Museum.

Davenport Community School Museum Photos

After some research and help from our friends, we filled our display cases with many donated items. Come see what we've found and use our resources for researching for a reunion or your own personal information.

 

Unidentified Photos of Davenport Community School District

As hard as we try, we don’t always know who is in a picture, why it was taken, or even what it is of. Sometimes we just don’t know what happened to somebody. That’s where the community comes in. In the past, we have solved many mysteries by asking around about them. Now we ask for your help. If you recognize anything about these pictures, people, places, etc., please Contact Us. 

Williams boys basketball 1956-57  Do you recognize any of them?

Williams boys wrestling 1956-57  Do you recognize any of them?

Locate Past Students of the Davenport School District

Through our vast supply of Registration Records and Yearbooks, we can locate almost any past student of the District. Please feel free to Contact Us or stop in. Our volunteers would be happy to help you locate a family member or friend in our records. If you have any background information (school, years, etc.), please bring them in to help our volunteers locate the alumni.