Page 44 - DesMoinesRiver

Hotel Manning exterior view, Keosauqua, Iowa. Courtesy of Mossy Oak Properties, Boley Real Estate. Hotel Manning interior view, Keosauqua,
Iowa. Woodruff 1972.

Twombly Building, Keosauqua, Iowa. Courtesy
of the Van Buren Historical Society.

buildings in the riverfront business area. The the town tied up to the hotel porch, extended
hotel was constructed on the foundation of Ed- the gang plank, and carried supplies straight into
win Manning’s Mercantile store after the fire. It the building. In the flood year of 1903, when
was expanded to include a second floor in 1897, water rose to a height of seven feet, row boats
and a third floor and restaurant were added in were used to carry guests across the lobby to
1899. The architectural style of the building is the stairway and were tied to the banisters (An-
known as “Steamboat Gothic”, and it is believed derson 2004:17).
to have been inspired by Manning’s trips down
the Mississippi River to New Orleans (Woodruff The Twombly Building
1972:2). The hotel grand opening in 1899 was
a gala ball attended by more than 300 guests The Twombly Building is Keosauqua’s old post
(Anderson 2004:17). office building, built in the 1870s. Although
historical records are unclear, tradition holds
The hotel was subject to flooding. On at least that Captain Voltaire Twombly built the build-
one occasion steamboats delivering supplies to ing. At one stage, the building housed a bakery
which helped provide supplies to Kelly’s Army,

44 A River of Unrivaled Advantages—Life Along the Lower Des Moines River