| Lock and Dam |
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Construction on U.S. Lock and Dam #19 began in 1910, and when completed in 1913, it was the largest electricity generating plant in the world. Lock 19 is the largest lock on the Mississippi and is on the National Register of Historic places. The area is open 24 hours a day for viewing of river traffic. Call (319) 524-6363 for information. The lock and dam, as well as the rest of the river, can be viewed from a distance on the Observation Deck of the old bridge.
The locks are 1200 feet long and 110 feet wide, with a lift of over 38 feet and large enough to handle a full-length fleet of barges. The present lock was put into operation in 1957 at a cost of 13.5 million dollars. It is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Power House and spillways (shown above) are owned and operated by Ameren Power Company.
Lock and Dam 19 is the highest "step" in the stairway of locks and dams along the Mississippi River. The pool created behind the dam, Lake Cooper, is the largest pool in the series of dams with 240 miles of shoreline. This dam, along with Lock and Dam #1 are the only ones used to produce electricity. |
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| Riverboat Museum |
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The George M. Verity River Museum is located in Victory Park on the riverfront. The paddle boat was built in Dubuque, Iowa by the U.S. Government in 1927 to revive river transportation and move barges from St Louis to St. Paul. It was then known as the S.S. Thorpe. Armco Steel Corporation bought the boat in 1940 and put it into service on the Ohio River, renaming it after the founder of their company, George M. Verity. The George M. Verity was donated to the City of Keokuk in 1961 after being retired from service.
The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning Memorial Day through Labor Day and open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends only April 1 - Memorial Day and Labor Day - October 31. Admission is $3 for adults and $1.50 for children.
Located at Victory Park at the river, from Hwy 136 east (Main St) turn right on 2nd St (at Keosippi Mall), turn left on Bank St down to the railroad tracks. |
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| Keokuk, Iowa |
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Keokuk is named in honor of the Sauk/Fox chief of the descendants of aboriginal Algonquin peoples present when white settlers first explored the area. Native Americans fished the Mississippi?s waters and hunted game in the lush woodlands along the river for centuries, most recently by the Sauk and Fox tribes led by the city?s namesake ? Chief Keokuk.
The area was under French and Spanish rule for nearly 150 years prior to being included in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. In 1804 the area was set aside by special treaty as a tract for half-breed descendants of the Indians and early white fur traders. By 1828, the first white settlers had arrived in Keokuk and began commerce on the Mississippi with the newest scientific wonder ? the steamboat. Although large unnavigable rapids blocked river traffic at Keokuk, ingenious businessmen and engineers soon solved the problem with a series of canals, and Keokuk prospered.
Evidence of this age of prosperity can be seen in the magnificent homes perched on the bluffs high above the river. Many of those homes still reflect the opulence and refinement developed during the last half of the 19th century.
During the tumultuous 1860s, Keokuk played a vital role as the departure point for northern troops headed for southern battlefields of the Civil War. Returning hospital boats created a need for medical care, and as many as seven hospitals and two medical colleges were established in Keokuk, including one that later became the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. President Abraham Lincoln established the first National Cemetery west of the Mississippi here. It is still the only one in Iowa.
In 1913, a huge hydroelectric plant and dam, an engineering marvel and the largest of its time, fortified Keokuk as a major force along the Mississippi, with rapid industrial growth through the 1950s and expansions into the twenty-first century.
Keokuk is a progressive community firmly rooted in the past and eagerly reaching for the future, while maintaining the Midwest?s famous small-town friendliness. |
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