Fort Madison

Sister cities

• Prüm

History

Fort Madison was founded as the location of the first U.S. military fort in the upper Mississippi region. A replica of the fort stands along the river. Sheaffer Pens were developed and made in Fort Madison for many years. The city is the location of the Iowa State Penitentiary—the state's maximum security prison for men. Fort Madison is the Mississippi river crossing and station stop for Amtrak's Southwest Chief. Fort Madison has one of two remaining double swing-span bridges on the Mississippi River, the Fort Madison Toll Bridge, the other being the Government Bridge in Rock Island, Illinois. It has a top level for cars and a similar level for trains; it is also the world's largest. The Fort Madison Downtown Commercial Historic District is a collection of well-preserved historic storefronts from the late 19th century. Along with this is the Park-to-Park Residential Historic District. The Historic Park to Park District is a seven block long, three block wide section of homes that represent the Gothic, Victorian, and Tudor era. With a rich variety of architectural styles like Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Eastlake Stick, Richardson Romanesque, Queen Anne, and Tudor. With two of the six parks within the District. It is on the National Historic Registry. The city of Fort Madison was established around the site of the historic Fort Madison (1808–1813), which was the first permanent U.S. military fortification on the Upper Mississippi. Fort Madison was the site of Black Hawk's first battle against U.S. troops, the only real War of 1812 battle fought west of the Mississippi. It was also the location of the first U.S. military cemetery in the upper Midwest. The fort was named for James Madison, fourth President of the United States. Fort Madison was one of…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and (27.15%) is water. |source 2=National Centers for Environmental Information }}

Race & ethnicity