During the 1800s, LeClaire was home to rapids pilots, rivermen who specialized in guiding steamboats and log rafts through the treacherous Rock Island Rapids between LeClaire and Davenport. Because swift currents around the rapids rocks changed with the river stage, special knowledge was necessary to navigate the passage safely. Upper Mississippi River pilots generally left running the rapids to local specialists, including the Suiter family and J.W. Rambo. In 1837, Lt. Robert E. Lee of the U.S. Corps of Engineers surveyed and mapped the Rock Island Rapids, showing the chains of rock that impeded navigation. Philip Suiter arrived in LeClaire in 1836 and was one of the first rapids pilots, learning the rapids by landmarks on the riverbanks. For almost 100 years, Philip Suiter, three of his sons, two grandsons, and two great-grandsons served as riverboat pilots and captains.