In this year 1914 of
the Christian Era, when the citizen of Lee County has
occasion to make a short journey from home, he can
hitch his horse to a buggy or step into his automobile
and glide along over an improved highway to his
destination. If he desires to take a longer journey,
he can take his seat in a reclining chair car, or a
Pullman coach, on one of the great railway systems of
the country and be transported across the country at
the rate of fifty or sixty miles an hour. But does he
pause to think how all these conveniences were brought
about for him to enjoy? Let him for a moment draw upon
his imagination for the conditions that existed in
what is now Lee County in 1833, when the United States
acquired full title to the lands of the Black Hawk
Purchase and threw them open to settlement.
Then all the Forty Mile Strip was "fresh from the
hands of Nature," inhabited only by wild beasts,
untutored savages, a few hunters, trappers or agents
of the great fur companies, with here and there an
actual settler, who had "come to stay." Through the
forests or over the prairies wound an occasional
Indian trail, and these trails were the only
thoroughfares. No roads had yet been opened by the
white man for his convenience and accommodation, the
streams were unbridged, and frequently some emigrant
would have to wait on the bank of a creek for the
waters to subside before he could continue his
journey.
River Transportation
In that early day the rivers of the country were the
arteries of commerce. It was therefore natural that
the first settlement should be made near the
Mississippi River, so that the pioneers could keep in
touch with the outside world by means of the
steamboats plying upon the great Father of Waters.
Although the Mississippi is not an "internal
improvement," in the strict interpretation of that
term, it is deemed appropriate to incorporate in this
chapter a brief account of the early steamboat
traffic, as it was by this medium that the early
merchants received their consignments of goods, and
the first settlers were dependent upon this traffic
for the supplies.
Among the early steamers on the Mississippi was the
Shamrock, commanded by Capt. James May, which made
regular trips as early as 1 82 1. Contemporary with
the Shamrock were the Red Rover and the Black Rover,
the last named captained by George Throckmorton, a
veteran river man. In 1828 the Mexico, while
attempting to descend the Des Moines Rapids, struck
upon a rock and sprang a leak. Isaac R. Campbell, a
passenger on the boat, dived into the water and thrust
a blanket into the hole, partially stopping the rush
of water into the hold. Pumps were set to work and the
Mexico managed to reach Nashville (now Galland), where
she sank. The wreck was raised some years later by
workmen upon the Government canal.
In 1832 the Winnebago, Thomas O'Flatherty, master,
made its appearance on the Upper Mississippi, and
about the same time the William Wallace entered the
Keokuk trade. The second Keokuk packet was the
Rosalie, which made regular trips between that city
and Quincy, Illinois, under command of Captain
Cameron. In 1836 the Adventurer, Captain Van Houton,
came up the river from St. Louis to Keokuk.
The Mechanic, another early steamboat, made regular
trips up and down the river until she was sunk by
striking upon the big rock near the Iowa shore at the
head of the Des Moines Rapids in 1830. This bowlder
was afterward known as Mechanic's Rock. The Illinois,
Capt. Robert McAllister, was wrecked upon the same
rock some years later.
Other early packets were the General Brooks, Osprey,
Senator, Gipsey, Lucella and Prairie Bird. The Osprey
was once owned by Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet,
who sold her to George C. Anderson, Keokuk's first
banker. The Gipsey was the first Mississippi River
boat to be equipped with a calliope, and as she
approached a landing it was the custom of the musician
to "turn loose" with such patriotic airs as "Hail
Columbia," "The Star Spangled Banner" and "Yankee
Doodle," while the entire population of the little
village would cease work to listen to the music. The
Prairie Bird was wrecked a short distance above
Keithsburg, Illinois, and remained submerged until
removed by the Government in 1889. She was commanded
by Larry McDonald, who became noted at the time of the
Civil war for his attempt at reprisal on Lake Erie in
the interests of the Southern Confederacy.
In 1857 tne °ld Northern Line established a regular
schedule for boats between St. Louis and St. Paul. The
boats of this line were the W. L. Ewing, Henry Clay,
Metropolitan, Fred Lorenz, Belle, Canada, Minnesota
and Pembina — all sidewheelers except the Lorenz.
These boats were the finest ever seen upon the river
up to that time and did much to stimulate both
commerce and travel.
A little later the White Collar Line was started by
Commodore Davidson. The boats of this line were the
Northwestern, War Eagle, Grey Eagle, Belle of La
Crosse, Northern Light, Golden Eagle, S. S. Merrill,
Phil Sheridan and Hawkeye, and perhaps one or two
others. They were distinguished by broad white bands
painted upon the smokestacks, from which the line took
its name.
It was not long until the competition became so great
between these rival lines that both transportation
companies were operating their boats at a loss — or,
if not at actual loss, without profit. The Northern
Line was then sold to the Davidson interests and for
several years the steamers earned good dividends upon
the investment. With the building of railroads, the
river business declined. As old boats went out of
commission they were not replaced. In course of time
the White Collar Line became known as the Diamond Jo
Line of steamers, and later as the Streckfus Line, the
principal boats of which in 1914 were the Saint Paul,
Quincy and Dubuque.
The Government Canal
With the increase of population along the Upper
Mississippi came a demand for better transportation
facilities. The greatest obstacle to the navigation of
the river was the Des Moines Rapids, the head of which
was near the present Town of Montrose and the foot at
Keokuk. In this eleven miles the fall was twenty-two
feet and the average depth of the water over the
rapids was not more than three feet at any time,
except in periods of high water. Upon the bed-rock
were diagonal ridges, called "chains" by the river
men, which made the channel tortuous and uncertain,
and in low water navigation was an impossibility. To
overcome this condition of affairs keelboats were
introduced for lightening purposes. These boats,
propelled by poles or towed by horses or oxen, would
carry the cargoes over the rapids, the steamer
following, and at the head of the rapids the boat
would be reloaded. Isaac R. Campbell is said to have
been the first man to conduct a keelboat lighter over
the rapids. Later the larger flatboat was introduced,
and it in turn was superseded by steam towboats.
As early as 1830 the river men began to agitate the
subject of improving the river so that boats could
pass the rapids. In 1837 Lieut. Robert E. Lee made a
survey and map of the rapids, and suggested certain
lines of improvement. Subsequently another survey was
made by Lieut. G. K. Warren, but more than a quarter
of a century passed before any definite action was
taken by the Government. During that time the cost of
lighterage averaged more than a quarter of a million
dollars annually. In 1866 Gen. J. H. Wilson was placed
in charge of the Des Moines and Rock Island rapids of
the Mississippi. Under his supervision an independent
ship canal was constructed from Nashville to Keokuk —
nearly eight miles.
Work was commenced on this canal in 1868. The plans
called for a canal 250 feet in width and to have a
depth of not less than five feet in extreme low water.
Three locks were provided for — a guard lock at the
upper end of the canal and lift locks at Sandusky and
the foot of the rapids. The original estimate of the
cost was $2,710,000, but before the canal was finished
it cost $4,500,000. It was formally opened to traffic,
on August 22, 1877. The opening was attended by large
delegations of business men from St. Louis and other
cities along the Mississippi, who saw in the canal a
great advantage to river commerce. This canal
continued in use until it was replaced by the great
power dam at Keokuk.
Des Moines River
Navigation
As the settlements gradually extended back from the
Mississippi, efforts were made to ascend the Des
Moines River with steamboats of light draft, in order
to open up trade with the interior. Charles Negus, in
an article published in the Annals of Iowa,
says:
"In 1836 the Sacs and Foxes, having disposed of their
reservation on the Iowa River, where they had
villages, moved west and settled in the valley of the
River Des Moines, in which is now Wapello County, and,
as a natural consequence, trading posts were
established in this vicinity, which had to be supplied
with goods. In the fall of 1837, the few settlers
along the banks of this river were for the first time
gladdened with the sound of the shrill whistle of a
steamboat, making its way up the river with supplies
for these trading posts.
This boat was the S. B. Science, commanded by Captain
Clark, which, by forcing its way against the swift
current, passing safely over the concealed sandbars
and hidden rocks, demonstrated that the waters of this
river, at high stages, were navigable, much to the joy
and satisfaction of those who lived in the vicinity,
and afforded a theme for pleasant conversation for
days and months."
In the same year (1837), when there was a good stage
of water in the river, the Pavillion, Capt. William
Phelps, reached Fort Dodge and created the impression
that the Des Moines was navigable, at least for the
greater part of the distance between that point and
the mouth. The Otter and the Dove were also early
steamboats to ascend the river, but only for a
comparatively short distance.
When Fort Des Moines was established by the Government
in May, 1843, where the City of Des Moines now stands,
the little Steamer lone carried the detachment of
troops and their stores up to that point. The
successful voyage of this boat added greatly to the
belief that the Des Moines was, or could be made,
navigable, and on August 8, 1846, President Polk
approved an act of Congress granting to the Territory
of Iowa alternate sections of land, in such of the
public domain as was unsold, in a strip five miles
wide on each side of the river, "for the purpose of
aiding said territory to improve the navigation of the
Des Moines River from its mouth to the Raccoon Fork,"
etc.
Iowa was admitted as a state on December 28, 1846, and
the land grant was accepted by the Legislature on
January 9, 1847. Two years later Samuel R. Curtis was
employed to make a survey of the river and report
plans for improving the navigation. He proposed a
svstem of locks and dams, three of which and a canal
were put under contract, but none was ever completed
according to the original plans. Concerning the land
grant and the manner in which the improvement was
handled, Mr. Negus says:
"This was a most magnificent grant, embracing some of
the best lands in the state; and if the proceeds had
been judiciously and properly expended, would have
made a great thoroughfare for steamboats, besides
affording an immense water-power for driving
machinery. But, through the incompetency of managing
the means and the intrigues of designing men, the
whole of the lands below the Raccoon Fork, and a large
quantity above, were disposed of and very little
practical good accomplished toward the navigation of
the river.
Meantime boats continued to ascend the river to
Farmington, Keosauqua and Ottumwa, and occasionally
one went up as far as Des Moines. Among these early
Des Moines River steamers were the Agatha, Captain
May, which made two or three trips in 1843; the
Kentucky in 1849 and the Jenny Lind in 1850, both
commanded by Capt. J. C. Ainsworth; the Maid of Iowa,
Capt. William Phelps, in 1 85 1. During the next five
years the Colonel Morgan, Michigan, Revenue Cutter,
Defiance and George H. Wilson all ascended the river,
a few going as far as Des Moines. In 1856 Captain
Wilson took the Charles Rogers up as far as Fort
Dodge, and the same year the Jennie Dean, a large
Keokuk packet, went up as far as Croton. In the latter
'50s the Belfast, Captain Milburn, the Des Moines, the
Belle and the Flora Temple were engaged in the Des
Moines River trade. Then came the railroads and
efforts to navigate Iowa's longest river came to an
end. The last navigation of the Des Moines, of which
there is any record, was in 1894, when "General"
Kelly's "Army of the Commonweal" floated down from the
City of Des Moines to Keokuk in such craft as could be
picked up or hastily constructed.
Public Highways
When the first white men came to Iowa, the only roads
were the Indian trails, which wound by sinuous courses
along the lines of least resistance. Where these
trails were convenient they were used by the early
settlers until better roads could be opened. The first
highways constructed by civilized man were crude
affairs — usually a route marked out at will, the
trees blazed through the woodlands, with here and
there a few trees removed to permit the passage of
vehicles. Low places were filled with small logs,
thrown crosswise of the driveway, thus forming the
famous old "corduroy" road, which was neither easy on
the team nor comfortable for the driver, but it kept
the wagon from "miring down."
In May, 1837, the Legislature of Wisconsin, of which
territory Lee County was then a part, passed an act
authorizing the opening of a territorial road west of
the Mississippi. The field notes of the survey, filed
with the supervisor in the following September, show
that this road in Lee County followed a course
beginning at the county line in the northeastern part
"via the south branch of Lost Creek, the main branch
of Devil Creek, crossing both East and West Sugar
Creeks, thence to the Des Moines River, a distance of
twenty- four miles."
The first board of road commissioners in Lee County,
elected on April 3, 1837, was composed of Samuel
Hearn, E. D. Ayres and Samuel Perkins. They met for
the first time on September 2, 1837, and declared the
following roads to be public highways: 1. From Fort
Madison to the northern boundary of the county,
towards Augusta, Des Moines County. 2. From Fort
Madison, through West Point, to the western boundary
of the county. 3. From Hearn's Ferry, on the Des
Moines River, to Fort Madison, "beginning on the bank
of the Des Moines River at Hearn's Ferry, thence north
and east (by certain described courses) to Fort
Madison."
To provide for the opening and improvement of these
highways, the county was divided into nine road
districts and an overseer or supervisor appointed for
each. District No. 1 included that part of the road
from Fort Madison north to the county line, from the
cross street running past the house of the late
Nathaniel Knapp to E. D. Ayres' house, George M. Ball,
overseer. District No. 2 included the remainder of
that road, from the house of E. D. Ayres to the county
line, Isaac Briggs, overseer.
The road from Fort Madison west to the county line,
through West Point, was made to include Districts 3,
4, 5, 6 and 7. District No. 3 began at the grading on
the Mississippi River and followed the West Point
survey to the top of the bluff, Joseph Morrison,
overseer. District No. 4 began at the top of the bluff
and extended "out to the first large branch, on the
west of George Herring's house." No overseer named.
District No. 5 commenced at the branch above named and
terminated at the public square in the Town of West
Point, Lewis Pitman, overseer. District No. 6 extended
from the public square in West Point to the crossing
of Sugar Creek, on the road leading to Tuscarora,
Solomon Fein, overseer. District No. 7 joined Fein's
at the ford across Sugar Creek and extended in the
direction of Bentonsport to the county line, John B.
Perkins, overseer.
Districts 8 and 9 embraced the road from Hearn's Ferry
to Fort Madison. Theophilus Bullard was appointed
overseer for District No. 8, which included that part
of the road from the town plat of Fort Madison to the
crossing of Devil Creek, and District No. 9 included
the remainder of the road, for which Johnson Meek was
appointed overseer.
Boundaries for each district were established and the
overseers were authorized to "call out all hands in
the district to work or open the road." In this way
the first roads in Lee County were established. No
pretense of following section lines were made in
opening the roads, the most direct route being
followed as a rule. Portions of these first highways
are still used, but the greater part of them has been
altered to conform to the lines of the survey.
The territorial legislature of 1838-39, the first
after the Territory of Iowa was organized, passed acts
providing for the establishment of the following roads
in Lee County: 1. From Keokuk to Iowa City, via
Farmington, New Lexington and Bentonsport. James
Sutton, James Robb and James McMurry were named in the
act as commissioners to locate and supervise the
opening of the road. 2. From Fort Madison to Trenton,
Henry County, via Baltimore and Mount Pleasant. The
commissioners to oversee the construction of this road
were William Skinner, Samuel Brazleton and Myriam
Kilbourne. 3. From Samuel Hearn's on the Des Moines
River, to West Point, to be located and opened by
Thomas Douglass, Samuel Hearn and William Howard. 4.
From Keokuk to Mount Pleasant, via Montrose. Larkin
Johnson, William Morrow and Thomas W. Taylor were
named as the supervising commissioners. 5. From Fort
Madison to West Point, following approximately the
route selected by the board of county highway
supervisors the year before. John Box, John Reynolds
and Lewis Pitman were appointed commissioners to
supervise the opening of this road.
During the first few years of the county's history,
scarcely a meeting of the county commissioners
occurred at which petitions for the opening of
highways were not presented. The records from 1837 to
1846 are full of instances of this character, and
there was hardly a citizen in the county during that
period who was not at some time or another called upon
to act as road-viewer, to investigate and report upon
the merits of some petition. It would therefore be
impracticable, if not actually impossible, to give an
account of each of the early roads, but the above
examples are representative cases of how the first
roads were established.
In 1 85 1 the Des Moines Valley Plank Road Company was
organized for the purpose of building a plank road
from Keokuk to Birmingham. In May of that year the
contract for its construction was let to Brownell,
Connable & Cunningham at $2,390 per mile for that
portion between Keokuk and Clinton. In this contract
it was provided that the road should be completed to
the "end of Muddy Lane by November 1, 1851, and to
Clinton the next season." Branches to Salem and
Fairfield were projected, but were never
finished.
The Railroad Era
The first railroad project to interest the people of
Lee County was in 1 8 ^ t , when the subject of
building a railroad from Keokuk to Dubuque, with a
branch to Council Bluffs, became one of general
discussion. The proposition received the support of
many of the leading politicians and quite a number of
newspapers advocated the building of the road. But
every editor that favored it also insisted that the
road should run through his town. Col. J. Monroe Reid,
in his "Old Settlers and Reminiscences," says: "Every
town of any pretensions on and off the river expected
to get this railroad. Surveys were made, not for the
purpose of establishing any route, but to attract
public attention and to keep up the excitement; and
they answered their purpose. It had its day until the
election of United States senator was over, and then
it died. Like the track of a snake in the dusty road,
it ran everywhere, or appeared to run everywhere, but
ran nowhere. It was ridiculed as the 'Ram's Horn
Railroad,' because it was as crooked as a ram's horn.
... It was a political scheme, planned for political
purposes, and died the death."
Voting Aid to
Railroads
In 1853 a company was organized to build a railroad up
the Des Moines Valley from Keokuk to Fort Des Moines
and from that point north into Minnesota. It was known
as the Keokuk, Des Moines & Minnesota Railroad
Company. About the same time the Fort Madison, West
Point, Keosauqua & Bloomfield Railroad Company was
organized, and petitions were circulated asking the
County Court to call a special election to give the
voters of the county an opportunity to express
themselves upon the question of granting aid by
subscribing for the stock of the two companies.
Accordingly, Judge Edward Johnstone, then county
judge, ordered an election for November 26, 1853, at
which the proposition of subscribing for $200,000 of
the capital stock of each company was to be submitted
to the voters, the money thus paid to be expended
within the limits of the county. The call for the
election also stated that a tax of not to exceed one
per cent should be levied upon all the taxable
property of the county annually, to provide a fund
with which to pay the interest upon the bonds and
redeem them when they fell due. The proposition
carried by a vote of 1,964 to 805, and on April 4,
1855, the county judge made the subscription to the
stock.
In the meantime public sentiment with regard to voting
subsidies to railroads had undergone a change, and a
petition signed by over one-fourth of the legal voters
of the county was filed with the county judge, asking
for another election to vote on the question of
rescinding the order for the stock subscription. An
election was ordered for the first Monday in April,
1855, but was postponed for a time at the request of
the petitioners. The vote on the question of
rescinding the issue of stock was 1,553 t0 ^S 21 * tn
e proposition to rescind being carried by a bare
majority of thirty-two votes.
While this question was pending, the Keokuk, Mount
Pleasant & Muscatine Railroad Company had been
organized in 1854 to build a road from Keokuk to
Muscatine. The citizens of Keokuk voted a bond issue
of $100,000 to aid in the construction of this road,
and the merchants and shippers of St. Louis raised
$52,500 by private subscription, as the road would be
of great benefit to their interests by reducing the
cost of lighterage around the Des Moines Rapids of the
Mississippi.
The people realized the building of railroads would
aid materially in the development of the country, and
there was an evident desire on the part of many to
encourage their construction. On August 3, 1856, a
petition, signed by a large number of Lee County's
most prominent citizens, came before Samuel Boyles,
then judge of the County Court, asking for a special
election to vote on the question of voting aid to the
roads. Judge Boyles therefore ordered an election for
Wednesday, September 10, 1856, at which the following
questions were to be submitted to the electors:
"1. Shall the county subscribe $150,000 to the capital
stock of the Keokuk, Fort Des Moines & Minnesota
Railroad Company?
"2. Shall the county subscribe $150,000 to the capital
stock of the Keokuk, Mount Pleasant & Muscatine
Railroad Company?
"3. Shall the county subscribe $150,000 to the capital
stock of the Fort Madison, West Point, Keosauqua &
Bloomfield Railroad Company?"
It was also ordered by the court that each proposition
should be voted on separately; that no stock was to be
subscribed unless each and all propositions received a
majority in favor of such subscrip- tions; that the
roads should give bonds that the proceeds resulting
from the sale of county bonds should be expended
within the limits of the county, and that all stock
subscribed for under the previous election should be
surrendered. The three propositions were carried by
majorities of 1,600, 1,652 and 1,602, respectively,
and on Jan- uary 1, 1857, the county issued its
negotiable bonds in the sum of $450,000, with interest
at 8 per cent, payable semi-annually, for the benefit
of the railroad companies.
The Keokuk, Des
Moines & Minnesota
The survey of this road was made in 1854, under the
direction of Col. J. K. Hornish. In the spring of 1855
the company was reorganized as the Des Moines Valley
Railroad Company, with Hugh T. Reid, president; C. F.
Conn, secretary, and W. C. Graham, treasurer. The City
of Des Moines and Polk County gave $100,000 to assist
in bringing the road to the capital. A contract for
the construction of the road was let to Smith,
Leighton & Company in 1855 and grading was
commenced. Track laying began in the summer of 1856,
and on October 7, 1856, the first train was run from
Keokuk to Buena Vista, a distance of about three
miles. On June 10, 1857, the first train was run from
Keokuk to Farmington. The road was completed to
Eddyville in that year, when work ceased until after
the Civil war.
On July 10, 1866, J. M. Dixon, editor of the Des
Moines Daily Register, announced the fact that the
road had finally crossed the Polk County line in the
following expressive if not elegant rhyme:
"Sammum Hillum! Something's broke! The cars have got
inside of Polk!'
On August 22, 1866, a proclamation was issued that the
first train on the Des Moines Valley Railroad would
arrive at Des Moines on the 29th. Thus, after eleven
years of trial and tribulation, the capital of the
state was placed in communication by rail with the
Mississippi River at Keokuk. On the first through
train there were about one hundred and fifty people
from Keokuk, who went to Des Moines to attend the
celebration. James Tibbetts, of Keokuk, was on the
locomotive as engineman, and R. Patch, also of Keokuk,
was the conductor. This road is now a part of the
great Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway
System.
Keokuk, Mount
Pleasant & Muscatine
This was one of the three roads that were aided by
stock subscriptions on the part of Lee County. In 1855
the stockholders voted to place the construction of
the road under the control of Col. J. K. Hornish, an
experienced engineer. During the spring and summer of
1856 work was pushed with vigor and the road was
finished from Keokuk to Montrose before the winter
could interfere with its construction.
While this part of the road was under construction,
the people of Fort Madison, through the cooperation of
the Fort Madison, West Point, Keosauqua &
Bloomfield Railroad Company, began the building of a
road from that city to a point a little south of what
is now the station of Viele, and in 1857 tne Keokuk,
Mount Pleasant & Muscatine was extended northward
from Montrose to Viele, thus establishing railroad
communication between Keokuk and Fort Madison. The
road then took the name of the Keokuk & St. Paul.
The northern terminus of the road was at Fort Madison
until 1869, when the line was extended to
Burlington.
Burlington &
Southwestern
About 1868 or 1869 a company was organized at
Burlington to build a road westward from Viele to
Farmington, Van Buren County. Work was commenced at
Viele in the summer of 1870 and the road was completed
to Farmington in the spring of 1871. From Viele its
trains ran to Burlington over the tracks of the Keokuk
& St. Paul Railroad. This road was at first known
as the Burlington & South- western and later as
the Chicago, Burlington & Kansas City.
Subsequently it was extended to Carrollton, Missouri,
and is now the Burlington, Laclede & Carrollton
division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
System.
The Narrow-Gauge
On July 17, 1 871, a company was organized at Fort
Madison for the purpose of building a narrow-gauge
railroad from Fort Madison via West Point, Birmingham,
Fairfield and Oskaloosa to Council Bluffs. This road
was known as the Fort Madison & Northwestern
Narrow-Gauge Railway. Cars began running between Fort
Madison and West Point early in 1879. The road was
then sold to a construction company, which completed
it to Collett, forty-five miles from Fort Madison.
About 1888 the road again changed hands, the new
company taking the name of the Chicago, Fort Madison
& Des Moines Railroad Company. The new owners
changed the road to a standard gauge and completed it
to Ottumwa. It is now the Fort Madison & Ottumwa
branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy System,
which also operates a line from Keokuk to Mount
Pleasant, passing through the central part of Lee
County.
Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fe
Shortly after the close of the Civil war a line of
railroad was built from Topeka westward through
Kansas, closely following the line of the old Santa Fe
Trail. A little later the road was extended eastward
to Atchison, Kansas, which city was then a great
outfitting point for westward emigration, and a branch
was built from Topeka to Kansas City. The road then
became known as the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe.
It was not many years until the company announced its
intention to extend its line from Kansas City to
Chicago. When this fact became generally known,
several cities on the Mississippi River offered
inducements to secure the road. In this contest Fort
Madison possessed some decided advantages. In the
first place, it was nearly on the "air line" between
the two terminal cities, and in addition to this a
company of men at Fort Madison held a charter to build
a bridge across the Mississippi at that point, which
charter they offered to turn over to the
railroad.
Work was commenced on the eastern extension in 1886
and on December 7, 1887, the first train crossed the
Mississippi River on the new bridge at Fort Madison.
Fort Madison was made a division point on the road and
the company maintains large shops and yards at that
point.
Toledo, Peoria &
Western
In 1853 a company called the Logansport, Peoria &
Warsaw Railroad Company was organized to build a line
of railroad from Hamilton to Carthage, Illinois, which
was completed in 1856. Three years later the line was
extended southward to Clayton, Illinois. When the
railroad and wagon bridge was built across the
Mississippi at Keokuk in 1868, that city was made the
western terminus of the road, thus giving Keokuk an
eastern outlet. Since that time Keokuk has been made
the terminal city of a division of the Wabash System,
which connects with the main line at Bluffs,
Illinois.
Of the $450,000 voted by the people of Lee County in
aid of railroads in 1856, one-third was expended by
the Keokuk, Mount Pleasant & Muscatine Company in
building the road from Keokuk to Montrose; one-third
by the Fort Madison, West Point, Keosauqua &
Bloomfield Company in building the road from Fort
Madison to Viele; and the remaining one-third was used
by the Des Moines Valley Railroad Company in the
construction of its line from Keokuk to
Bentonsport.
According to the county auditor's report for the year
1913, Lee County then had 159.64 miles of railroad,
the estimated actual value of which was $6,420,420,
but which was assessed for taxation at $1,605,105.
Source: History
of
Lee County, Iowa, by Dr. S. W. Moorhead and
Nelson C. Roberts, 1914
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