Banking Institutions

The first bank in Lee County was opened at Keokuk in 1846 by George C. Anderson, in connection with his wholesale grocery and supply house on the corner of Second and Johnson streets. It was a private bank and was at first conducted as a sort of broker's office, but after a short time Mr. Anderson devoted his entire attention to the business of the bank, continuing in that line of activity until his death in 1867. Alexander Barclay & Company then succeeded Mr. Anderson. Mr. Barclay died in 1871 and the affairs of the bank were soon afterward liquidated. 

In 1852 Charles Parsons opened a bank in Keokuk. His first place of business was on Main Street, two doors east of Second. Later he removed to the southeast corner of Second and Main streets, where he continued until his bank was forced to suspend in the panic of 1857. 

Late in the year 1852 or early in 1853, Granville B. Smith & Company opened a bank in Keokuk. Fitz Henry Warren, A. D. Green and E. H. Thomas, of Burlington, were members of this firm, which carried on a successful banking business in Keokuk until in January, 1856, when the original founders of the institution were succeeded by the firm of A. L. Deming & Company. 

Other early financial institutions of Keokuk were the banking houses of Ford, Graham & Ford, which began business in June, 1856; Chapin & Lee, who came from New York; Hatch & Thompson, from Kentucky; Ficklin & Lucas, all of whom began business prior to the financial crash of 1857, when most of them wound up their affairs and went out of business. 

On February 4, 1858, the banking house of Rix, Hale & Company opened its doors for the transaction of business and continued until March 3, 1862, when Mr. Hale was elected cashier of the Keokuk branch of the Iowa State Bank and the exchange and deposit department of the concern was discontinued. 

Keokuk Banks in 1914

In the year 1 9 14 there were four banks in the city of Keokuk, to-wit: The State Central Savings Bank, the Keokuk Savings Bank, the Keokuk National Bank, and the Security State Bank. 

The State Central Savings Bank is the successor of the old Keokuk branch of the State Bank of Iowa, which first opened its doors on September 25, 1858, with Samuel F. Miller as president and J. W. McMillen as cashier. In 1865 it was reorganized under the national banking laws as the State National Bank, with a capital stock of $150,000. James F. Cox was the first president of the reorganized bank and O. C. Hale continued as cashier. The bank was again reorganized in 1885, when it became the State Bank of Keokuk. In 1893 it was consolidated with the Central Savings Bank, which had been organized in 1890, when it adopted its present name. The officers of the bank in 1 9 14 were: William Logan, president; George E. Rix and Wells W. Irwin, vice presidents; C. J. Bode, cashier; H. T. Graham and H. B. Blood, assistant cashiers. The capital stock of the bank at that time was $200,000, the surplus an equal amount, and the deposits amounted to $2,500,000. 

On December 19, 1867, the Keokuk Savings Bank was incorporated under the laws of Iowa, and it opened for business on February 10, 1868, with an authorized capital of $100,000, one-half of which was paid up. Edward Johnstone was the first president and William Thompson the first cashier. A statement of the bank's condition, issued on September 1, 19 1 4, shows a capital stock of $100,000, surplus and undivided profits of $185,000, and deposits of $1,065,000. The officers at that time were as follows: A. E. Johnstone, president; Howard L. Connable, vice president; F. W. Davis, cashier; Howard W. Wood, assistant cashier. 

The Keokuk National Bank was organized on June 15, 1872, with William Patterson, president; Edward F. Brownell, cashier, and a paid up capital stock of $100,000. It is one of the substantial institutions of the City of Keokuk, as shown by its statement of September 12, 1914, when the capital stock was $100,000, the surplus and profits, $62,748, and the deposits, $752,000. The officers then were: E. S. Baker, president; A. E. Matless and Ira W. Wills, vice presidents; John A. Dunlap, cashier, and E. R. Cochrane, assistant cashier. 

The Security State Bank is the youngest in the city. It was organized on February 15, 1913, with a capital stock of $100,000 and on September 1, 1914, reported undivided profits of $28,410. Its deposits at that time amounted to about $220,000, and the officers were: W. B. Seeley, president; J. B. Weil and Alois Weber, vice presidents; E. A. French, cashier, and E. G. Weismann, assistant cashier. The bank occupies a neat building at the corner of Eighth and Main streets. 

Fort Madison Banks

In 1914 there were three banks in the City of Fort Madison, viz. : The Fort Madison Savings Bank, the German-American Bank, and the Lee County Savings Bank, all operating under the state laws. 

The first bank in the city was established in the year 1854, as a branch of the banking house of E. H. Thomas & Company, of Burlington, with a Mr. Merrick in charge. Two years later the business was purchased by John H. Knapp and George P. Eaton, under the firm name of Knapp & Eaton, and they continued the business until the institution was made a branch of the State Bank of Iowa in 1858. The affairs of this bank were wound up in 1865, when it was succeeded by the Fort Madison National Bank, which began business with John H. Winterbotham as president and Clark R. Wever as cashier. On January 30, 1872, the national bank charter was surrendered and the concern was reorganized as the Bank of Fort Madison under the state laws. The stockholders of the reorganized bank were A. C. and Henry Cattermole, John H. and J. R. Winterbotham and Clark R. Wever. 

The First National Bank succeeded to the business of the Bank of Fort Madison in 1888. In August, 1890, the same stockholders organized the Fort Madison Savings Bank and the two banks were operated in connection until 1895, when the First National was discontinued, the Fort Madison Savings Bank taking over the business. 

From a statement issued by the bank on September 1, 1914, it is learned that the paid up capital is $30,000, the net surplus and profits amount to $35,344, and the deposits were over $865,000. The officers at that time were: D. A. Morrison, president; James C. Brewster, vice president; J. A. S. Pollard, cashier; W. H. Rose and A. M. Lowrey, assistant cashiers. 

The German-American State Bank was first organized as the German-American Bank in April, 1876, by Henry and Arthur Cattermole, George Schlapp, Joseph Deiman and H. D. McConn, with a capital stock of $50,000. Henry Cattermole was the first president and H. D. McConn the first cashier. In April, 191 3, it was reorganized as the German-American State Bank, with a capital stock of $100,000. The officers of the bank in 19 14 were as follows: Dr. Maurice Wahrer, president; E. F. McKee, vice president; H. J. Kennedy, cashier; E. T. Einspanjer, assistant cashier. Since its reorganization the bank has accumulated undivided profits of $4,125, and in September, 1914, reported deposits of about five hundred and sixty thousand dollars. 

In 1888 the Lee County Savings Bank was organized with Samuel Atlee as president; William G. Kent, vice president, and George M. Hanchett, cashier. In 1914 William H. Atlee was president; W. N. Blackinton, vice president; George M. Hanchett, cashier; Carl E. Stoeckle and Albert R. Benbow, assistant cashiers. The original capital stock of $25,000 has been increased to $50,000 and in September, 1914, the bank reported a surplus of $10,000 and •deposits of $700,000. 

Outside Banks

The oldest bank in the county, outside of Keokuk and Fort Madison, is the private bank of W. N. Blackinton, at Denmark, which was established in 1894. As tms is a private institution and publishes no tatements showing the condition of its business, it is impossible to give the amount of capital or deposits. 

In 1898 the Citizens Mutual Bank of Donnellson was founded with a capital stock of $15,000. The officers in 1914 were: W. B. Seeley, president; W. E. Dickey, vice president; G. W. Mattern, cashier/ At that time the bank reported a surplus of $15,000 and deposits of $310,000. 

The next rural bank to be organized in Lee County was the Montrose Savings Bank, which began business in 1903, with a capital stock of $20,000. H. R. Younkin was president of the bank in 1914; C. H. Curtis, vice president, and J. E. Lamb, cashier. At that time the surplus and profits amounted to $2,000 and the deposits to $150,000. 

The Farmers Savings Bank of Wever was also organized in 1908, with a capital stock of $12,000. On July 1, 1914, the officers of this bank were as follows : H. E. Hyter, president; S. J. Hilleary, vice president; A. J. Huebner, cashier; Emma D. Huebner, assistant cashier. At that time the surplus and undivided profits amounted to $3,000 and the deposits to $190,000. 

In 1909 the Mount Hamill State Savings Bank was organized by some of the citizens of that town and the immediate vicinity and began business with a capital stock of $12,500. R. S. Pease was president of this bank in 1914 and F. M. Geese was cashier. The surplus then amounted to $1,400 and the deposits to $60,000. 

The Pilot Grove Savings Bank was organized under the state laws in 1911. The capital stock of this bank is $10,000, the surplus and profits, $1,770, and the deposits, $102,000. The officers in 1914 were: B. Dingman, president; Theodore Schinstock, vice president; John Hellman, cashier. 

The Donnellson State Bank, the youngest financial institution in the county, was organized in 1913, with Henry Meinhardt, presi- dent; H. C. Knapp, vice president; J. E. Krieger, cashier. These officers were still in charge of the bank in 1914, when the deposits amounted to about thirty thousand dollars. The capital stock of the bank is $25,000. 

From the above statements it will be seen that the people of Lee County have approximately eight millions of dollars on deposit in the local banks, all of which are conservatively managed by experienced financiers and command the confidence of their patrons and of other bankers throughout the country. 

Agriculture

Tilling the soil and raising live stock have always been the principal occupations of the people of Lee County. From the small clearing in the timber or the sod cornfield of the prairie in the latter '30s, the county has gradually developed along agricultural lines until in 1913, according to the Iowa Year Book, there were 2,009 farms, with an average size of 136 acres. Figures are not always interesting reading, but the story of a community's progress can often be better told by statistics than in any other way. Adopting that method for the purpose of showing the county's agricultural status, the following table has been compiled from the reports of the principal crops as published in the year book above mentioned:

Of the 277,242 acres in the 2,009 farms, 131,106 acres were given over to the crops above enumerated. In addition to these products there were approximately three thousand acres planted to orchards and about twice that area devoted to the production of vegetables and small fruits. 

The number of domestic animals on hand on July 1, 1913, included 12,401 horses, 714 mules, 47,580 hogs, 15,061 dairy cattle, 1,983 other cattle and 17,487 sheep. Over nine thousand sheep were sold during the year and the wool clip amounted to 44,946 pounds. Lee County ranks high as a poultry raising community, reporting 238,946 fowl of all varieties, and during the year 191 3 the production of eggs for the market reached 789,163 dozen. 

The State of Iowa, by the enactment of liberal laws, has done much to encourage the agricultural and stock raising interests of the state. One of these laws is that of 1907 regarding farmers' institutes. By this act it is provided that: "When forty or more farmers of a county organize a farmers' institute, with a president, secretary, treasurer and an executive committee of not less than three outside of such officers and hold an institute, remaining in session not less than two days in each year, which institute may be adjourned from time to time and from place to place in said county, the secretarv of the State Board of Agriculture, upon the filing with him a report of such institute and an itemized statement under oath showing that the same has been organized and held and for what purposes the money expended has been used, shall certify the same to the auditor of state, which state auditor shall remit to the county treasurer of such county his warrant for the amount so expended not to exceed seventy-five dollars," etc. 

The act further provides that no officer of the county institute shall receive any compensation for his services and that all reports must be made to the secretary of the State Board of Agriculture by June 1st of each year, or no money will be paid by the state to such institute as fails to report. 

Manufacturing

Probably the oldest manufacturing concern in Lee County, in point of continuous operation, is the Fort Madison Plow Company. As early as 1847 S. D. Morrison came from New York to Fort Madison and began the making of plows by hand. In the spring of 1854 J. H. West became a partner and the firm of West & Morrison began operating on a larger scale. This partnership lasted but about a year, when Mr. Morrison withdrew and started in the business for himself. In 1865 his two sons, J. B. and D. A. Morrison were taken into the firm and ten years later the elder Morrison retired. In 1883 the Morrison Manufacturing ompany was formed, and a few years ago the business was incorporated under the name of the Fort Madison Plow Company. .The factory buildings cover practically the entire square east of Broadway, facing the Mississippi River, on the site of old Fort Madison. From fifteen to twenty thousand plows of different varieties, cultivators and corn planters are turned out annually. Most of these implements are sold in the states west of the Mississippi River, though large shipments have been made to South American countries. The company employs from one hun- dred and fifty to two hundred men and the value of the annual out- put approximates four hundred thousand dollars. 

In 1854 Winterbotham & Jones began the manufacture of farming tools in Fort Madison. They were succeeded by Soule, Davis & Company, who enlarged the plant and extended their trade over a larger territory. This firm was in turn succeeded by Soule, Kretsinger & Company and in 1874 the Iowa Farming Tool Company was incorporated. Special attention was then given to the production of three hand farming tools, viz. : Forks, hoes and rakes. Since the year 1900 the business has practically doubled in volume and the goods made by this company are shipped to every state in the Union, Australia, Japan, South Africa, South America and several European countries. The concern is now a branch of the American Fork and Hoe Company, employs about three hundred men and turns out about two million forks, hoes and rakes annually. 

Another early industry of Fort Madison was the manufacture of brick and tile, an abundance of fine clay being found in the immediate vicinity of the city. Among the pioneer brick makers were Reichelt Brothers, Frederick Brothers & Adriance, Herminghausen Brothers, the Wiggenjost Brick Works and Bartel & Stellern. The most important of those in 1 914 were the Stellern yards, on the Denmark road just outside the city limits, owned by Henry Stellern, and the Reichelt Pressed Brick and Tile Works, a mile from the city on the Burlington road. Julius Reichelt, proprietor. This is the oldest yard in the vicinity of the city, established in 1867. in the last named yards the Reichelt rotary pressed brick machines are used. These machines are manufactured by Reichelt & Willmesmeier and shipped to brick makers all over the country. The capacity of the Stellern plant, when running full time, is 25,000 brick and tile daily. That of the Reichelt plant is 10,000 brick and 15,000 feet of tile. 

Fort Madison
Top photo is Pine Street Looking South to the River
Bottom photo is Pine Street looking toward river from Second Street
Taken in the latter 1870s

Shortly after the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad was completed through Lee County the Fort Madison Iron Works were established in the western part of the city for the manufacture of car wheels and carried on a successful business for a number of years, when the concern was absorbed by the wheel trust. The Fort Madison factory was then closed and the buildings stood idle for some time. In 1914, through the influence of the Fort Madison First Association, the Acme Manufacturing Company, makers of chandeliers and novelties in brass work, took possession of the old plant and remodeled it to adapt it to the new line of business. 

The Brown Paper Company was formed as the Fort Madison Paper Company in 1882 and buildings for the manufacture of straw wrapping and building paper were erected in the western part of the city. Several additions have been made to the original mill and after the completion of the Keokuk dam, electric power was introduced, the current being supplied by the Mississippi River Power Company. About thirty or forty tons of straw are used daily, producing from twenty to twenty-five tons of the finished product. 

Some years ago the Fort Madison Packing Company erected a fine packing house, but, owing to the tendency of the great packers to concentrate their business in the larger cities, the plant continued in operation but a short time. Subsequently the Charles Wissmath & Son Packing Company, of St. Louis, obtained control of and thoroughly remodeled the plant, making one of the best establish- ments of the kind on the Mississippi. It opened under the new management in September, 1906. 

There is one manufacturing concern in Fort Madison that cannot be passed over, and that is the sawmill and lumber business of Samuel and J. C. Atlee. This business was started by the late J. C. Atlee in 1852. Two years later he built the first steam sawmill in Fort Madison and this was enlarged until the annual cut of lumber was 20,000,000 feet. The saw and planing mills and lumber yards cover thirty acres of ground in the southwestern part of the city and the firm owns three steamboats that are used in towing logs down the river from the northern pineries or in carrying lumber to other mar- kets. The Atlee sawmill is the last on the Mississippi River below St. Paul to continue in operation, but with the building of the great power dam at Keokuk the river has been backed up until the water interferes with the mill and no lumber was sawed during the year 1914.

One of the latest manufactories to be established in Fort Madison is the Fort Madison Shoe Manufacturing Company, which was brought to the city through the efforts of the Fort Madison First Association in the summer of 1914. At a meeting held at the Commercial Club rooms on August 9, 1914, the Popel-Giller Building at the corner of Union and Santa Fe avenues was secured for the factory, and a week or two later the company was organized by the election of A. P. Brown, president; H. F. Stempel, Jr., vice president; Henry Heying, secretary, and J. E. Hoffman, of Chicago, manager. 

In the spring of 1912 W. A. Sheaffer, of Fort Madison, began the manufacture of fountain pens. For a time his factory was located on the third floor of the building at the northeast corner of Second and Pine streets, but in 1914 a new building was erected at the corner of Front and Broadway, expressly for a pen factory. The products of this concern are sold all over the country and the business is constantly increasing. 

Other Fort Madison factories are the Fort Madison Button Company, which uses from one thousand to one thousand five hundred tons of mussel shells every year in cutting button blanks, which are sent to Burlington to be finished; the Boekenkamp foundry, at the corner of Vine and Water streets; several cigar factories; a horse collar factory; a canning factory, and a number of minor concerns producing various articles. 

Keokuk Faactories

The first stove made in Iowa and the first locomotive built in the state were manufactured in the City of Keokuk. In the spring of 1855 Atwood & Estes established a stove factory, which employed about thirty men, and the first stove was finished on July 4, 1855. The factory had a capacity of about four thousand stoves annually. 

The locomotive was built at the shops of the Des Moines Valley Railroad and was completed in October, 187.5. Every particle of it was made under the supervision of the master mechanic and it was distinctly a Keokuk product. This locomotive weighed twenty-four tons and the cost was $17,000. 

Other Keokuk factories established along in the '50s were the furniture factory of Kilbourne & Davis, which employed at one time seventy men; Knowles' wagon shops, which employed thirty men and boasted "a wagon a day;" Thomas Wickersham & Sons' foundry and machine works, which made a specialty of sawmill machinery and employed about sixty persons; the boiler factory of Edward Welchman. 

In the fall of 1849, $• S. Vail & Company began operating a foundry and machine shop on the corner of Sixth and Blondeau streets. About a year later Aaron Vail became a member of the firm and in 1856 the works were removed to new buildings on the corner of Ninth and Johnson streets, at which time the name was changed to "Buckeye Foundry." Several changes in ownership, or in the personnel of the firm, occurred during the next decade. From 1865 to 1870 the plant was conducted under the management of Vail, Armitage & Company, which firm was succeeded by Sample, Mc- Elroy & Company. Still later the concern became known as the McElroy Iron Works. The plant is now operated by the Keokuk Hydraulic Tire Setter Company, which manufactures the Little Giant tire setter, steam generators, metal tanks, fire escapes and structural steel. 

The Irwin-Phillips Company, located at the corner of Second and Main streets, employs a large number of women and girls in the manufacture of shirts, overalls and corduroy clothing. The capital stock of this company is $350,000 and the products of the factory are shipped to all parts of the West and South. 

Several years ago the Decker Manufacturing Company located in Keokuk and began the manufacture of curry combs, hog rings, ringers and hardware novelties. With the expansion of their trade the old quarters became too cramped and in 191 1 a new, three-story brick building, with 21,000 square feet of floor space, was erected at the corner of Third and Blondeau streets. It is one of the substantial and model factories of Keokuk. 

When the American Rice & Cereal Company commenced business in Keokuk, making rolled oats, grits, cracked rice, etc., it employed sixty people and consumed two carloads of corn and one of oats daily. It has been superseded by the Purity Oats Company, which employs more than twice the number of people as its predecessor and ships cereal food products to all parts of the country. The works are located on the levee near the foot of Johnson Street. 

One of the largest manufacturing concerns of Lee County is the Huiskamp Brothers Shoe Company, of Keokuk. This business was established in 1854, by B. F. Moody, in a comparatively small building on Main Street. Mr. Moody was succeeded by the firm of Huiskamp & Hambleton, which in turn was succeeded by Huiskamp Brothers. In 1887 the business was incorporated under the name of the Huiskamp Brothers Shoe Company. The Keokuk factory occupies the large building at the corner of Second and Johnson streets, and the company also has another factory at Warsaw, Illinois. The two factories employ about nine hundred people. Forty traveling salesmen cover practically all the United States, except New England, and the annual product of the two establishments amounts to $1,500,000. 

The Mills-Ellsworth Company, makers of buggy shafts and bent wood products, was formerly located on ground that became overflowed when the power dam was built across the Mississippi. Arrangements were under way to remove the works to some other city when the Keokuk Industrial Association came to the rescue, secured a new location for the company on Commercial Alley, and contributed to the erection of a new factory building, thus preserving the industry to the city. 

Through the influence of the Industrial Association, the American Cement Machine Company was brought to Keokuk from Madison, Wisconsin, and permanently established at 1020 Johnson Street. This company makes machines for mixing concrete and contractors' equipment, and although in Keokuk but a short time arrangements were being made in September, 1914, for the erection of a large addition to the factory. 

Another recent addition to the factories of the city is the John DeWitt Washing Machine Company. Mr. DeWitt was formerly the manager of the Keokuk Industrial Association. While working with that organization to secure new factories he became interested in the manufacture of washing machines, and to show his faith in the representations the Industrial Association had made to other manufacturers, he located in Keokuk. 

In addition to the establishments above mentioned, there are a number of smaller factories in the city. Among these are the Thomas Brothers Company, which makes gasoline engines and does a general machine shop business; the Hawkeye Pearl Button Company, which employs about two hundred people during the busy seasons in the manufacture of button blanks; the Keokuk Canning Company occupies a large plant on Johnson Street and employs quite a number of people in the production of pickles and canned goods; the Ayer Manufacturing Company, which makes certain classes of agricultural implements; August C. Wustrow's wagon shops; and the Keokuk Brick & Tile Company, which turns out large quantities of the finest building brick and thousands of feet of tiling every year. 

Keokuk also manufactures kitchen cabinets, cream separators, brooms, proprietary medicines, paper boxes and mailing tubes, cigars, cooperage and numerous other articles. Many of these products are shipped to other states, while a few are made only in small quantities for local consumption. 

Keokuk and Fort Madison are the manufacturing centers of the county. The Keokuk Industrial Association and the Fort Madison First Association, are composed of active, energetic citizens, who are always on the alert for an opportunity to secure the location of a new factory. Their labors have already begun to bear fruit and the probabilities are that the next decade will see the manufacturing interests of both cities make substantial gains.

Source:  History of Lee County, Iowa, by Dr. S. W. Moorhead and Nelson C. Roberts, 1914