Rock Island Arsenal
- Also Known As: Rock Island Arsenal Rodman Plan--Old Stone Buildings also Arsenal
- Address: Rock Island Ave
- Vicinity: Rock Island in the Mississippi River
The Rock Island Arsenal's proposed National Historic Landmark district is situated on a 948 acre island in the upper Mississippi River between the cities of Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa. From 1862 to the present, the island has been the constant site of the Rock Island Arsenal.
The Rock Island Arsenal's proposed historic landmark district derives its significance largely from the General Thomas J Rodman planned and inspired Old Stone Buildings. These buildings represented one of the largest military construction projects of the late nineteenth century. After assuming command of the Rock Island Arsenal in 1865, Brevet Brigadier General Thomas J Rodman devised a master plan for the installation that called for the construction of ten large manufacturing shops supplemented by a variety of ancillary buildings. Under General Rodman's plan, the arsenal's main industrial site was transferred to the high ground at the center of the island. Also, the north central shore of the island was set aside for a staff residential area. Surviving in highly intact condition, the buildings make a cohesive architectural statement that, in terms of both their scale and style have no counterpart among government installations in the Midwest. In addition to their architectural importance, the Rodman plan - Old Stone Buildings are the administrative and technological core of the Rock Island Arsenal. These buildings are vital for understanding the history of American ordnance development and production from the Spanish-American War to the present. Because of their architectural, historical, and/or technological merit, the Rodman plan buildings are classified by the US Army as category I historic properties. - NRHP, 20 June 1988