Page 28 - DesMoinesRiver

Van Buren County Courthouse, Keosauqua, Iowa.
provide $5000 worth of land or materials for construction of the county
courthouse. The courthouse was completed in 1843, and was considered
to be one of the largest and most beautiful in the state. It is the oldest
county courthouse still in use in Iowa and the second oldest in the country state and federal legislation concerning the Des Moines River (Annals of
(Anderson 2004:16). The courthouse is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places (NRHP).
That same 1839 legislature established “The Des Moines Mill Company,”
near Keosauqua, and “Plymouth Mill and Manufacturing Company,” near
28 A River of Unrivaled Advantages—Life Along the Lower Des Moines River
Farmington. These companies were authorized to construct dams across
the river for power, but it was stipulated that they also build locks to allow
for the passage of “steam, keel, flat-boats, rafts, and other water-crafts.”
Dams were also authorized at Bonaparte and Bentonsport with the same
stipulations. This was just the beginning of what proved to be frequent
Iowa 1884:47, 48).
The 1839 legislature also established twelve “seminaries of learning” for
the “instruction of young persons of both sexes in science and literature.”
Three of these, the Farmington Academy, the Bentonsport Academy,
and the Keosauqua Academy were in Van Buren County (Annals of Iowa
1884:48).
THE DES MOINES RIVER – AN ARTERY FOR IOWA INDUSTRY AND
DEVELOPMENT
From the very beginning the new United States of American was strongly
influenced by the philosophy of the Enlightenment and the power of the
Industrial Revolution. This philosophy maintained that “guided by divine
providence and the Law of Nature and enabled by a positive government,
society can convert nature to property, improving the land for the benefit
of society and the production of wealth” (Woten 2009:23). As the nation
grew with the addition of the lands of the Louisiana Purchase enthusiasm
for developing its seemingly unbounded natural resources continued to
grow.
Before the coming of the railroad in 1855 there were two ways to travel
in Iowa other than on foot. One could travel on horseback or by horse-
drawn vehicle, or one could travel by boat. The first method was difficult
and slow. Early roads, where they existed, were nearly impassable because
of mud when wet, or broken and rutted when dry. Rest stops were few
and far between. The second method was easier and faster, but had its
own difficulties. Canoes had limited capacity for carrying goods. Keel boats
could handle the sometimes shallow waters of the rivers, however, they
had to be pushed upstream against a strong current using “setting poles”