"Lockkeeper's" House is a historic building located south of Eldon along 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 N ...

Davis County, Iowa Davis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,110. The county seat is Bloomfield. Davis County is included in the Ottumwa, IA Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Davis County wa ...

, United States. More specifically it is located in Section 12 of Salt Creek Township. Local legend associates this stone house with the Des Moines River Improvement Project, which was conceived to build a

lock and dam A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a chamber in a permanently fixed position i ...

system along the Des Moines River to make it navigable from the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

to the

Raccoon River The Raccoon River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 26, 2011 tributary of the Des Moines River in central Iowa in the United States. As measured using the long ...

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

. Historically, the resource was situated at this location for access and control over the river locks proposed to be built at Eldon. With the failure of the Des Moines River Navigation Company the project failed in the early 1841's. Built in 1857 the Lockkeeper's House consists of a 1 story, end gabled, solid masonry building. The building served only as a residence having never been used for the locks, which were never built. It has a two-over-two room plan and a masonry central dividing wall with a built in chimney. While local legend may not be accurate, the 1-story structure is a fine example of mid-19th century

vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range a ...

. The house is unique in that

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

was rarely used in residential construction in this part of Iowa. with It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2009.

References

Houses completed in 1857 Vernacular architecture in Iowa Houses in Davis County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Davis County, Iowa Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa 1857 establishments in Iowa {{DavisCountyIA-NRHP-stub