Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk, Iowa Location inside Lee County and Iowa Location inside Lee County and Iowa State Iowa Website City of Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk / ki k k/ is a town/city and a governmental center of county of Lee County, Iowa, United States, along with Fort Madison.

It is also the most southerly town/city in Iowa.

The town/city is titled after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is thought to be buried in Rand Park.

It is positioned in the extreme southeast corner of Iowa where the Des Moines River meets with the Mississippi.

Keokuk, along with the town/city of Fort Madison, is a principal town/city of the Fort Madison-Keokuk micropolitan area, which includes all of Lee County, Iowa and Clark County, Missouri.

Keokuk in 1865.

Situated between the Des Moines and Mississippi rivers, the region that became Keokuk had access to a large trading region and was an ideal locale for settlers.

One of the earliest descriptions of Keokuk was by Caleb Atwater in 1829: " The village became known as Keokuk shortly after the Blackhawk War in 1832.

Keokuk was incorporated on December 13, 1847.

In 1853, Keokuk was one of the centers for outfitting Mormon pioneers for their journey west; more than 2,000 Mormons passed through the city. Keokuk was the longtime home of Orion Clemens, brother of Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain.

Samuel's visits to his brother's home led him to write of the beauty of Keokuk and southeastern Iowa in Life on the Mississippi. During the American Civil War, Keokuk became an embarking point for Union troops heading to fight in southern battles.

Injured soldiers were returned to Keokuk for treatment, so a several hospitals were established.

After the war was over, Keokuk continued its expansion.

A medical college was founded, along with a major-league baseball team, the Keokuk Westerns, in 1875.

The populace of Keokuk reached 15,106 by 1930. During the last half of the twentieth century, Keokuk has turn into less engaged in Mississippi River trade and more dependent on jobs in small-town factories.

Keokuk has deep baseball history that started in 1875 when the Keokuk Westerns played in the National Association.

On May 4, 1875, the Westerns and the Chicago White Stockings (today's Chicago Cubs) played the first experienced baseball game in Iowa. The Keokuk Indians minor league team played in the Iowa State League (1904-1907), Central Association (1908-1915), Mississippi Valley League (1929-1933) and Western League (1935).

After the Indians (1904-1915, 1929-1933, 1935), Keokuk was home to the Keokuk Pirates (1947-1949), Keokuk Kernels (1952-1957), Keokuk Cardinals (1958-1961) and the Keokuk Dodgers (1962). The team was an partner of the St.

Keokuk is positioned at 40 24 9 N 91 23 40 W (40.402525, -91.394372). According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, the town/city has a total region of 10.58 square miles (27.40 km2), of which, 9.13 square miles (23.65 km2) of it is territory and 1.45 square miles (3.76 km2) is water. The lowest point in the state of Iowa is 480 feet (150 m) positioned at the confluence of the Des Moines River with the Mississippi just southwest of Keokuk.

Keokuk has a humid continental climate.

Keokuk is also known for having recorded the highest temperature ever in the state of Iowa with a temperature of 118 F (48 C) recorded here on July 20, 1934. Climate data for Keokuk, IA There are 5,199 housing units at an average density of 565 per square mile (218/km ).

The ethnic makeup of the town/city is 91.9% White, 4.0% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, < 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other competitions, and 2.8% from two or more competitions.

There are 4,482 homeholds out of which 31.1% have kids under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% are married couples living together, 14.4% have a female homeholder with no husband present, and 37.1% are non-families.

32.1% of all homeholds are made up of individuals and 15.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older.

The average homehold size is 2.36 and the average family size is 2.94.

Population spread: 24.4% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who are 65 years of age or older.

There are 5,327 housing units at an average density of 581.6 per square mile (224.5/km ).

The ethnic makeup of the town/city is 92.87% White, 3.90% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other competitions, and 1.99% from two or more competitions.

There are 4,773 homeholds out of which 29.9% have kids under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% are married couples living together, 13.2% have a female homeholder with no husband present, and 36.7% are non-families.

32.4% of all homeholds are made up of individuals and 16.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older.

The average homehold size is 2.35 and the average family size is 2.97.

Population spread: 25.4% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who are 65 years of age or older.

The Keokuk Community School District has two elementary schools (George Washington, and Hawthorne), Keokuk Middle School, and Keokuk High School.

Private education is provided by Keokuk Catholic Schools and Keokuk Christian Academy.

Keokuk is also home to a ground of Southeastern Community College.

A several miles north of Keokuk is the Galland School, a replica of the first schoolhouse constructed in Iowa.

Keokuk, Iowa at bottom, with the Mississippi River, lock and dam No.

The Mississippi River lock and dam along with the hydroelectric power plant were assembled in 1913.

When the plant began operation in August 1913, it was the biggest single powerhouse electric generating plant in the world. It is part of the Keokuk Lock & Dam, both of which are visible from a park at the foot of the commercial district.

Baker, the Grand Theatre was constructed on the foundation of the Keokuk Opera House (c.

The Grand Theatre is owned by the town/city of Keokuk and used as a performing arts center.

The Iowa Water Council has ranked the tap water produced at the Keokuk Waterworks Plant as the "Best Tasting Water In Iowa".

Keokuk is home to the Keokuk National Cemetery, the Keokuk Veteran's Memorial, the Miller House Museum, an annual American Civil War reenactment, and the George M.

Each summer Keokuk is home to "Rollin' on the River," a small-town blues festival that attracts hundreds to Victory Park.

The notable garage band Gonn is from Keokuk Keokuk is home to the Great River Players, a thespian troupe that strives "to furnish character amateur theatrical productions for the tri-state region by encouraging members of the encircling communities to express their creative abilities in all aspects of live theatre." Edward Joseph Mc - Manus, United States federal judge and Lieutenant Governor of Iowa (1959 1961) Rankin, Iowa state legislator and judge Verner Moore White, noted artist, painted petroleum of Keokuk presented to President Theodore Roosevelt Keokuk National Cemetery Keokuk Rail Bridge Keokuk Young Women's Christian Association Building "Keokuk, Iowa".

"American Fact - Finder".

"Population Estimates".

Caleb Atwater (1831) Remarks made on a tour to Prairie du Chien: thence to Washington City, in 1829.

"The Half-Breed Tract", Lee County History.

Life on the Mississippi.

"Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015".

"Enumeration of Population and Housing".

"American Fact - Finder".

Radio Iowa: Fire damages Keokuk school, arson could be cause "Dedicating the Great Keokuk Dam".

For a depiction of Keokuk amid its early boom years see: Michael A.

Ross, "Cases of Shattered Dreams: Justice Samuel Freeman Miller and the Rise and Fall of a Mississippi River Town," Annals of Iowa, 57 (Summer 1998): 201-239.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Keokuk, Iowa.

City of Keokuk "National Register Properties", Keokuk Tourism Website Keokuk.com A portal into what is available in Keokuk Iowa "History of Keokuk", Keokuk Web site HAER - Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel, Lock & Dam No.

19, Upper Mississippi River, Keokuk, Lee County, IA, Library of Congress Keokuk, Iowa at DMOZ City Data Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Keokuk Municipalities and communities of Lee County, Iowa, United States

Categories:
Keokuk, Iowa - County seats in Iowa - Iowa populated places on the Mississippi River - Cities in Lee County, Iowa - Mark Twain - Lowest points of U.S.