The four-lane Government Bridge (or Arsenal Bridge as it is sometimes known) connecting Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa spans the mighty Mississippi, yet few that cross it today realize the debt it owes to a much earlier one, built slightly more downriver to speed up travel and commerce between the states. Few also realize that first Rock Island Bridge was almost abandoned, owing the heavy opposition by steamboat operators worried about their livelihood and other political forces fighting for a north-south transportation route over the river.

On this day, April 21, in 1856 the first trains passed over the Mississippi, marking the Rock Island Bridge open for business. The culmination of a two-year effort, the structure consisted of five wooden spans and one draw span, which was located in the middle of the river. Two coats of white paint kept the wood from weathering.

The Rock Island Bridge was built to connect the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad with the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad in Iowa. Joined together, the two rail lines would have provided a direct rail link between New York, the Mississippi Valley, and the Far West. Opposition was led by the steamboat operators, who favored the development of north-south traffic along the waterway, and who also claimed the bridge would interfere with traffic. Ironically, it was the steamboat traffic that interfered with the bridge: just days after the opening, a steamboat collision under the wooden resulted in a fire that damaged a section.