|
Dr. S. W. Moorhead
Keokuk, the metropolis of Lee County, is beautifully
situated upon the romantic and picturesque bluffs
overlooking the Mississippi River at the foot of the
Des Moines Rapids, in the southern part of Jackson
Township and the extreme southeastern corner of the
State of Iowa. This place was called by the Indians
Puck-e-she- tuck, which some writers have interpreted
as meaning "the foot of the rapids," but Francis
Labiseur, who acted as interpreter in the negotiation
of some of the early treaties, and who understood the
language of the Sacs and Foxes, says its liberal
meaning is "where the water runs still."
The first habitation built by a white man within the
present limits of the city was the log cabin erected
by Dr. Samuel C. Muir in 1820. In an address before
the Old Settlers' Association in 1875, Capt. James W.
Campbell says this cabin "stood on the right hand
corner of Main and Levee, as you ascend the street."
Doctor Muir had been a surgeon in the United States
army and was stationed at Fort Edwards. He married an
Indian girl and when the government officials issued
an order that all soldiers having Indian wives should
abandon them, he resigned his position as surgeon.
Circumstances then compelled him to practice medicine
elsewhere, so he leased his claim at Puck-e-she-tuck
to Otis Reynolds and John Culver, of St. Louis, who
employed Moses Stillwell as their agent to open a
trading house there.
Stillwell, accompanied by his two brothers-in-law,
Amos and Valencourt Van Ausdal, took possession in the
spring of 1828. During the preceding winter he had
visited the claim and erected two cabins, one of
which, near the foot of Main Street, he occupied with
his family — the first white family to take up a
residence at the foot of the rapids on the Iowa side
of the river. A little further up the hill he cleared
a small patch of ground, where he raised some corn and
potatoes in 1828. A short distance below the cabin he
built a stone building about 15 by 40 feet, using the
stone bluff for the back wall. This building was
erected for a warehouse for Culver & Reynolds and
was used until it was carried away by the great ice
gorge in 1832. Margaret, a daughter of Moses
Stillwell, born in 183 1, was the first white child to
be born in what is now the City of Keokuk.
Shortly after Mr. Stillwell established himself at the
foot of the rapids, the American Fur Company erected a
row of five houses at the junction of Blondeau and
Levee streets and installed Russell Farnham as
resident manager; Joshua Palean, Mark Aldrich and
Edward Bushnell, clerks. Paul Bessette, John Shook and
Baptiste Neddo came as trappers and hunters. The
buildings of the American Fur Company were of hewed
logs and for many years were known as "Rat Row." John
Connolly, John Forsyth, James Thorn and John Tolman
were employed by the company as itinerant peddlers and
in the collection of furs. Andre Santamont also came
with the company's employees and built his cabin not
far from where the roundhouse of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad was afterward
erected. He was the stepfather of Francis Labiseur,
the interpreter above mentioned.
The lease of Reynolds & Culver expired in 1830,
when Doctor Muir again took possession of his claim
and formed a partnership with Isaac R. Campbell, the
firm succeeding to the business established by Moses
Stillwell. Doctor Muir died of cholera in 1832 and at
the breaking out of the Black Hawk war in that year
the American Fur Company sold "Rat Row" to Isaac R.
Campbell and abandoned the field, leaving Mr. Campbell
and thirty-four employees as the entire male
population. Fears of an Indian attack were
entertained, and at the suggestion of Maj. Jenifer T.
Spriggs, who had come to survey the half-breed tract,
a stockade was built around Mr. Campbell's
establishment and a small blockhouse was constructed.
The men were organized into a military company, with
Major Spriggs in command. Mr. Campbell was elected
lieutenant and commissary and wrote to the commandant
at St. Louis for a supply of arms and ammunition. The
company was furnished with a small swivel gun,
thirty-four muskets and 500 rounds of ammunition, but
no attack was made.
Among the white men in Keokuk at this period were
William McBride, Thomas W. Taylor, John Gaines,
William Price and Alexander Hood, all of whom came in
the year 1831. In an article on "Recollections of the
Early Settlement," written by Isaac R. Campbell and
published in the Annals of Iowa for July, 1867, the
writer says: "Horse racing was a great source of
amusement to us; in this sport our red friends were
ever ready to participate, and at times lost on the
result every article they possessed on earth. Keokuk
and Pash-e-pe-ho, chiefs of the Sac tribe, were more
passionately fond of this amusement than any of their
contemporaries. And when amusements of this kind
ceased to be entertaining, we called upon our
pugilists, Hood McBride and Price, to enliven the
scene by a friendly exhibition of their prowess, by
knocking down and dragging out a few of the
disinterested spectators. We had no prize belt to
award the victor, as the science and courtesies of the
ring had not then arrived at the perfection they have
since. Before this era, civil law, of course, was
unknown, and our salutary mode of punishment for crime
was by prohibiting the criminal from the use of
intoxicating liquors, this being the greatest
punishment we could inflict."
For a number of years after the first settlement was
made at the foot of the rapids the place was known by
various names, such as Puck-e-she-tuck, the Point,
Foot of the Rapids, etc. There seems to be some
difference of opinion as to when the name "Keokuk" was
first adopted. Dr. Isaac Galland says: "July 4, 1829,
was celebrated on a steamboat lying at the foot of
what is now Main Street. It was at this meeting,
presided over by Col. George Davenport, that the name
Keokuk was given to the place."
This statement was made in a letter written by Doctor
Galland a few years before his death. Isaac R.
Campbell says that "up to the year 1835, the
settlement at the foot of the rapids had been without
a distinctive name. * It was finally proposed by a
number
of steamboat men, while detained here lighting over
the rapids, that it should commemorate the name of the
peace chief of the Sac tribe. From this time the name
Keokuk was adopted, and, in 1837, I sold my potato
patch inclosure to Dr. Isaac Galland, agent of the New
York Land Company, and, under his supervision, a city
in embryo was formally inaugurated and recorded as
'Keokuk.' "
Whether the name was adopted in 1829 or not until some
years later, the authorities above quoted agree that
the honor of its selection belongs to steamboat
men.
In the spring of 1837 Dr. Isaac Galland, agent of the
New York Land Company, assisted by David W. Kilbourne,
laid out the original town plat, which was filed for
record in October, 1840. In his inaugural address as
mayor of Keokuk, delivered on April 10, 1855, Mr.
Kilbourne said:
"When the square mile upon which Keokuk is located was
laid off into streets, lots and blocks, in 1837, the
main portion of it was a dense forest; and where Main
Street now is, so thick was the timber and underbrush,
that it was difficult to make the survey. Then a few
log cabins on the river bank, which had been erected
and used for Indian trading houses, composed all the
improvements. Then the homes of Keokuk and Black Hawk
were near, and the graves of many of the tribes were
prominent objects upon the bluffs within our town
site, over which now stand the houses of she-mo-ko
(the white man)."
In June, 1837, occurred the first public sale of lots
in the new Town of Keokuk. It had been advertised far
and wide and was largely attended. A steamboat was
chartered at St. Louis and brought up a large number
of prospective buyers. At that time the only buildings
were a few scattering cabins — probably three or four
— and the old trading house called "Rat Row." Hotel
accommodations were not to be had for love or money,
and the passengers occupied their state rooms on the
boat as bed rooms during the sale. Although the number
of lots sold at this sale was not as great as had been
anticipated, the projectors of the town found
consolation in the fact that one corner lot sold for
$1,500, an indication that Keokuk's future was to be
one great prosperity.
Shortly after this sale the old Muir property was
purchased by L. B. Fleak, who opened a boat store on
the levee, bought two barges and engaged in the
lightering business over the rapids. In 1839 Moses
Gray built the old "Keokuk House," a frame structure,
three stories in height, built of split lumber and
roofed with clapboards. It was 26 by 44 feet and had
partitions made of green cottonwood boards. Verily, in
this building the "walls had ears," but such was
Keokuk's first hotel. Mr. Fleak rented the house and
opened it as a hotel, but soon after that certain
creditors of Dr. Isaac Galland, who had bought the
building of Gray, secured a judgment against him and
the house was sold. It was bid in for the St. Louis
creditors by Mr. Fleak for the amount of the judgment
($800), and not long afterward he bought the hotel for
$640. A large addition to the hotel was built two
years later. Prince de Joinville and his retinue were
guests at this hotel soon after the addition was
completed.
Street Scene, Keokuk
Some Early Events
The death of Doctor Muir, in 1832, was the first to
occur in Keokuk. Moses Stillwell died in 1834, in the
cabin he had built some years before near the foot of
High Street, and John Gaines, the first justice or
notary, died on April 21, 1839.
During the days of trading houses, the Indians brought
in large quantities of elk, deer, wolf, beaver, otter,
raccoon, mink and muskrat skins to trade for blankets,
knives, trinkets and whisky. Valencourt Van Ausdal
used to tell of some of the sprees the red men would
have when they brought their peltries into the trading
post. Said he: "They were excessively fond of whisky,
but not much in the habit of drinking to excess unless
by prearrangement to get on a 'big drunk,' when a
certain number were appointed to stay sober and
protect the drunken ones from doing harm to themselves
or others. Their favorite places for having their 'big
drunks' were at what is now known as the mouth of
Bloody Run and on the bank of the Mississippi, where
Anschutz's brewery now stands. During these sprees the
days and nights were made hideous with the howls and
war-whoops of the Indian bacchanalians."
The first school in Keokuk was taught in 1833 by Jesse
Creighton, in a little log cabin that had been erected
by John Forsyth, a short distance below and a little
farther back from the river than the buildings of the
American Fur Company. Mr. Creighton was also a
shoemaker and when not hearing classes would repair
such shoes as the settlers brought to him.
The first church edifice was erected in 1838; the
first murder occurred in 1839, when Edward Riley
killed Barney F. Barron. He received a two years'
sentence in the penitentiary. In 1846 George C.
Anderson established a private bank — the first
institution of that character in Lee County.
The Town Incorporated
For several years after the first settlers came the
growth of Keokuk was slow, owing chiefly to the
uncertainty of land titles in the half-breed tract. In
July, 1841, the population was estimated at one
hundred and fifty. Five years later it was 500, and in
1847 it was estimated at one thousand one hundred and
twenty. On February 23, 1847, the governor of
Wisconsin Territory approved an act of the Legislature
providing for the incorporation of Keokuk. The town
was incorporated under this act on December 13, 1847,
when three wards were established. The First Ward
included "all that part of the city lying between the
Mississippi River and Second Street, bounded on the
southwest by a line drawn from the river to the center
of Second Street, between and parallel with, and at
equal distances from, Main and Johnson Streets."
The Second Ward embraced "that part of the city lying
between the river and the center of Second Street,
bounded on the northeast by the line aforesaid," and
the Third Ward included all the remainder of the city.
The voting places were established at the Rapids
Hotel, the American House and the office of I. G.
Wickersham, in the three wards respectively, and the
first municipal election was ordered for the first
Monday in January, 1848.
The officers elected at that time were as follows:
William A. Clark, mayor; James Mackley and William C.
Reed, aldermen from the First Ward; William Holliday
and Herman Bassett, from the Second Ward; and John W.
Ogden and John M. Houston, from the Third Ward. Mayor
Clark, who ran as a whig, received 175 votes, and his
opponent, E. C. Stone, received 87 votes. The new
government was inaugurated on January 10, 1848, just
one week after the election, when the council elected
A. V. Putnam, clerk; L. E. H. Houghton, assessor, and
D. Murray, marshal, collector and treasurer.
At the second meeting, on January 17, 1848, the
council passed the first ordinance, entitled "An
ordinance relative to the clerk of the council of the
City of Keokuk." Other acts of the council at this
session were the granting of a privilege to S. Haight
& Company to maintain a wharf boat at the foot of
Main Street; fixing the tax levy for city purposes at
37^ cents on each $100 worth of property; and renting
a room from L. E. H. Houghton at $4.00 per month for a
mayor's office.
Following is a list of the mayors of Keokuk, with the
year in which each entered upon the duties of the
office, each one serving until his successor was
elected and qualified: William A. Clark,from January
10 to April 17, 1848; Justin Millard, April, 1848;
Uriah Raplee, April, 1849 (resigned in September
following his election and John A. Graham was elected
to fill the vacancy) ; John A. Graham, 1850; B. S.
Merriam, 1852; David W. Kilbourne, 1855; Samuel R.
Curtis, 1856; Hawkins Taylor, 1857; H. W. Sample,
1858; William Leighton, 1859; William Patterson, i860;
J. J. Brice, 1861; R. P. Creel, 1862; George B. Smyth,
1863; J. M. Hiatt, 1864: William Patterson, 1865;
William Timberman, 1867; John A. Mc- Dowell, 1868; A.
J. Wilkinson, 1869; William Timberman, 1870; Henry W.
Rothert, 1871; Daniel F. Miller, Sr., 1873; Edmund
Jaeger, 1874; J orm N. Irwin, 1876; James B. Paul,
1879; James N. Welsh, 1880; Lewis Hosmer, 1881; David
J. Ayers, 1882; George D. Rand, 1883; Edmund Jaeger,
1884; James C. Davis, 1885; John N. Irwin, 1887; John
E. Craig, 1889; S. W. Moorhead, 1893; Felix T. Hughes,
1895; J. L. Root, 1897; James F. Daugherty, 1899;
Theodore A. Craig, 1901 ; Andrew J. Dimond, 1903;
James Cam- eron, 1905; W. E. Strimback, 1907; Charles
Off, 1909.
In 1910 the city adopted the commission form of
government. Joshua F. Elder was elected mayor, and F.
T. F. Schmidt and Thomas P. Gray, councilmen. In 191 2
Mayor Elder and Councilman Gray were reelected and T.
J. Hickey was chosen as the successor of Councilman
Schmidt. The officers elected in 1914 were: S. W.
Moorhead, mayor; Joseph A. M. Collins and F. T. F.
Schmidt, councilmen.
Waterworks
Probably no better account of the manner in which the
Keokuk waterworks was inaugurated could be given than
that published in the Keokuk Gate City of July 19,
1878, the day following the first test of the new
plant, which is here quoted:
"The great inconvenience to which the citizens of
Keokuk have been periodically subjected through lack
of water, and inconvenience amounting almost to
distress at times, induced W. C. Stripe to study the
subject of an artificial supply of that indispensable
element. Some three years since, a few citizens, at
his invitation, met at the United States engineer's
office to inspect his plans and consult respecting the
feasibility of erecting waterworks. The plans, so far
as they were matured, met their approbation, and he
was requested to complete them and make estimates of
the probable cost and profits.
"Before this was completed, a Mr. Weir, who had just
completed the waterworks at Muscatine, visited Keokuk
and submitted to the city council a plan to furnish a
supply of water for domestic and public purposes,
which combined the two grades of gravity and di- rect
pressure — gravity for domestic and direct pressure
for public purposes, including the extinguishing of
fires. Mr. Weir's plan was a very good one and met the
approbation of the city council, and he was requested
to meet the council at its next session and explain
his plans and estimates more in detail. He appeared
before the council, as requested, and explained his
plans, which comprised a reservoir on the avenue,
capable of holding 130,000,000 gallons, with pumping
machinery to furnish 1,500,000 gallons each
twenty-four hours, five and one-half miles of mains
and fifty hydrants, at a cost of $150,000.
"Mr. Stripe also appeared before the council, and upon
permission being given him, addressed them in
opposition to Mr. Weir's proposition, mainly on the
score of its extravagant cost, criticised it in detail
and proved to the satisfaction of all who heard him
that the entire apparatus proposed by Mr. Weir could
be furnished for a sum but little exceeding one-half
his figures. Considerable excitement ensued on the
subject, Mr. Weir having stated publicly that his
plans would assuredly be adopted. But the inexorable
logic of figures prevailed and the Weir project was
abandoned. Now was Mr. Stripe's opportunity. He
invited a number of gentlemen who had manifestly an
interest in the matter to meet him at his residence.
To them he exhibited his plans and estimates, which
they examined minutely, and having approved them
determined to submit them to the city council and ask
their cooperation to establish the work.
"Mr. Stripe met the council, exhibited the plans and
estimates, which comprised pumping apparatus to
furnish 1,000,000 gallons per day, a stand-pipe sixty
feet high, to be erected at the intersection of Second
and High streets, a location 154 feet above the city
datum line, and about eight miles of mains, at a cost
of seventy thousand to seventy-five thousand dollars.
This would have furnished ample supply for domestic
use all over the city and for fire purposes, without
the intervention of fire-engines at any point no
higher than Main Street.
"The city fathers gave this plan a qualified approval,
but decided that to have their entire approval and
cooperation, the whole city must be protected by the
hydrants independent of fire-engines. With indomitable
pluck and tenacity, Mr. Stripe again went to work and
devised the plan which was adopted, and the
consummation of which has been established."
The Waterworks Company was organized on April 21,
1877, with a capital stock of $100,000, divided into
shares of $100 each. William Leighton, Guy Wells, W.
C. Stripe, Patrick Gibbons, S. P. Pond and James H.
Anderson constituted the first board of directors.
William Leighton was elected president; Guy Wells,
vice president; W. C. Stripe, engineer and secretary;
and Edward Johnstone, treasurer.
Then beean a canvass for stock subscriptions. For a
time it looked doubtful whether the amount desired
could be obtained, but when the enterprise was hanging
in the balance the Keokuk press took up the matter and
day by day urged the people to take stock in order to
____.
The Levee at Keokuk, Foot of High Street, in 1848
Taken from drawing
said to have been made by Lieut. Robert E. Lee,
who was
then stationed
here and who afterwards became the great
Confederate general of the
Civil War. This
drawing was discovered in the war department of
the Government
by General W. W.
Belnap after the latter had become Secretary of
War. secure
the construction
of the works, which would be a benefit to the
entire city.
This campaign was
kept up until the full amount of stock was
subscribed.
Work on the plant was commenced on February 8, 1878.
The machinery was installed by the Holly Manufacturing
Company, of Lockport, New York, and the pipes were
furnished by Dennis Long & Company, of Louisville,
Kentucky. The specifications called for the completion
of the works by June 18, 1878, but the city was
engaged in grading some of the streets upon which
mains were to be placed, which delayed the work and
the final tests of the works were made on July 18,
1878, just thirty days behind time. Concerning these
tests the Gate City of July 19, 1878, says:
"Display number one consisted of a stream thrown from
three hydrants through An inch nozzle at the
Presbyterian Church, corner of Seventh and Blondeau
streets. This location was chosen in order to compare
the altitude of the stream with the height of the
church steeple. Soon after the water was turned on, a
section of hose near the nozzle burst and had to be
replaced. Just as the stream was beginning to climb
well the second time, a break occurred in the main at
the corner of Sixth and Main streets, tearing up the
street and crossing, and forcing a large volume of
water to a height of several feet. This interfered
with the pressure so that the stream on Seventh only
reached an altitude of 164.23 feet. Except for the
break, it would no doubt have ascended to a height of
two hundred and twenty or two hundred and thirty feet.
The contract calls for an altitude of 100 feet at that
point, so that as it was the stream went sixty-four
feet higher than was required."
Tests were also made from hydrants at five different
places on Main Street at the same time, the water at
every point rising some thirty feet higher than called
for by the contract with the company. The final test
was made at the corner of Main Street and the Levee,
where four large streams, each of which was thrown
through three lines of hose centering in one nozzle,
rose to a height of over two hundred feet.
In the construction of the works, the engine house — a
brick structure 35 by 60 feet, with slate roof — was
located at the foot of Concert Street, and a filter 15
by 50 feet was installed. Through this filter all
water for private consumption passed. The pumping
machinery at first consisted of a four-cylinder
engine, with four pumps, of the latest Holly designs,
with a capacity of 2,200,000 gallons daily, and about
ten miles of mains, varying in size from six to
fourteen inches were laid in the streets. Numerous
additions and alterations have been made, new mains
extended to outlying districts, and the water has
always been kept up to a high standard of purity. A
city ordinance compels the city physician or physician
to the board of health to make examinations of the
water twice a week, or oftener if he considers
necessary. Tests must be made for alum and bacteria in
both the filtered and unfiltered water, a cubic
centimeter being unit of measurement. If 1,200
bacteria are found in this quantity of unfiltered
water, or 125 in the filtered water, the ordinance
gives a 98 per cent test. Dr. C. A. Dimond, the city
physician, in a report in August, 1 9 14, says the
water in Keokuk is as good as that to be found in most
cities along the Mississippi River and better than
that found in many of them.
The Keokuk Waterworks Company is now a subsidiary
corporation of the American Waterworks and Guarantee
Company, which controls and operates waterworks in
more than forty United States cities. This company
uses chlorine for the purpose of purifying the water,
with the result that a high grade of water is
furnished to the people of the city, except on
occasions when too much chlorine is left in the water,
which leaves an unpleasant taste.
At one time, while the great dam at Keokuk was under
construction, it looked as though the Mississippi
River Power Company and the Waterworks Company would
become involved in serious litigation, growing out of
the question as to the right of the former to raise
the tracks of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad in front of the waterworks property. The
question was taken to the courts and after a hearing
of several days, the vice president of the Waterworks
Company entered the court room one morning, called
aside Hugh L. Cooper, chief engineer of the
Mississippi River Power Company, and informed him that
the American Waterworks and Guarantee Company was
willing to submit the entire question to an
arbitrator. He also stated that he was authorized to
leave the entire matter with Mr. Cooper for
adjustment. As a result, John W. Alvord, a prominent
Chicago engineer, was agreed upon as arbitrator and
upon his decision the question was settled to the
satisfaction of all the parties concerned.
Fire Department
In the spring of 1 8 q6 Hook and Ladder Company No. 1
was organized with Benjamin F. Dodson as president; D.
B. Smith, secretary; and John B. Knight, treasurer.
The first truck foreman was L. L. O'Connor. This was
the first organized fire company of which there is anv
authentic record. The Young America Fire Company was
organized on October 9, 1856, at a meeting held in
Burrows Hall, presided over by John A. McDowell, who
afterward served as mayor of the city. In this company
were several men who afterward became men of national
reputation. Among them may be mentioned Samuel R.
Curtis, who served as mayor of the city, a member of
Congress, and as a general in the Union army in the
Civil war; William W. Belknap, who was secretary of
war in the cabinet of President Grant; Hugh W. Sample,
who was elected mayor of Keokuk in 1858, and the
Confederate General Winder, then a young lawyer of
Keokuk, who went south, joined the secession movement
and became notorious as the superintendent of Libby
Prison, at Richmond, Virginia.
The first president of the company was R. H. Magruder,
who, with Curtis, Belknap, Sample and McDowell, took
active steps to supply the company with hand engines
and other fire-fighting apparatus. Two engines were
purchased — the "Gallery," built by Rogers & Son,
of Baltimore, Maryland, and the "Honneyman," which was
built in Boston, Massachusetts. The Gallery, after
being used a few years, was dismantled and sold as old
metal, but the Honneyman continued in use for about a
quarter of a century. The Columbia hose reel,
purchased at the same time as the two engines, was
afterward remodeled and change to a one-horse
truck.
In i860 the Rolla Fire Company was organized. The
early meetings of this company were held in the
blacksmith shop of Chris Smith, who was one of the
members and made a large triangle, which served the
company in place of a bell.
Union Fire Company No. 3 was organized in 1861, with
George T. Higgins, afterward sheriff, W. B. Miller,
William Landers, Jacob Speck and Donald Robinson among
the active members.
The first steam engine was purchased by the city in
the spring of 1866. It was manufactured by the
Amoskeag Works, of Amoskeag, New Hampshire, and was
called the "Young America," for the company to which
it was assigned.* Prior to that time the old hand
engine Honneyman had been in the hands of this
company, but when the steamer arrived and was placed
in commission, the Honneyman was turned over to the
Rollas.
After the great fire of July 4, 1870, it was decided
to buy a second steamer and a Silsby engine,
manufactured at Seneca Falls, New York, was purchased.
It was christened the "Rolla" and went to the Rolla
Fire Company, the old Honneyman being sold to the Town
of West Point.
In October, 1878, the paid fire department was
organized and engines, hose reels, hook and ladder
truck, etc., were placed under the control of the
city. In 1914 the department consisted of four
stations, and the apparatus of two steam engines, one
chemical engine, one hook and ladder truck and four
hose reels, manned by an efficient force of men.
Public Lighting
On Friday evening, January 4, 1856, the streets of
Keokuk were lighted by gas for the first time. The
original founders of the Keokuk Gas Company were
William Herrick and Edward Kilbourne, who built a
plant and laid mains in the fall of 1855. These two
gentlemen and Charles B. Foote filed articles of
incorporation for the Keokuk Gas Light and Coke
Company on December 20, 1855, with Edward Kilbourne as
the first president and Josiah Davis as the first
secretary. The capital stock provided for in the
articles of incorporation was $100,000, enough of
which was paid up to put the works in good
condition.
In 1865 Daniel Mooar acquired a controlling interest
in the gas works and a few years later a
reorganization took place, Mr. Mooar being elected
president; R. H. Wyman, vice president, and H. R.
Miller, secretary and superintendent. Under this
management substantial improvements were made and the
mains extended. In 1900 the works were transferred to
the Keokuk Gas and Electric Company.
Electric lights were introduced into Keokuk by the
Badger Electric Company, which was incorporated on
March 2, 1885, by S. S. Badger, of Chicago, A. J.
McCrary and Charles J. Smith, of Keokuk. A plant was
established on Third Street, between Johnson and
Exchange, with a capacity of sixty arc lights of 2,000
candle power each, most of which were installed for
street lighting, though a few were placed in stores,
etc. After about seven years the holdings of the
company were transferred to the Fort Wayne Electric
Company, of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
In the meantime a small incandescent plant had been
established by J. C. Hubinger for his personal
benefit. Being unable to secure gas from the gas
company for lighting his residence, he drilled an
artesian well and utilized the water to operate a
small electric generator, sufficient to furnish
incandescent lights for his house. Some of his
neighbors were afterward placed on the circuit and the
plant was enlarged. After the Fort Wayne company took
over the Badger interests, the old Thompson-Houston
equipment was replaced by Wood machines and other
improvements were made, after which the entire plant
was sold to Mr. Hubinger. Both the gas works and the
electric light plant are now controlled by the Stone
& Webster Syndicate, which also operates the power
plant at the big Keokuk dam.
Street Railway
The Keokuk Street Railway Company was organized early
in the year 1882, with James H. Anderson as president,
practically all the stock being held by local
capitalists. Work was immediately commenced on two
lines. The first began at the corner of Main and
Fourteenth streets, thence east on Main to Fifth
Street, and down Fifth to B Street in Reid's addition.
The other line started at the railroad station, thence
via Main to Sixth Street, on Sixth Street to Morgan,
on Morgan to Eleventh, on Eleventh to Seymour, and on
Seymour to Rand Park. Subsequently a line was built on
Fourteenth Street from Rand Park to Main Street, so as
to form a loop.
Mules and horses furnished the motive power until
1892, when the local company sold out to the Hubbell
Syndicate, of Des Moines, which converted the plant
into an electric railway system. The Main Street line
was extended west to Nineteenth Street, on which car
barns were built, and a little later the line on
Nineteenth Street was extended to Oakland Cemetery.
The Des Moines company sold out to J. C. Hubinger and
others, and for a time it was operated in connection
with the electric light plant. After one or two other
changes in ownership the railway passed into the hands
of the Stone & Webster Syndicate, which has put on
new cars and otherwise greatly improved the service.
The Post Office
The first person to act as postmaster at Keokuk was
John Gaines, though he was never regularly appointed.
The first mails were carried by Robert McBride from
St. Francisville, Missouri, on horseback, or from
Warsaw, Illinois, in a skiff, and Mr. Gaines under-
took the work of distributing letters and other mail
matter to the proper persons.
On June 24, 1841, L. B. Fleak was appointed postmaster
and held the position for about three years. In
speaking some years afterward of his experiences as
postmaster, Mr. Fleak said: "The post office was first
kept in the Keokuk House. When I rented out the hotel
in 1843, I moved the office to the corner of First and
Johnson streets, and afterward to a building midway
between First Street and the levee on Johnson Street.
During the time 1 kept it at the latter place, my
store was robbed, but the mail matter was not
molested. There was $22,000 belonging to the United
States lying in an old pine desk in the store room
when the robbery took place. It had been handed to me
by Major Stewart, army paymaster, for safekeeping and
I had gone home and forgotten it. When we caught the
burglar, I asked him why he did not open the desk and
take the money. He said he did lift the cover, but
thought no one would be fool enough to leave money in
such a place."
When Mr. Fleak resigned, in the summer of 1844, W. S.
McGavic and J. C. Ainsworth were applicants for the
place, but through the influence of Henry J. Campbell
and others the appointment went to Adam Hine, a river
man, who was hardly ever at Keokuk. He appointed John
B. Russell his deputy and some years later Mr. Hine
said that all he knew about being postmaster was that
he was called upon to make good a shortage of several
hundred dollars, when his successor took possession of
the office and checked up the business. This shortage
was attributed solely to careless methods of keeping
accounts.
On March 16, 1887, ground was broken for the present
post office building at the corner of Seventh and
Blondeau streets and about two years later the new
building was opened to the public. It is a substantial
structure of stone and brick, two stories high, the
main floor being devoted to the handling and
distribution of mails and the second story to the
United States Court. In the tower is a clock which
marks the time and strikes the hours. In 19 14 the
Keokuk post office employed, besides the postmaster
and assistant postmaster, fourteen city carriers,
three substitute carriers, two rural carriers, twelve
clerks and three janitors. The annual receipts of the
office, in round numbers, amount to $83,000.
St. Joseph's Hospital
Federal Court House and Post Office
Keokuk Public Library
High School and United Presbyterian Church
Y. M. C. A. Building
Industrial
Association
On January 22, 1906, the Keokuk Commercial Club was
organized "for the purpose of fostering the splendid
industries now flourishing and to encourage additional
manufacturing enterprises that may wish to locate in
the city."
In January, 1911, the club was succeeded by the Keokuk
Industrial Association, with C. R. Joy as president
and A. D. Ayres as secretary. Soon after the
association was organized, it inaugurated a "clean up"
campaign, under the auspices of the committee on
parks, playgrounds and general improvements. Later in
the year, through the advertising agency of N. W. Ayer
& Son, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the
association expended about eleven thousand dollars in
advertising the advantages of the city in some of the
leading magazines of the country. In the spring of 191
2, John Nolen, an experienced landscape architect of
Cambridge, Massachusetts, was employed by the
association to present plans for the beautification of
the city. His work was completed in the fall of 1913
and his plans have been adopted by the mayor and city
commissioners.
Another publicity campaign was conducted in the summer
of 1913, when an especially trained man was engaged to
supervise the work of advertising. Articles on Keokuk
appeared in newspapers throughout the civilized world,
and thousands of window display cards, bearing
photographic views of Keokuk and the great power
house, were distributed among merchants of the United
States, Canada, England, Germany, France, Austria,
China and Japan. During the year over one hundred
specially prepared articles relating to the power
plant were printed in magazines.
Sixty-six acres of land on the extension of Main
Street were purchased by the association in the summer
of 1913 as a location for new factories, the sum of
$17,000 being appropriated from the treasury for that
purpose. This ground has been platted as an industrial
district. The association has also given considerable
attention to the entertainment of conventions; the
improvement of the river front; the construction of
the boulevard from Keokuk to Montrose; the adjustment
of freight rates between Keokuk and all points east
and west, and in the movement to build a new bridge
across the Mississippi it has played a conspicuous
part.
The officers of the association in 1914 were as
follows: C. R. Joy, president; J. A. Kiedaisch, first
vice president; C. F. McFarland, second vice
president; J. F. Elder, secretary; Ira W. Wills,
treasurer. The board of directors was then composed of
the above officers and A. D. Ayres, T. A. Craig, L. A.
Hamill, A. Hollingsworth, Stephen Irwin, J. T.
McCarthy, C. A. McNamara, L. F. Rollins, Jacob
Schouten and G. S. Tucker.
The River Bridge
The Keokuk & Hamilton Mississippi Bridge Company
was incorporated in January, 1866, for the purpose of
constructing a railway and wagon bridge across the
Mississippi to connect the two cities. A ferry had
been established here in 1850, but the progress of the
times made a number of public spirited citizens feel
that some more adequate means of communication were
necessary. A preliminary survey for the bridge was
made in the spring of 1867, from which plans were made
and submitted to the city authorities of Keokuk, and
on May 25, 1868, the mayor approved an ordinance
granting the bridge company a right of way across the
levee. Final plans and estimates were then prepared by
T. C. Curtis, and on December 6, 1868, the contract
for the construction of the bridge was let to the
Keystone Bridge Company, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
for $850,000.
This bridge is 2,192 feet in length and twenty feet
wide in the clear. On either side of the railroad
track is a passage way for vehicles, and on the
outside of the superstructure are the sidewalks for
foot passengers. At the time the bridge was completed
it had the longest draw span on the Mississippi River.
On April 19, 1871, the first locomotive crossed over
the bridge, drawing two coaches filled with. the
officers of the bridge company and invited guests. The
building of this bridge secured to Keokuk a large
trade from Illinois.
Plans for a new bridge have recently been prepared by
Ralph Modjeska and his assistants, to be built upon
the abutments of the old bridge. In the new structure
there are to be two decks — the upper one for vehicles
and pedestrians and the lower for railroad trains. The
approach on the Keokuk side will be in the form of a
viaduct, which will run out on First Street, between
Main and Blondeau, making the new bridge much more
easy of access than the old one. This viaduct will be
about seven hundred feet in length.
Young Women's Christian Association
Miscellaneous
On January 24, 1848, the governor approved an act of
the Iowa Legislature providing that two terms of the
District Court of Lee County should be held annually
at Keokuk. By the act of January 8, 1857, a branch of
the recorder's office was established at Keokuk, and
this was soon followed by branches of the other county
offices. In 1859 tne county bought the old Medical
College building for a courthouse, and since that time
all the county business pertaining to the six southern
townships has been transacted at Keokuk.
Besides the public utilities mentioned in this
chapter, the city has an excellent system of sewers,
one large storm sewer beginning at Rand Park and
running to the Mississippi, and into this great trunk
sewer lateral sewers discharge their contents. A city
ordinance for- bids the throwing of coarse offal of
any kind in the sewers, so that the drains are always
kept in good working order.
Keokuk has a fine high school building and a number of
modern graded school buildings. Several of the
schoolhouses were being reconstructed in 19 14, which
will give the city a complete quota of buildings
unsurpassed by any city of its size in the Mississippi
Valley. There are also several parochial schools.
Churches of all the leading religious denominations
have comfortable houses of worship; the Young Men's
and Young Women's Christian associations have homes
that would be an ornament to any city; the Elks' Club
House and the Masonic Temple are pointed to as
evidence that the fraternal orders of the city are
both prosperous and popular; the well paved streets
and cement sidewalks, and the three public parks —
Rand Park, Kilbourne Park and the Triangle — all
combine to make Keokuk a desirable residence city, as
well as a business center.
The business interests of the city are represented by
four banks, several large manufacturing plants, a
number of well stocked mercantile establishments, two
daily newspapers, a telephone exchange, good hotels
and a number of minor business enterprises.
Keokuk also has a good public library, a history of
which will be found elsewhere in these pages, one of
the best kept cemeteries in Soui.rtustern Iowa, and a
large number of handsome residences. The social life
of the city is shown by the large number of literary,
social and charitable societies and clubs.
In the early days Keokuk was a great shipping and
outfitting point for the tide of emigration from the
older states to the great West. Among the early
warehouse and mercantile firms may be mentioned
Chittenden & McGavic, Connable, Smyth &
Company, B. B. Hinman & Company, Foote &
Company, Stafford & McCune and J. B. Carson. The
establishments of these firms were chiefly along the
levee, as the river traffic was then in the zenith of
its glory. When boats could ascend the Des Moines
River the merchants would use that method for shipping
goods to the interior of the state, and when the river
was too low to admit of the passage of boats wagons
were used. The great amount of trade and emigration
that then passed west via this point gave Keokuk the
name of the "Gate City," which it has ever since
retained. The population in 1910, according to the
United States census, was 14,008.
Source: History
of
Lee County, Iowa, by Dr. S. W. Moorhead and
Nelson C. Roberts, 1914
|
|
