Keokuk

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 Warsaw, Illinois), 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 traffic on the Mississippi increased, more European Americans began to settle here. Around 1827, John Jacob Astor 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 in 1829: The settlement was part of the land designated in 1824 as a Half-Breed Tract by the United States Government for allotting land to mixed-race descendants of the Sauk and Meskwaki tribes. 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. Centering on the riverboat trade, the settlement continued to grow. The village became known as Keokuk shortly after the Blackhawk War in 1832. Why residents named it after the Sauk chief is unknown. Keokuk was incorporated on December 13, 1847. Soon after, Captain W. Clark would be elected as the first mayor. On December 14, 1848, Keokuk was incorporated as a city by the 2nd General Assembly of the State of Iowa. Barnard States Merriam was elected mayor in 1852 and reelected in 1854. In 1853, Keokuk was…

Geography

Keokuk is in Iowa's southeast corner along the Mississippi River and just northeast of the Des Moines River. Hamilton, Illinois, lies to the east across the Mississippi on U.S. Route 136. According to the United States Census Bureau, 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 between Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. Keokuk has a humid continental climate. It is known for having recorded the highest temperature ever in Iowa, , on July 20, 1934.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Keokuk High School
  High · Keokuk · 598 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Hawthorne Elementary School
  Elementary · Keokuk · 464 students · 11.9:1 ratio
• Keokuk Middle School
  Middle · Keokuk · 377 students · 13.5:1 ratio
• George Washington Elementary School
  Elementary · Keokuk · 251 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• Torrence Elementary
  Other · Keokuk · 91 students · 30.3:1 ratio