Keokuk, Iowa

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Coordinates: 40°24′9″N 91°23′40″W / 40.4025, -91.39444
Keokuk, Iowa
Location of Keokuk, Iowa
Country	United States
State	Iowa
County	Lee
Area
- Total	10.6 sq mi (27.4 km²)
- Land	9.2 sq mi (23.7 km²)
- Water	1.4 sq mi (3.7 km²)
Elevation	571 ft (174 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	11,427
- Density	1,247.5/sq mi (481.7/km²)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	52632
Area code(s)	319
FIPS code	19-40845
GNIS feature ID	0458054

Keokuk Iowa bottom, with the Mississippi River, its lock, dam, power plant, rail bridge and highway bridge.

Keokuk (pronounced /ˈkiəˌkʌk/) is a city in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Iowa and one of the county seats of Lee County. The population was 11,427 at the 2000 census. The city is named after Sauk Chief Keokuk, who is buried in Rand Park. It is located in the extreme southeast corner of Iowa where the Des Moines River meets with the Mississippi. It is located at the junction of U.S. Routes 61, 136 and 218. Just across the rivers are the small towns of Hamilton and Warsaw, Illinois, and Alexandria, Missouri.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demographics
4 Culture
5 Notable natives and residents
6 Pop culture references
7 See also
8 Further reading
9 External links

[edit] Geography

Keokuk is located at 40°24′9″N, 91°23′40″W (40.402525, -91.394372)^[1]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.6 square miles (27.4 km²), of which, 9.2 square miles (23.7 km²) of it is land and 1.4 square miles (3.7 km²) of it (13.42%) is water.

[edit] History

Keokuk was located due to its position at the head of navigation at the rapids of the Mississippi.

Latter-day Saints (Mormons) fleeing persecution in Missouri settled in Keokuk in 1839. There was a branch of the church in Keokuk, but it remained peripheral to the main center of the saints further up river in Nauvoo. Most of the LDS in Keokuk moved west in 1846 with the members of the faith.

In 1853 the Mormon pioneers were outfitted for their journey west in Keokuk, with over 2,000 of them passing through the city.^[2]

In 1850 there were 2,475 people in Keokuk. In 1930 there were 15,106 residents.^[3]

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there are 11,427 people, 4,773 households, and 3,021 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,247.5 people per square mile (481.7/km²). There are 5,327 housing units at an average density of 581.6/sq mi (224.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city is 92.87% White, 3.90% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. 1.09% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 4,773 households out of which 29.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% are married couples living together, 13.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% are non-families. 32.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 16.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.35 and the average family size is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 83.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $31,586, and the median income for a family is $39,574. Males have a median income of $31,213 versus $21,420 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,144. 11.9% of the population and 8.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 15.7% of those under the age of 18 and 13.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

[edit] Culture

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[edit] Attractions

The Mississippi River lock and dam along with the hydroelectric power plant were built in 1913 and still utilize most of the original equipment. When it began operation in August, 1913, it was the largest single powerhouse electric generating plant in the world.^[5] It is part of the Keokuk Lock & Dam, both of which are visible from a park at the foot of the commercial district. The old lock, built in 1913 became too small for newer, larger barges and was replaced in 1957 with a 1200' x 110' lock.

The Grand Theatre was designed by Merle F. Baker and was constructed on the foundation of the Keokuk Opera House (Circa 1880) which burned in 1923. It was patterned after theaters in Chicago and was praised as one of the finest theaters in the country at the time. Presently, The Grand Theatre is owned by the city of Keokuk and is used as a performing arts center. The theatre has housed many historically important performers over the years, including both John Philip Sousa and Maynard Ferguson.

The tap water produced for the city at the Keokuk Waterworks Plant has been awarded the "Best Tasting Water In Iowa" by the Iowa Water Council.

Keokuk is also home to the Keokuk National Cemetery, the Keokuk Veteran's Memorial, the Miller House Museum, the annual American Civil War reenactment, and the George M. Verity River Museum.

[edit] Education

The Keokuk Community School District has four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.

Keokuk is also home to a campus of South-Eastern Community College.

A few miles north of Keokuk is the Galland School, a replica of the first schoolhouse constructed in Iowa.

[edit] Music

Each summer Keokuk is home to "Rollin' on the River," a local blues festival that attracts hundreds to Victory Park.

A community concert band exists in the form of the Irish themed McNamara's Band. The band has been around for many decades and regularly performs throughout the area.

Once a month the jazz big band, "Craig Bullis and Friends," performs at the local Hawkeye restaurant. The band is made up of area jazz musicians, as well as both collegiate level students and Professors of Music. The band has featured such guest artists as Reggie Watkins, former lead trombone and music arranger for Maynard Ferguson and Big Bop Nouveau.

Every Saturday evening starting at 7:00 PM some of the best tri-state area all original bands perform at "Music at the Mall" at the River City Mall located at 300 Main Street.

[edit] Theatre

Keokuk is home to the Great River Players, a thespian troupe that strives "to provide quality amateur theatrical productions for the tri-state area by encouraging members of the surrounding communities to express their creative abilities in all aspects of live theatre." The troupe performs a season of three shows, usually two plays and one musical.

[edit] Notable natives and residents

Hugh R. Belknap - Illinois Congressman and Army Paymaster, born in Keokuk
William W. Belknap - General and Secretary of War, practiced Law in Keokuk
William Lane Craig - Author and Christian apologist
Samuel Curtis - American Civil War officer
Gregory Galloway - Author, "As Simple as Snow"
Howard R. Hughes, Sr. - Inventor who began his career as a lawyer in his father's Keokuk firm; father of Howard Hughes
Dick Hutcherson - NASCAR driver, founder Hutcherson Racing
Calvin Kentfield - fiction writer
Elsa Maxwell - New York columnist
Perle Mesta - Socialite and United States Ambassador
Samuel Freeman Miller - United States Supreme Court justice
Conrad Nagel - Actor and co-founder of the Oscars
Richard Page - Lead singer and bass player in the band "Mr Mister" who was born in Keokuk
Mario Rikle - Lead singer of metal band Seven Orchids
Ramo Stott - NASCAR driver, 1976 Pole Winner Daytona 500
Jeremy Soule - British Academy award winning composer
Todd Stice - Golf Professional
Mark Twain - Author, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

[edit] Pop culture references

The town's name has been mentioned in a variety of ways on television, including: an episode of The Simpsons where Krusty the Klown mentioned Keokuk, along with Walla Walla, Cucamonga, and Seattle as funny named places; an episode of Nickelodeon's All Grown Up in which a class project involved family trees with ancestors originating in Keokuk; an episode of M*A*S*H in a story line involving Radar O'Reilly; an episode of the New Zoo Revue in which Freddy the Frog was blurting out random answers for a trivia contest; and as part of a joke on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show. Keokuk has also been mentioned on the game show "Jeopardy" under the category of starting and ending in K. It was described as "A small town in southeast Iowa".^{[citation needed]}

Keokuk was also mentioned in a W. C. Fields film, as well as in the lyrics to Iowa Stubborn from Meredith Willson's 1957 musical, The Music Man. In the operetta Mlle. Modiste it is referred to a number of times as the hometown of Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Bent, the latter of which sings a song extolling the virtues of The Keokuk Culture Club.

[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

For a depiction of Keokuk during its early boom years see: Michael A. Ross, “Cases of Shattered Dreams: Justice Samuel Freeman Miller and the Rise and Fall of a Mississippi River Town,” Annals of Iowa, 57 (Summer 1998): 201-239.