Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, United States, along with

Fort Madison Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along the ...

. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is thought to be buried in Rand Park. It is in the extreme southeast corner of Iowa, where the

Des Moines River The Des Moines River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwestern United States that is approximately long from its farther headwaters.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Na ...

meets the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. It is at the junction of U.S. Routes 61, 136 and 218. Just across the rivers are the towns of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and

Warsaw, Illinois Warsaw is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,607 at the 2010 census, a decline from 1,793 in 2000. The city is notable for its historic downtown and the Warsaw Brewery, which operated for more than 100 years be ...

, and

Alexandria, Missouri Alexandria is a city in eastern Clark County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 105. Alexandria is part of the Fort Madison– Keokuk, IA-MO Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Alexandria was founded ...

. Keokuk, along with the city of

, is a principal city of the

Fort Madison-Keokuk micropolitan area A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, which includes all of Lee County, Iowa, Hancock County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

and Clark County,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

History

Situated between the Des Moines and Mississippi rivers, the area that became Keokuk had access to a large trading area and was an ideal location for settlers. In 1820, the US Army prohibited soldiers stationed along the Mississippi River from having wives who were Native American. Dr. Samuel C. Muir, a surgeon stationed at Fort Edwards (near present-day

), resigned his commission rather than leave his Indian wife and crossed the river to resettle. He built a log cabin for them at the bottom of the bluff, and became the area's first white settler. As

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

traffic on the Mississippi increased, more European Americans began to settle here. Around 1827,

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor who made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by History of opium in China, smuggl ...

established a post of his American Fur Company at the foot of the bluff. Five buildings were erected to house workers and the business. This area became known as the "Rat Row". One of the earliest descriptions of Keokuk was by

Caleb Atwater Caleb Atwater (December 1778 – March 13, 1867) was an American politician, historian, and early archaeologist in the state of Ohio. He served several terms as a state politician and was appointed as United States postmaster of Circleville, Ohio ...

in 1829: The settlement was part of the land designated in 1824 as a

Half-Breed Tract A Half-Breed Tract was a segment of land designated in the western states by the United States government in the 19th century specifically for Métis of American Indian and European or European-American ancestry, at the time commonly known as ha ...

by the United States Government for allotting land to

mixed-race Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-eth ...

descendants of the Sauk and

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

tribes. Typically children of European or British men (fur traders and trappers) and Native women, they were often excluded from tribal communal lands because their fathers were not tribal members. Native Americans considered the settlement a neutral ground. Rules for the tract prohibited individual sale of the land, but the US Congress ended this provision in 1837, creating a land rush and instability."The Half-Breed Tract"
, Lee County History. Retrieved 1/28/08. Centering on the riverboat trade, the settlement continued to grow. The village became known as Keokuk shortly after the

Blackhawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crossed ...

in 1832. Why residents named it after the Sauk chief is unknown. Keokuk was incorporated on December 13, 1847. Barnard States Merriam was elected mayor in 1852 and reelected in 1854. In 1853, Keokuk was one of the centers for outfitting additional immigrant

Latter-Day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

pioneers for their handcart journey west; 2,000 Christian Latter-Day Saints passed through the city. Keokuk was the longtime home of

Orion Clemens Orion Clemens (July 17, 1825 – December 11, 1897) was the first and only Secretary of the Nevada Territory. His younger brother Samuel Langhorne Clemens became a famous author under the pen name Mark Twain. Early life Born in Gainesboro, Ten ...

, brother of

Samuel Clemens Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

, 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.'' At one time, because of its position at the foot of the lower rapids of the Mississippi, Keokuk was known as the Gate City. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Keokuk became an embarking point for Union troops heading to fight in southern battles. Injured soldiers were returned to Keokuk for treatment, so several hospitals were established. A national cemetery was designated for those who did not survive. After the war was over, Keokuk continued its expansion. A medical college was founded, along with a major-league baseball team, the

Keokuk Westerns The Western baseball club of Keokuk, Iowa, or Keokuk Westerns in modern nomenclature, was a professional baseball team in the National Association in 1875, the last season of that first professional league. It is considered a major league team by ...

, in 1875. In 1913, Lock and Dam No. 19 was completed nearby on the Mississippi River. The population of Keokuk reached 15,106 by 1930. During the last half of the 20th century, Keokuk became less engaged in Mississippi River trade and more dependent on jobs in local factories. The town celebrated 150 years in 1997.

Geography

Keokuk is in Iowa's southeast corner along the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

and just northeast of the

Hamilton, Illinois Hamilton is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,951 at the 2010 census, a decline from 3,029 in 2000. The city is located directly across the Mississippi River from Keokuk, Iowa. Hamilton is the largest city in ...

, lies to the east across the Mississippi on

U.S. Route 136 U.S. Route 136 is an east-west U.S. highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 36. It runs from Edison, Nebraska, at U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 34 to the Interstate 74/Interstate 465 interchange in Speedway, Indiana. This is a distance of . U ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The lowest point in the state of Iowa is , located to the immediate south-west of Keokuk where the confluence of the Des Moines and Mississippi Rivers creates a

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

between Iowa,

and

Climate

Keokuk has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

. It is known for having recorded the highest temperature ever in Iowa, , on July 20, 1934.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 10,780 people, 4,482 households, and 2,818 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,199 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 4.0%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.8%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, < 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.3% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.8% from two or more races. 1.8% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. There were 4,482 households, out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 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 were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 11,427 people, 4,773 households, and 3,021 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,327 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.87%

, 3.90%

, 0.27% Native American, 0.52%

, 0.01%

, 0.45% from

, and 1.99% from two or more races. 1.09% of the population were

of any race. There were 4,773 households, out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 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 were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,586, and the median income for a family was $39,574. Males had a median income of $31,213 versus $21,420 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $17,144. 11.9% of the population and 8.1% of families were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

. Out of the total population, 15.7% of those under the age of 18 and 13.4% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Education

The Keokuk Community School District has two elementary schools (George Washington, and Hawthorne), Keokuk Middle School, and Keokuk High School. Several additional elementary schools have been closed over the years (Torrence, Lincoln, Garfield, Wells Carey, and Jefferson). The middle school was damaged by a fire in 2001 and replaced by a new school on a lot next to the high school. Private education is provided by Keokuk Catholic Schools (St. Vincent's School) and Keokuk Christian Academy. Keokuk Catholic previously had a senior high school division, Cardinal Stritch High School; in 2006 it merged into Holy Trinity High School in

. Keokuk is also home to a campus of Southeastern Community College. A few miles north of Keokuk is the Galland School, a replica of the first schoolhouse constructed in Iowa.

Arts and culture

Attractions

Lock and Dam No. 19

The Mississippi River lock and dam along with the

hydroelectric power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

, owned and operated by Ameren Missouri, were built in 1913. They still use most of the original equipment. When the plant began operation in August 1913, it was the largest 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. Built in 1913, the old lock was too small to serve the newer, larger barges. It was replaced in 1957 with a 1200' x 110' lock. At the time of construction in 1913, this was the longest dam in the world, with the longest transmission line and the highest voltage in the world. The Chief Engineer was Hugh L. Cooper.

Grand Theater

Designed by Merle F. Baker, the Grand Theatre was constructed on the foundation of the Keokuk Opera House (c. 1880), which burned down in 1923. Modeled after theaters in Chicago, it was praised as one of the finest theaters in the country at the time. The Grand Theatre is owned by the city of Keokuk and used as a performing arts center. The theatre has housed many historically important performers over the years, including

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dis ...

and Maynard Ferguson.

Other Attractions

* Keokuk National Cemetery * Keokuk Veteran's Memorial * Miller House Museum * annual

American Civil War reenactment American Civil War reenactment is an effort to recreate the appearance of a particular battle or other event associated with the American Civil War by hobbyists known (in the United States) as Civil War reenactors, or living historians. Alt ...

* George M. Verity River Museum.

In popular culture

Keokuk is mentioned among funny place names by

Krusty the Clown Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (; ) better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castel ...

in ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' sixth-season episode "

Homie the Clown "Homie the Clown" is the fifteenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 12, 1995. In the episode, Homer becomes a Krusty ...

Sports

Keokuk has deep baseball history that started in 1875 when the

played in the National Association. On May 4, 1875, the Westerns and the Chicago White Stockings (today's

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

) played the first professional baseball game in Iowa. The Keokuk Indians minor league team played in the Iowa State League (1904-1907),

Central Association The Central Association was an American minor league baseball league. It began operations in 1908, as it was essentially renamed from the 1907 Iowa State League. The Central Association ran continuously through 1917. It was reorganized thirty year ...

(1908-1915),

Mississippi Valley League The Mississippi Valley League (MVL) was a baseball Class D level minor league that operated from 1922 through 1933. Playing its last year as a Class B level league, the league franchises were based in Iowa and Illinois. Like many leagues at the ...

(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 affiliate of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

and the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. Notable players included baseball pioneer

Bud Fowler Bud Fowler (March 16, 1858 – February 26, 1913), born "John W. Jackson", was an American baseball player, manager, and club organizer. He is the earliest known African-American player in organized professional baseball. He was elected to the ...

, 1961 Home Run Record Holder

Roger Maris Roger Eugene Maris (September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is best known for setting a new MLB single-season home run record with 61 ...

, Player/Announcer

Tim McCarver James Timothy McCarver (born October 16, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to , most prominently as a member of the St. Louis Cardina ...

and three time World Series Champion with the New York Yankees Jack Saltzgaver. Keokuk is nicknamed "The Racing Capital of the World" and "Home of Champions" for having many racing drivers win races and championships. Don White was the first driver to impact nationally; he won the 1954, 1955 and 1958 IMCA national championships. White's brother-in-law Ernie Derr won the 12 IMCA national championships between 1953 and 1971. White helped

Dick Hutcherson Richard "Dick" Hutcherson (November 30, 1931 – November 6, 2005) was an American businessman and a former stock car racer. A native of Keokuk, Iowa, Hutcherson drove in NASCAR competition from 1964 to 1967. He won 14 races, finishing runner-up ...

get started; Hutcherson won the 1963 and 1964 IMCA championship before moving to

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

and finishing second in points.

Ramo Stott Ramo Stott (April 6, 1934 – August 19, 2021) was an American stock car racing driver from Keokuk, Iowa. He competed in NASCAR Winston Cup, USAC stock car, and ARCA. He was a 2011 inductee in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. Career ...

won the 1970 and 1971 ARCA and 1976

USAC Stock Car The USAC Stock Car division was the stock car racing class sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC). The division raced nationally; drivers from USAC's open wheel classes like Indy cars, Silver Crown, sprints, and midgets frequently comp ...

championships. White, Derr, Hutcherson, and Stott were nicknamed "The Keokuk Gang".

Ron Hutcherson Ronald Hutcherson (April 4, 1943 – August 25, 2022) was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series and ARCA driver whose career spanned from 1972 to 1979. He was the brother of NASCAR race winner and IMCA champion Dick Hutcherson. Engine builder ...

, Dick's brother, also competed nationally.

Notable people

* Edward P. Alexander, author, historian, and educator * Herman C. Baehr, 36th Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio *

William H. Clagett William Horace Clagett (September 21, 1838 – August 3, 1901) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from various places in the United States. He was the uncle of Samuel B. Pettengill. Born in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Clagett mov ...

, politician *

, first and only secretary of Nevada Territory and brother of Mark Twain *

William Lane Craig William Lane Craig (born August 23, 1949) is an American analytic philosopher, Christian apologist, author and Wesleyan theologian who upholds the view of Molinism and neo-Apollinarianism. He is Professor of Philosophy at Houston Baptist ...

, analytic philosopher and Christian apologist *

Samuel Curtis Samuel Curtis (born in Walworth, Surrey on 29 August 1779-died at La Chaire, Rozel Bay, Jersey, on 6 January 1860

, military officer * Mary Fels, philanthropist, suffragist, Georgist *

, first professional African American baseball player *

Nathaniel Lyon Gardner Nathaniel Lyon Gardner (February 26, 1864 – August 15, 1937), was an American phycologist and mycologist who taught at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was the curator of the University Herbarium. He is known for his work on s ...

, botanist, born in Keokuk"Nathaniel Lyon Gardner, Botany: Berkeley"
University of California: In Memoriam, 1937. * Jerry Harrington, baseball player * James B. Howell, newspaper editor and U.S. Senator, resided in Keokuk *

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

, aviator, engineer, industrialist, film producer and director, and philanthropist *

Howard R. Hughes, Sr. Howard Robard Hughes Sr. (September 9, 1869 – January 14, 1924) was an American businessman and inventor. He was the founder of Hughes Tool Company. He invented the "Sharp–Hughes" rotary tri-cone rock drill bit during the Texas Oil Boom. He is ...

, businessman and inventor; father of Howard Hughes *

Rupert Hughes Rupert Raleigh Hughes (January 31, 1872 – September 9, 1956) was an American novelist, film director, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, military officer, and music composer. He was the brother of Howard R. Hughes Sr. and uncle of billionaire Howa ...

, novelist, screenwriter, film director, historian; uncle of Howard Hughes *

, stock car driver *

John N. Irwin John Nichol Irwin (December 25, 1844 – December 22, 1905) was an American businessman, politician and diplomat. Among the positions he held were Mayor of Keokuk, Iowa, Governor of Idaho Territory, Governor of Arizona Territory, and U.S. M ...

, Governor of Idaho Territory (1883) and of Arizona Territory (1890–1892) *

Edward Kimball Edward Marshall Kimball (June 26, 1859 – January 4, 1938) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1912 and 1936. Like many older actors of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, he enjoyed a varied stage ...

, actor * Lloyd Steel Lourie, orthodontist *

Elsa Maxwell Elsa Maxwell (May 24, 1883 – November 1, 1963) was an American gossip columnist and author, songwriter, screenwriter, radio personality and professional hostess renowned for her parties for royalty and high society figures of her day. Max ...

, gossip columnist, socialite *

Edward Joseph McManus Edward Joseph McManus (February 9, 1920 – March 20, 2017) served as the Lieutenant Governor of Iowa and served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa for over 50 years. Educatio ...

, U.S. federal judge and Lieutenant Governor of Iowa (1959 – 1961) * Grace Medes, biochemist *

Samuel Freeman Miller Samuel Freeman Miller (April 5, 1816 – October 13, 1890) was an American lawyer and physician who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1862 until his death in 1890. Early life, education, and medical career Born ...

, Supreme Court justice *

Conrad Nagel John Conrad Nagel (March 16, 1897 – February 24, 1970) was an American film, stage, television and radio actor. He was considered a famous matinée idol and leading man of the 1920s and 1930s. He was given an Academy Honorary Award in 1940 and ...

, actor and a founder of the Academy Awards *

Richard Page Richard Lewis Page (born 22 February 1941) is a former Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and from December 1979 to 2005. Early life Born the son of Victor Charles Page, he went to the independent H ...

, lead vocalist and bass player for the band Mr. Mister *

George Pomutz George Pomutz (in Romanian: Gheorghe Pomuț, in Hungarian: Pomucz György or Pomutz György; May 31, 1818 – October 12, 1882) was a Romanian-American officer during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 against the Habsburgs, a general in the Union ...

, Union Army officer and diplomat * Mike Pyle, NFL player * Palmer Pyle, NFL player * John M. Rankin, Iowa state legislator and judge * Hugh T. Reid, Union Army general *

Jack Saltzgaver Otto Hamlin "Jack" Saltzgaver (January 23, 1903 – February 1, 1978) was an American professional baseball player. The native of Croton, Iowa, as an infielder, appeared in 278 Major League Baseball games for the New York Yankees (1932; 193 ...

, Major League Baseball Player New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates *

Jeremy Soule Jeremy Soule (; born December 19, 1975) is an American composer of soundtracks for film, television, and video games. He has composed soundtracks for over 60 games and over a dozen other works during his career, including ''The Elder Scrolls'', ' ...

composer of video game soundtracks *

Frank Steunenberg Frank Steunenberg (August 8, 1861December 30, 1905) was the fourth governor of the State of Idaho, serving from 1897 until 1901. He was assassinated in 1905 by one-time union member Harry Orchard, who was also a paid informant for the Cripple C ...

, Governor of Idaho (1897–1901) *

, stock car driver *

James Vandenberg James Vandenberg (born November 24, 1989) is a former American football quarterback. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Minnesota Vikings in 2013. He played college football at Iowa. High school career Vandenberg went to Keokuk Hi ...

, football quarterback * Don White, stock car driver * Verner Moore White, artist, painted oil of Keokuk presented to President Theodore Roosevelt *

Annie Turner Wittenmyer Sarah "Annie" Turner Wittenmyer (August 26, 1827 – February 2, 1900) was an American social reformer, relief worker Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-t ...

, social reformer and relief worker

References

External links

City of Keokuk

Keokuk Tourism Website
Keokuk.com
A portal into what is available in Keokuk Iowa

Keokuk Web site
George M. Verity Riverboat Museum

HAER - Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel, Lock & Dam No. 19, Upper Mississippi River, Keokuk, Lee County, IA
Library of Congress *

Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Keokuk
{{Authority control Cities in Iowa Cities in Lee County, Iowa County seats in Iowa Iowa populated places on the Mississippi River Lowest points of U.S. states