A gigantic map of all the cool plaques in the world. A project of 99% Invisible.

First Orchard in what is now Iowa

In Commemorationof theFirst Orchard In What Is NowThe State of IowaGrowing from about 1796 to about 1879 on a plot 3960 feet east from this point, it throve beneath the flags of France, Spain and...

In Commemorationof theFirst Orchard In What Is NowThe State of IowaGrowing from about 1796 to about 1879 on a plot 3960 feet east from this point, it throve beneath the flags of France, Spain and...

  • iowa
  • agriculture

The First Fort Des Moines

This barracks well marks the first Fort Desmoines and was used by a detachment of Dragoons stationed here Sept 25-1834 to June 18-1837

This barracks well marks the first Fort Desmoines and was used by a detachment of Dragoons stationed here Sept 25-1834 to June 18-1837

  • iowa
  • lee county

Fort Des Moines, 1834-1837

Early settlers of Lee County believe that the explorers Marquette and Joliet landed at this spot in 1673. From here they made their only overland exploration on the west bank of the Mississippi,...

Early settlers of Lee County believe that the explorers Marquette and Joliet landed at this spot in 1673. From here they made their only overland exploration on the west bank of the...

  • iowa
  • mormons

Latter-day Saint Exodus from Nauvoo, 1849

During the period of 1839-1846, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormons) settled here in Lee County, Iowa and in Nauvoo, Illinois, on the opposite...

During the period of 1839-1846, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormons) settled here in Lee County, Iowa and in Nauvoo, Illinois, on the opposite...

  • iowa
  • mormons
  • religion

First School in Iowa

This boulder marks the site of the first school house in Iowa, built in 1830

This boulder marks the site of the first school house in Iowa, built in 1830

  • iowa
  • education

Keokuk Armory Explosion Memorial

In memory of the 21 persons who perished in an explosion of The National Guard Armory on this site on Thanksgiving eve Nov. 24, 1965, while attending a square dance of The Swing-Ezy Square Dance Club.

In memory of the 21 persons who perished in an explosion of The National Guard Armory on this site on Thanksgiving eve Nov. 24, 1965, while attending a square dance of The Swing-Ezy Square Dance Club.

  • iowa
  • keokuk
  • disaster
  • square dance

To The Memory of the Pioneers

To the memory of the pioneers who entered Iowa by Keokuk the Gate City and either settling in our state or passing farther west travelled over the well-worn road known as the Mormon Trail.With...

To the memory of the pioneers who entered Iowa by Keokuk the Gate City and either settling in our state or passing farther west travelled over the well-worn road known as the Mormon Trail.With...

  • iowa
  • keokuk
  • mormons
  • religion
  • pioneers

Keokuk Memorial

This Monumentis erected by popular subscriptionIn the Memory of theSAC ChiefKeokukFor whom this city was named. In 1883, his remains together with the marble slab on the reverse side of this die...

This Monumentis erected by popular subscriptionIn the Memory of theSAC ChiefKeokukFor whom this city was named. In 1883, his remains together with the marble slab on the reverse side of this die...

  • iowa
  • keokuk
  • native american
  • gravesite
  • burial

Keokuk's Speech in 1812

I have heard with sorrow that you have determined to leave our village and cross the Mississippi merely because you have been told that the Americans were coming in this direction. Would you leave...

I have heard with sorrow that you have determined to leave our village and cross the Mississippi merely because you have been told that the Americans were coming in this direction. Would you leave...

  • iowa
  • keokuk
  • native american

The Hughes Family

Felix and Jean Hughes moved with their three super achieving children to Keokuk in 1879. Felix served as Mayor, President of the Keokuk and Western Railroad and was a Supreme Court Justice. The...

Felix and Jean Hughes moved with their three super achieving children to Keokuk in 1879. Felix served as Mayor, President of the Keokuk and Western Railroad and was a Supreme Court Justice....

  • iowa
  • keokuk
  • industrialists

Cornerstone of the old Estes House

Cornerstone of the old Estes House    Fifth and Main - Keokuk  Iowa   Site of Army Hospital Apt. 17, 1862-Oct. 1, 1865.Erected in memory of the soldiers who died in the Old General Hospital at...

Cornerstone of the old Estes House    Fifth and Main - Keokuk  Iowa   Site of Army Hospital Apt. 17, 1862-Oct. 1, 1865.Erected in memory of the soldiers who died in the Old General Hospital...

  • iowa
  • keokuk
  • keokuk natio...
  • civil war

Keokuk National Cemetery

Civil War KeokukKeokuk, Iowa, was a staging and training ground for seven Union regiments. The first soldiers mustered in at Camp Ellsworth in May 1861. Later, camps Rankin, Halleck, and Lincoln...

Civil War KeokukKeokuk, Iowa, was a staging and training ground for seven Union regiments. The first soldiers mustered in at Camp Ellsworth in May 1861. Later, camps Rankin, Halleck, and Lincoln...

  • iowa
  • keokuk
  • lee county
  • national cemetery
  • veterans

Conrad Nagel

Conrad Nagel was born in Keokuk, Iowa on March 16, 1897. The son of Frank, a musician, and Frances, a talented singer, it is no surprise Nagel grew up to be a famous silent and sound movie star....

Conrad Nagel was born in Keokuk, Iowa on March 16, 1897. The son of Frank, a musician, and Frances, a talented singer, it is no surprise Nagel grew up to be a famous silent and sound movie star....

  • iowa
  • keokuk
  • entertainment

Elsa Maxwell

Elsa Maxwell was born May 24, 1883 in Keokuk, Iowa – it is said she was born in a theater during the opera Mignon. She was raised in San Francisco, California where her father sold insurance and...

Elsa Maxwell was born May 24, 1883 in Keokuk, Iowa – it is said she was born in a theater during the opera Mignon. She was raised in San Francisco, California where her father sold insurance and...

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  • keokuk
  • entertainment

Latter-day Saint Immigrants' Camp, 1853

Keokuk, Iowa, is named in honor of Chief Keokuk, a Sac and Fox chief who is buried there. The city is located on the west side of the Mississippi River, about 12 miles southwest of Nauvoo. On...

Keokuk, Iowa, is named in honor of Chief Keokuk, a Sac and Fox chief who is buried there. The city is located on the west side of the Mississippi River, about 12 miles southwest of Nauvoo. On...

  • iowa
  • keokuk
  • mormons
  • religion

Chief Keokuk

Chief Keokuk was born in 1780 near the present location of Rock Island, Illinois. His tribe, the Sauk Indians, joined with the remnants of the Mesquakie tribe (or Fox Indians) to form a community...

Chief Keokuk was born in 1780 near the present location of Rock Island, Illinois. His tribe, the Sauk Indians, joined with the remnants of the Mesquakie tribe (or Fox Indians) to form a community...

  • iowa
  • keokuk
  • native american

Samuel Freeman Miller

Samuel Miller moved to Keokuk in 1850 and practiced law here until he was appointed Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1862. He served until his death, 28 years later, and was...

Samuel Miller moved to Keokuk in 1850 and practiced law here until he was appointed Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1862. He served until his death, 28 years later, and was...

  • iowa
  • lee county
  • supreme court

Annie Wittenmter

General Ulysses S. Grant, commander of the Union Army said of Wittenmyer, “No soldier on the firing line gave more heroic service than she did.”Sarah Ann Turner (Annie) was born in Sandy Springs,...

General Ulysses S. Grant, commander of the Union Army said of Wittenmyer, “No soldier on the firing line gave more heroic service than she did.”Sarah Ann Turner (Annie) was born in Sandy Springs,...

  • iowa
  • keokuk
  • civil war
  • women

Charlotta Gordon Pyles

Former slave and celebrated abolitionist, Charlotta Pyles was an outspoken critic of slavery. She was born a slave in Kentucky in 1804. Her father was a mixture of German and African American...

Former slave and celebrated abolitionist, Charlotta Pyles was an outspoken critic of slavery. She was born a slave in Kentucky in 1804. Her father was a mixture of German and African American...

  • iowa
  • native american
  • abolition

J.C. Hubinger

Industrialist and philanthropist, John Carl Hubinger was born in New Orleans in 1851, the first of eight children. The family moved north when J.C. was four, living in Kentucky and Indiana before...

Industrialist and philanthropist, John Carl Hubinger was born in New Orleans in 1851, the first of eight children. The family moved north when J.C. was four, living in Kentucky and Indiana before...

  • iowa
  • keokuk
  • industry