In the days before easily updatable mapping software, towboat captains on the Mississippi River detailed sections of the river in their log books by hand drawings. Captain C.W. Elder's map book can be seen at the George M. Verity River Museum in Keokuk, Iowa. The 1920's towboat was decommissioned and sold to the city of Keokuk in 1961 for the purpose of educating generations about towboats on the river.
This map appears to show the hazards of the water along a stretch of river between Mississippi and Louisiana, just north of Natchez, MS. South is to the top of the map. Rodney Island is the key to trace this hand drawn waterway illustration to modern maps like Google Maps. Discover for yourself.
While two of your best buddies hand crank the air supply to your helmet you go overboard some nine feet down to inspect the towboat. Its caught on a snag or lodged on a sandbar on the Mississippi River. Weighted lead shoes, lead vests and lead belts stabilize you against a fierce river current, you will be lucky to see anything let alone function. A few tugs on the ropes that connect you to the surface and you will be pulled up into the air world. Just remember not to anger your buddies or they might forget to turn the crank of the air pump while you are watching catfish swim by.
Atop a limestone bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in southeast Iowa is the gateway city called Keokuk, named after the region’s Sac and Fox warrior chief. He died during 1848 in Kansas. The Chief's remains and "other materials of historic value" were reinterred at the base of this moment in the city named in his honor. The town is one of Iowa's oldest communities as explorers coming up the Mississippi stopped at the confluence of the Des Moines and Mississippi Rivers to settle. Later the town became one of the jumping off points for pioneers setting out on the Mormon trail to Salt Lake. Its a very historic town that brims with the sights of the past.
"Confederate" soldiers amass at Rand Park before the Battle of Appomattox in Keokuk, Iowa. These troops represented infantry elements from Kentucky and Tennessee for this reenactment battle - the 28th annual and final reenactment staged in Keokuk. Most of the players hailed from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
A deeply sorrowed 'President Lincoln' watches the final surrender ceremonies at Keokuk, Iowa's Rand Park this past Sunday. The reenactment featured the replay of the Battle of Appomattox and the surrender of General Lee. Following the ceremony, actors from both sides resumed their normal personalities. Mr. Lincoln (who is played by Max Daniels of Wheaton, IL) posed with many audience members for selfies and group photos.
Keokuk's tourism board decided to not go forward with the Civil War series due to dwindling audience attendance, aging reenactment member population and the lack of younger members joining the players community. At Sunday's reconstructed battle a crowd of 300 or so people looked on to experience the sights and sounds of soldiers, horses, canons, guns, tents, bands and of course the Lincolns.
A colorful treatment for an abandoned rail station located in Keokuk, Iowa. This station may have seen President Theodore Roosevelt arrive and depart while on any of three historic stops in Keokuk in the early 1900s. Except for rail car storage this area is now off limits to the public. Bully. Know that.
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