George Stephens arrived in Moline in 1841 and helped David Sears build a sawmill. He organized Moline Plow Company in 1879. Stephens square is the site of his home, once a show place. Today, this small park is all that is left of the Stephen’s downtown property, now the home of a large cast-bronze war memorial by C.S. Paolo. Stephen’s Park on 7th Street is another large donation from the Stephen’s Family.
The Stephens family completed their family mausoleum at Riverside Cemetery in 1904. Containing sixty crypts, it is a reproduction of the Nike Apteros, or Temple of Wingless Victory, at Athens, Greece. It is built using the finest Barrie Granite, Italian marble, slate and bronze. For more information regarding the Stephens Family, you will want to look at the book, “Echoes from Riverside Cemetery".