Everything about Keokuk Iowa totally explained
Keokuk 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.
Geography
Keokuk is located at (40.402525, -91.394372).
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's land and 1.4 square miles (3.7 km²) of it (13.42%) is water.
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.
In 1850 there were 2,475 people in Keokuk. In 1930 there were 15,106 residents.
Demographics
As of the
census 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.
Culture
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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
Notable natives and residents
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".
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's 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.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Keokuk Iowa'.
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