Lockkeeper's House
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Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. |
Steamboats on the Des Moines River:
The first steamboat known to ply the Des Moines River was in 1837. In 1843 the steamboat "Ione" made it all the way to the Raccoon Fork at Fort Des Moines.
In the 1850s, newspapers in river towns were full of information about which steamboats were going up and down the Des Moines River and what cargo they were carrying.
It was not always possible for steamboats to navigate the river, however, due to heavy spring rains and summer droughts. Sometimes the boats got stuck on sandbars and had to wait for help.
Des Moines River Improvement Project:
The Des Moines River Improvement Project was supposed to solve all the problems caused by weather. In 1846 the U.S. Congress passed legislation to aid navigation of the Des Moines River. It gave Iowa the right to sell sections of land on each side of the river to raise money to build a series of 28 locks and dams between the Mississippi River and the Raccoon Fork. In 1847 the first state legislature accepted the land grant and established a Board of Public Works to oversee the project.
To simplify the history of this project, it is enough to say that it was a fiasco. The Board awarded contracts for the first locks, dams and canals closest to the Mississippi in 1848, but little construction happened. New board members were elected, and the next year different members were appointed. New contracts were given to new builders; still little happened. In 1853 yet another contractor Henry O'Reilly was hired and given 4 years to finish the project. The name of O'Reilly's company, "Des Moines Navigation and Railroad Company," foretold the outcome of the lock and dam project.
In 1855 construction started on lock and dam #10 upstream from Iowaville. The government purchased 10 acres from Jim Jordan at $50 per acre (an unheard of price) on which to build the lock. The land was in the NW quarter of Section 12 in Davis County.
Teenager Isaac Flint watched the construction and wrote about it 50 years later in the Eldon Star. A whole town grew up on the construction site, with "hundreds" of men quarrying and hauling stone, cutting timber accross the river, and laying the stone walls of the lock. He said that half of the 10 acres was covered with blocks of stone. Despite the number of workers and the availability of stone, Flint wrote that the work was "ridiculously slow."
In his 1856 report to the Governor, Commissioner Edwin Manning noted that in the past 6 years, only 3 locks and 2 dams had been built. Lock and dam #10 were never completed. In 1858 the state legislature took the money for the river navigation project and gave it to the Keokuk, Fort Des Moines and Minnesota Railroad Company to build a railroad from Keokuk to Minnesota. Jim Jordan got his 10 acres back, complete with all the stone and timber on it. He used what he wanted, and sold the rest.
It is believed that Jordan used stone from the project for the foundation of his house and the "Lockkeeper's" House on his property. No records have been located about lockkeeper's houses being built as part of the river improvement project. The reports talked about locks, dams and canals, but no houses. Because of this, it is believed that this stone house was built with material from the project, but not as part of it. The name "Lockkeeper's House" appears to be more legend than fact.
In the spring of 2009 part of the river bank in front of the stone house washed away uncovering a rock wall that appears to be part of lock #10. Archaeologists and historians will be looking carefully at this wall to determine if it is another remnant of this failed engineering project.
Description of House:
The "Lockkeeper's" House is a one and three-quarter story limestone house (approx. 18' by 36') with two front doors on the long side. It faces the Des Moines River along the Old Iowaville Road.
Locally it is said that the house was built for the lockkeeper who would raise and lower the water in the lock for the steamboats going up and down the Des Moiens River. It is thought that it had two doors so the lockkeeper could use one for business, while the other was a family entrance into the home.
The house sat empty for many years, but in 2008 it was donated by Roger Franklin to the City of Eldon to be preserved.
Use of Limestone:
Limestone is abundant in the Des Moines River Valley and continues to be quarried today. In the 1800's it was commonly used to build foundations. There are very few limestone houses or buildings in Van Buren, Davis and Wapello Counties--for that reason the "Lockkeeper's" House is unique.