Our Story
Our Historic Beginning
After years of being used as a sportsman’s club, investigations showed that the marsh had high levels of lead. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, River Action, Quad City Audubon Society, and Iowa DNR came together to try to save the marsh and conserve its biotic community. The EPA declared the marsh a Superfund Site and began an extensive cleanup of the lead. After the cleanup, wildlife and plant life showed a vast improvement. So much so, that it was decided to make the wetland a nature preserve and Nahant Marsh Education Center was born. Click here for our EPA Cleanup Presentation.
Nahant Marsh Today
The Nahant Marsh preserve is one of the largest urban wetlands on the Upper Mississippi River. It is comprised of marshy areas, mesic, wet and sand prairie, and bottomland forest. A spring-fed quarry, known as Carp Lake, and the surrounding grounds, are part of the Nahant Marsh preserve as well. The 382-acre preserve is owned by the City of Davenport and the Nahant Marsh Board, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Conservation and restoration efforts on the preserve are directed by the Nahant Board. The educational programming is overseen by Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC).
Click here to view the PDF version of our "Nahant Marsh- Natural History of an Urban Marsh" presentation. You may also be interested in the 2001 document, “Restoring Our Resources: Iowa’s Nahant Marsh” U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service." And the Iowa Public Television video, Nahant Marsh Comeback."
Timeline of Nahant History
List of Services
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Pre-1800List Item 1
Nahant Marsh began as a side channel of the Mississippi River. It was eventually cut off to form an oxbow lake. Artifacts suggest that native people inhabited the nearby bluffs and marsh and for over 10,000 years.
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War of 1812List Item 3
Battle of Credit takes place around Credit Island and Nahant Marsh. Sauk warrior Black Hawk and over 1,200 Sauk and British soldiers defeat a force of 350 American soldiers led by future US President Zachary Taylor.
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1833List Item 4
First Euro-American settlers arrive in Iowa. A German Immigrant named Charles Jacob Friday, establishes a homestead on the north side of Nahant Marsh.
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1835 - 1851
Village of Rockingham was established between the banks of the Mississippi River and Nahant Marsh, across from the mouth of the Rock River. At it’s peak, the town had over 500 residents, a hotel, a mill, a ferry, saloons, grocery stores, churches, a post office, and a school. Major flooding in 1844 drives most residents out and the town disbands by 1851.
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1882
A rail yard and train stop is built. The unincorporated town of “Nahant” grows up around the railroad.
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1890 - 1920
A steamboat harbor, large ice houses, a slaughterhouse, and at least 3 hotels are constructed at Nahant. Several “shantytowns” are built nearby.
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1920 - 1930
Nahant becomes known for night clubs, brothels, and illegal alcohol operations, lead initially by the notorious Helen Van Dale.
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1930 - 1940
Locals attempt to drain Nahant Marsh by digging a series of drainage ditches through the marsh.
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1940 - 1960
The local workforce declines as ice is replaced by refrigeration and steam is replaced by diesel. The town of Nahant begins to fade into history.
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1969 - 1994
The Scott County Sportsmen’s Association operates a shooting range at Nahant. The shooting club ceases operations after concerns are raised over lead contamination.
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1995 - 1997
High levels of lead are discovered in the marsh, as well as deformed cattails, and sick and dying waterfowl.
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1998 - 1999
River Action, along with other community partners, spearheads a grass-roots effort to rehabilitate the marsh. The US Fish and Wildlife Service and US Environmental Protection Agency work to remove 140 tons of lead from the marsh.
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2000
Following the restoration of the marsh, Nahant Marsh Education Center is founded on 78 acres.
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2015
The Nahant Marsh preserve grows to 250 acres. An addition is built to keep up with rising demand for programming.
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2024
With support from the community, Nahant Marsh expands to 382 acres and completes work on new trails and a new operations building.
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