Keokuk, Iowa is a city of about 10000 people in Southeastern Iowa. It is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is commemorated with a statue and thought to be buried in the Rand Park on the edge of the Mississippi River.
There is a fine display of historic architecture in Keokuk’s downtown area, although quite a lot of buildings have seen better days and were seemingly no longer occupied especially the shops on the ground floor.
Mark Twain’s brother Orion was a long-time resident of Keokuk and Twain wrote about Keokuk in his Life On The Mississippi book, which is one of my favorite books of his.
Back Road Bound 
Great post on a town that I used to visit in my youth as I had a aunt and uncle who lived there.
Thanks, how was it back then? I guess I’m not really in a position to judge as I only spent a day there, but I found Main Street to be a bit depressing/sad with all the boarded up windows and closed shops.
It was quite the town, I remember going to the movies downtown and a drug store that sold penny candy. It seemed really big as a child.
It was actually bigger than life! It was a cross between a twain story and a bustling small town with warm and close knit families. I am 50 this year and to date, my mind is constantly drawn back to memories of not only the faces and friends, but imagery of a town I loved and knew every inch of…!
Thanks T for checking this out – do you still live in the area or visit often? Just wondering as I thought the downtown didn’t look too well when I went (loved it, though). But I only spent a day there so my impressions are probably superficial.