The Family
Born on March 2, 1872, heiress Susanne Denkman was the youngest daughter of Frederick Denkman, the founding partner in the Weyerhauser-Denkmann lumber empire. In 1911, she married the farm boy turned lawyer, John Hauberg. Generous in heart and deed, the Hauberg’s became leading philanthropists in the community.
Susanne Hauberg established the West End Settlement, the Rock Island Y.W.C.A., children’s camps, and with her siblings, donation of the Denkmann Memorial Library at Augustana College. Her Terraced Garden, currently under restoration, grew tons of fruits and vegetables she shared with friends, neighbors and members of the local community.
John & Johnny on their boat “Catherine”
Courtesy of Augustana Special Collections
John was instrumental in securing Black Hawk’s Watch Tower as a state park in 1927. His personal collection created the John Hauberg Indian Museum. One of his lasting legacies was as a recorder of the oral histories of the area’s pioneers, housed at the Rock Island County Historical Society Library.
The Hauberg’s had two children, a daughter Catherine and a son John Jr. It’s not hard to imagine the children wandering the gardens and meadow with the family collie dog, Prince.
Johnny and his dad would take their boat, the “Catherine,” out boating along the Mississippi River. He often told of these memories of time on the river with his dad.
Catherine must have truly loved growing up surrounded by the beautiful and lush landscape. Perhaps that’s why she went on to get a degree in Botany and buy the Kampong Botanical Garden.
As adults, John Jr. and Catherine were involved in the family lumber business. The Hauberg children donated this architectural treasure to the city of Rock Island in 1956.
The Hauberg Family Album
