Historical Markers
A stylish woman in sunglasses leans on a vintage gas pump at a retro-themed station - historic gas stations

By car · principal city, Illinois

Historic Gas Stations in Rock Island, IL

Filling stations and garages from the early days of the automobile, listed near you where they still stand.

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Photo: MFitzart on Pexels

Rock Island is one of the cities the Davenport–Moline–Rock Island, IA-IL metro area is officially named after. The list below comes straight from the published records, with the distance from the center of Rock Island, IL and the source for each site.

People gathered around a bus at a gas station - historic gas stations
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A vintage car parked beside a retro fuel pump - historic gas stations
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Old texaco gas station with vintage pump - historic gas stations
Photo: Ronald Crow on Unsplash

On the record near Rock Island, IL

The 11 nearest

11 listed sites on the record match historic gas stations within 120 miles of Rock Island, IL, out of 314 listed sites of every kind within 25 miles.

  1. International Harvester Truck Sales and Service Stationunder a mile from the center of Rock Island · Building · Davenport · listed 2025National Register of Historic Places
  2. Wolters Filling Station1.8 miles from the center of Rock Island · Building · Davenport · listed 1984National Register of Historic Places
  3. Skelly Service Station2.8 miles from the center of Rock Island · Building · Moline · listed 2024National Register of Historic Places
  4. Kreinbring Phillips 66 Gas Station30 miles from the center of Rock Island · Building · Lowden · listed 2000National Register of Historic Places
  5. Best Oil and Refining Company Service Station64 miles from the center of Rock Island · Building · Cedar Rapids · listed 2014National Register of Historic Places
  6. Freitag's Pure Oil Service Station90 miles from the center of Rock Island · Building · Monroe · listed 1980National Register of Historic Places
  7. Sprague's Super Service108 miles from the center of Rock Island · Building · Normal · listed 2008National Register of Historic Places
  8. Standard Oil Gasoline Station112 miles from the center of Rock Island · Building · Odell · listed 1997National Register of Historic Places
  9. Pioneer Oil Company Filling Station112 miles from the center of Rock Island · Building · Grinnell · listed 2013National Register of Historic Places
  10. Master Service Station113 miles from the center of Rock Island · Building · Waterloo · listed 2011National Register of Historic Places
  11. Ambler's Texaco Gas Station115 miles from the center of Rock Island · Site · Dwight · listed 2001National Register of Historic Places

Distances are straight-line from the center of Rock Island, IL. Many sites are private property or working buildings - view them from the public way. See them on the map.

Historic Gas Stations in Rock Island, step by step

  1. 1

    See every listed site of this kind in the area

  2. 2

    Sort by distance and pick the closest few

  3. 3

    Read the record for the year, the builder and the use

  4. 4

    View from the public way and note what has changed

  5. 5

    Collect the set and move on to the next county

What people in Rock Island, IL ask first

How much does it cost to visit these sites in Rock Island, IL?

Most listed sites can be seen from a public road or sidewalk at no cost, and the app is free to use. Some sites are private homes, working churches or museums with their own hours and fees. The record for each one says what it is, so you know before you go.

Where does the information on these sites come from?

From published records: the National Register of Historic Places, the Recorded Texas Historic Landmark program, and the Georgia Historical Society and Georgia Department of Natural Resources marker program. Every site on the page names its source.

Are these buildings open to the public?

Some are, many are not. Churches, courthouses and libraries usually keep regular hours. Houses, barns and mills are often private and best seen from the road. The record for each site tells you which kind it is.

What does it mean when a site is on the National Register?

It means the property was documented and accepted as historically significant. Listing honors the site, it does not open it to visitors or stop an owner from using it.

How a visit works in Rock Island

  1. Step 1

    Find the place

    Every stop starts as a pin with real coordinates. In Rock Island, IL the map shows what is listed around you and how far each one is, so the first decision is where to go, and it takes a few seconds.

  2. Step 2

    Read the story

    The record behind each marker is kept whole: what happened there, when, who was involved, and why it was worth a sign. You read it standing where it happened, which is the part a textbook cannot give you.

  3. Step 3

    Get there under your own power

    Walk it, run it, hike it, ride it or drive it. Stops in Rock Island, IL are chained into routes that fit the way you move, so a lunch break, a long run or a Saturday drive can all pass through history.

  4. Step 4

    Collect it and come back

    Each stop you reach counts toward a badge, and a photo or a correction you send makes the record better for the next person. The map remembers where you have been, so the next trip starts where the last one ended.

The rules that make it work

The record comes first

Every site on these pages comes from a published register or marker program, with its source named. Nothing is listed that is not on the record.

Read the whole story

A marker is a few lines on a post. The story behind it is longer, and it includes the hard parts. Both are worth the stop.

Movement makes it stick

People remember the places they walked to. A route through five markers teaches more than fifty marker pages read on a couch.

Local beats famous

The marker two streets over usually has a better story than the one in the guidebook, and nobody else is standing in front of it.

Respect the ground

Many sites are private homes, working churches or cemeteries. View from the public way, follow posted hours, and leave it as you found it.

Every visitor can improve it

Markers go missing, get moved, or carry mistakes. A photo or a location fix from the person standing there is how the record stays right.

More ways in around Rock Island, IL

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Historic Gas Stations near Rock Island

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