A couple months back I went down to Keokuk County to harvest their town signs before heading to the Renaissance Faire in Des Moines to watch Evie and her Irish dance troupe. It was a good day.
Here are some facts about Keokuk County:
+ Population is 10,163. Making it the 72nd most populous county in Iowa. Below Winnebago County and above Franklin County.
+ Largest town and county seat is Sigourney.
+ Formed in 1837. Opened for settlement in 1843. Governing structure created in 1844.
+ Named for the Sauk chief Keokuk
+ Has two county fairs. The Keokuk County Fair in What Cheer and the Keokuk County Expo in Sigourney.
+ Major highways are: IA-2, IA-21, IA-22, IA-78, IA-92, and IA-149.
+ Adjacent counties are Poweshiek, Iowa, Washington, Jefferson, Wapello, and Mahaska.
+ Population peaked in 1900 at 24,979.
The Keokuk County Courthouse is fair looking:
The Keokuk County Courthouse in Sigourney, Iowa.
The Keokuk County Freedom Rock is located in What Cheer, Iowa:
With Keokuk County conquered, here is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:
PURPLE=COMPLETED
78 counties completed. 78.8% of the Cyclone State conquered.
Here are the town signs of Keokuk County:
Sigourney, Iowa
Sigourney
Population: 2,004 (-55)
Keota, Iowa
KEOTA
Population: 897 (-110)
Hedrick, Iowa
Welcome to HEDRICK
“Where Friends Meet”
Population: 728 (-36)
What Cheer, Iowa
WELCOME TO WHAT CHEER
EST 1865
Population: 607 (-39)
Richland, Iowa
RICHLAND
Population: 542 (-32)
Delta, Iowa
DELTA
HOME OF THE COVERED BRIDGE
Population: 264 (-64)
Keswick, Iowa
Home of the Keswick Agate
KESWICK
Established 1879
Population: 242 (-4)
South English, Iowa
Welcome To South English
Iowa
Est. 1855
Population: 202 (-10)
Ollie, Iowa
OLLIE
EST. 1882
Population: 201 (-14)
Harper, Iowa
HARPER
EST. 1872
Population: 118 (+4)
Martinsburg, Iowa
MARTINSBURG
EST. 1854
Population: 110 (-2)
Webster, Iowa
Welcome to WEBSTER
Est. 1854
Population: 94 (+6)
Kinross, Iowa
KINROSS
CITY HALL
Population: 80 (-7)
Gibson, Iowa
Gibson, IA
50104
Population: 63 (+2)
Thornburg, Iowa
THORNBURG
BIRTHPLACE OF AUTHOR ROSS SANTEE
EST. 1879
Population: 45 (-22)
Hayesville, Iowa
HAYESVILLE COMMUNITY
Population: 41 (-9)
For having so many towns, Keokuk County is kind of a dud for quality town signs. Worst would have to go to Gibson or Kinross cause they didn’t even have real town signs. Hayesville would be up there as well, but you know how I like the abandoned and distressed.
Who gets the purple ribbon? Who gets best in show? I like the town signs for Webster, Thornburg, South English, Delta, and Keswick. Of those, I’m going to give it to Webster. At least it is colorful.
Webster – Best in Show – Keokuk County
There are a couple alternate town signs in Keokuk County:
Richland – Alternate
Delta – Alternate
Here are the current Best in Shows:
Best in Show – Adair County
Best in Show – Adams County
Best in Show – Appanoose County
Best in Show – Audubon County
Best in Show – Benton County
Best in Show – Black Hawk County
Best in Show – Boone County
Best in Show – Bremer County
Best in Show – Buena Vista County
Best in Show – Butler County
Best in Show – Calhoun County
Best in Show – Carroll County
Best in Show – Cass County
Best in Show – Cedar County
Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County
Best in Show – Cherokee County
Best in Show – Clarke County
Best in Show – Clay County
Best in Show – Clinton County
Best in Show – Crawford County
Best in Show – Dallas County
Best in Show – Decatur County
Terril – Best in Show – Dickinson County
Best in Show – Dickinson County
Best in Show – Emmet County
Best in Show – Floyd County
Best in Show – Franklin County
Best in Show – Fremont County
Best in Show – Greene County
Best in Show – Grundy County
Best in Show – Guthrie County
Best in Show – Hamilton County
Best in Show – Hancock County
Best in Show – Hardin County
Best in Sow – Harrison County
Best in Show – Humboldt County
Best in Show – Ida County
Best in Show – Iowa County
Best in Show – Jackson County
Best in Show – Jasper County
Best in Show – Jones County
Best in Show – Keokuk County
Best in Show – Kossuth County
Best in Show – Linn County
Best in Show – Lucas County
Best in Show – Lyon County
Best in Show – Madison County
Best in Show – Mahaska County
Best in Show – Marion County
Best in Show – Marshall County
Best in Show – Mills County
Best in Show – Mitchell County
Best in Show – Monona County
Best in Show – Monroe County
Best in Show – Montgomery County
Best in Show – O’Brien County
Best in Show – Osceola County
Best in Show – Page County
Best in Show – Palo Alto County
Best in Show – Plymouth County
Best in Show – Pocahontas County
Best in Show – Polk County
Best in Show – Pottawattamie County
Best in Show – Poweshiek County
Best in Show – Ringgold County
Best in Show – Sac County
Best in Show – Shelby County
Best in Show – Sioux County
Best in Show – Story County
Best in Show – Tama County
Best in Show – Taylor County
Best in Show – Union County
Best in Show – Warren County
Best in Show – Wayne County
Best in Show – Webster County
Best in Show – Winnebago County
Best in Show – Woodbury County
Best in Show – Worth County
Best in Show – Wright County
The next time we hit the open road for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit the open roads of Howard County.