USA > Illinois > Hancock County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Hancock County, Volume II > Part 44
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The Carthage Gazette-May 16, 1867.
Gen. Fonda will commence the survey of the Rapids some time during next week.
The Carthage Republican-Dec. 19, 1867.
Fording the Mississippi-An eye witness in- forms us that on Friday last, two men, having encased themselves in rubber boots and leg- gings, forded the Mississippi river on the lower chain of rapids at Keokuk, finding the greatest depth at not over 21/2 feet. It is said the river is now lower than it has been within the mem- ory of the oldest inhabitant. Navigation has been suspended nearly two weeks.
THE KEOKUK AND HAMILTON BRIDGE
The following history of the Keokuk and Hamilton Bridge has been furnished by Mr. John H. Cole, superintendent of the company. Mr. Cole was born in Wisconsin Territory in 1846. He went to Keokuk from Pennsylvania in 1875. By profession he is a civil engineer. In 1876 he was elected city engineer of Keokuk, and for a short time was the chief engineer of the old St. Louis, Keokuk and Northwestern Railroad Company. On February 1, 1881, he was elected superintendent of the Keokuk and Hamilton Bridge Company, which position he has held continuously from that day to the present time. This long period of service testi- fies to his ability.
This bridge crossing the Mississippi River from Hamilton, Ill., to Keokuk, Iowa, was con- structed as a link in what was intended to be a through line of railroads from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and was promoted by the Co- lumbus, Chicago, and Indiana Central Railway Co., a leased line of the Pennsylvania railroad and which railroad, through its principal offi- cers Thomas Scott and J. Edgar Thompson au- thorized the C. C. & I. C. to sign the contracts ; also by the Toledo, Wabash and Western Rail- way Co., by Azariah Boody, its president, the Toledo, Peoria and Warsaw Railway Co., by James F. Secor, its president, and the Des Moines Valley Railroad Co., by its president, N. A. Cowdry, and by Andrew Carnegie as president of the Keokuk and Hamilton Bridge Company.
The four railroads named above gave a joint guaranty of the interest on the bonds needed to build the bridge but through legal and other ways that guaranty was voided a great many years ago.
The bridge is 2,192 feet long from abutment to abutment, and was built of Swedish iron, the best material ever put into a bridge. The
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
approach at the east end is 707 feet and at the west end 250 feet.
The first step in the matter was the organi- zation of the Hancock County Bridge Co., under a special act of the Legislature of Illinois, ap- proved and in force on Feb. 13, 1865. This act empowered Alexander Sympson, George Edmunds, Jr., Francis M. Corby, William" A. Patterson, Hiram G. Ferris, Robert W. Mc- Claughry, Andrew J. Griffith, Bryant T. Scofield and Phineas Kimball, Jr., to build, construct, maintain and use a bridge or bridges, for rail- road and other purposes, over the Mississippi River, to the State of Iowa, at any point in the county of Hancock between the city of War- saw and the city of Nauvoo.
The next was an organization of the Keokuk and Mississippi River Bridge Co., under the general incorporation laws of Iowa by Reid, Leighton, Perry, Kilbourn, McCrary and Buel. By an act of the U. S. Congress these two corporations were allowed to consolidate and the present Company was incorporated under the laws of Iowa. Andrew Carnegie became the president and retained this office until the day of his death, Aug. 11, 1919.
Work was commenced in 1869 and the bridge opened for highway traffic on June 13, 1871. This bridge was constructed to carry engines weighing up to 35 tons, the maximum car-load being 13 tons. Gradually the engines were built heavier and heavier and the maximum car-load raised higher and higher and to carry these loads was the problem. The only way was by putting in longer and heavier timbers so that the loads would be distributed over several panels and fir timbers 6 in. by 18 in. were used in that way. However, there came a time when a new bridge had to be built, and con- tracts were let after Congress had passed an act giving the authority to build. The work was begun in 1915. It is a new double-deck bridge, carrying the highway overhead. The new bridge opened for all kinds of traffic on August 1, 1916. In the rebuilding all kinds of traffic was kept moving with but slight delays. The highway is paved with creosoted blocks, the best floor material known to builders. It is eigliteen in. in the clear and over it travel may go from Illinois to Iowa without having to pass over a single railway track. When Keokuk is reached over the western viaduct the traveler is landed within one block of the busi- ness district, after having paid the lowest toll
charged anywhere for crossing the "Father of Waters."
THE GREAT MISSISSIPPI RIVER DAM AT KEOKUK AND HAMILTON
The history of the great dam, the east end of which reaches into the county at or just above Hamilton, is intensely interesting the citi- zens, as the greatest enterprise of an engineer- ing nature which intimately concerns the county. The matter following, except those paragraphs relating to the resolutions of the Illinois Legis- lature in 1843 and 1849, has been kindly pre- pared and furnished by Hon. A. W. O'Harra of Carthage, who has been attorney for the Mis- sissippi River Power Company in the construc- tion of the dam and the management of its business since the inception of the undertaking.
When Robert E. Lee was a lieutenant in the old army and stationed near the Des Moines rapids in the Mississipp River, between what is now Hancock County, Ill., and Lee County, Iowa, he made a report to the War Department on the water-power present in these rapids. As an engineer of education, he realized the im- mense power in the river at this point of steep slope and narrow cañon between the bluffs; as an engineer of optimism, he pointed out what the future might develop; as a practical en- gineer, he appreciated that the time was far in the future. (The correctness of the above state- ment is asserted by competent authority. There has been no opportunity to examine the records.)
At an early day the necessity for a canal around the Des Moines River rapids was appre- ciated both in Illinois and Iowa, but the expense was too great for the financial ability of the State of Illinois, and the Territory of Iowa, and so the territorial Legislature of Iowa memorial- ized Congress on the subject, "praying for an appropriation to make canals around the Des Moines and Rock River Rapids, or falls of the Mississippi River," and the Illinois Legislature, in 1843, memorialized Congress, by joint resolu- tion of the two houses, heartily concurring in the memorial of the territorial Legislature of Iowa for such appropriation.
In 1849, a joint resolution of the two houses of the Illinois General Assembly was passed, reciting that the navigation of the Mississippi River was greatly obstructed by the Des Moines rapids. and requesting Congress to pass an Act granting consent that any dams, walls, locks or
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th may
MISSISSIPPI RIVER DAM AT KEOKUK AND HAMILTON
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
other works may be placed in the Mississippi River on or near the Des Moines rapids, on the Illinois side thereof, for the purpose of improv- ing the navigation thereof, OR FOR HYDRAU- LIC PURPOSES, which should not obstruct the free navigation of the present channel of the river, and which improvements should be made by or under the direction of or by the authority of the Legislature of the State of Illinois.
Thus, as early as 1849, the possibility of using the Des Moines rapids for power purposes, as well as the matter of overcoming this obstruc- tion to the free navigation of the river, was contemplated by the citizens of the State, and especially by the people of Western Illinois.
A canal, with locks, was constructed, but this was solely for purposes of navigation.
In 1890 a company secured from the govern- ment authority to build a power canal around the rapids under certain conditions, but the com- pany failed to comply with the conditions and the grant lapsed.
In 1899 the Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Company was organized by citizens of Keokuk, Iowa, and Hamilton, Illinois, under the general incorporation laws of the state of Iowa. The purpose of the company was to secure from the general government the right to construct a power canal along the Illinois shore of the Des Moines Rapids. The Congressmen from Illinois thought the company should be an Illinois one as the plans then contemplated would all have to be worked out in this state.
In 1900 the same parties who had organized the Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Com- pany of Iowa organized the Keokuk and Hamil- ton Water Power Company under the general incorporation laws of the state of Illinois. In 1901 this company secured from the United States Government the right to build a wing dam or power canal on the Illinois side of the Des Moines Rapids not over five hundred feet wide, subject to, and with the approval of the Secretary of War. Mr. Lyman E. Cooley, a noted engineer, was employed to make a survey and plans and estimates for the proposed work. In doing so he enlarged upon the original plan and finally suggested that, taking into considera- tion the fact that all the Upper Mississippi River interests were asking for an improvement of the Upper Mississippi, it would be better to join hands with the transportation interests and build a dam across the river at the foot of the rapids that would, at all times of the year, give
the transportation interests a deep, broad and unobstructed water way from the foot of the rapids to Burlington, Iowa, thus benefiting navi- gation, and at the same time developing a great water power that would be of incalculable and everlasting benefit to the people of the upper Mississippi River valley. With this object in view, the Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Company, whose stockholders were still local citizens of Keokuk and Hamilton and simply the representatives of their respective com- munities, asked for the necessary legislation by Congress.
On April 21, 1904, Congressman Benjamin F. Marsh, of Warsaw in this county, introduced a bill in Congress, "Granting to the Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Company rights to con- struct and maintain, for the improvement of navigation and development of water power, a dam across the Mississippi River." This bill was referred to the committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. While this bill was pend- ing in Congress, and on January 17, 1905, the legislature of the state of Illinois passed a reso- lution asking Congress to consider this bill favorably. This joint resolution of the Senate and House reads as follows :
"WHEREAS, the improvement of the Mississippi River is of great importance, to the State of Illinois, as well as other States bordering on its shores and our country at large, and
WHEREAS, the making of a deep water chan- nel would materially improve the navigation of such river, and
WHEREAS, at various points along said river, there are places where it is necessary to make such deep channels, or build channels, in order to carry on navigation at certain times of the year and certain stages of the water, in order to successfully pass the rapids in said river at certain points within the territory of Illinois and Iowa, and
WHEREAS, there is at this time great need of the betterment of navigation of the Des Moines Rapids, which are in the Mississippi River, from Hamilton, Illinois, and Keokuk, Iowa, north to Ft. Madison, Iowa, and Niota, Illinois, and
WHEREAS, there is now pending before Con- gress a bill in relation to the erection of a dam across the Mississippi River at or near the foot of the Des Moines Rapids and the building of a proper lock to facilitate the proper navigation of such river under the supervision and direc- tion of the United States Government, which
-
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
measure is now pending before the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce for ex- amination and discussion, and
WHEREAS, the accomplishment of a deep water channel at such point would materially aid in the navigation of such river and thereby benefit all the citizens of this country and especially the citizens of the States bordering on such river ; therefore, in view of the general utility and great importance of such a measure to Illinois and other adjoining States, as well as our coun- try at large, be it
RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CON- CURRING, that we approve of all measures to promote the improvement of the Mississippi River and the navigation of the same, and to that end commend to the favorable considera- tion of Congress the measure under considera- tion and now before its Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent by the Secretary of State to the Senators and Members of Congress from Illinois, and also a copy be furnished to the members of the Com- mittee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Adopted by the Senate January 17, 1905.
J. H. Paddock, Lawrence Y. Sherman,
Secretary of State. President of Senate.
Concurred in by House of Representatives January 17, 1905.
Jno. A. Reeve,
Edward D. Shurtleff,
Clerk of House. Speaker of House."
After investigation by the War Department a hearing on the said proposed act was held by the committee on Interstate and Foreign Com- merce January 20, 1905, at which hearing the Hon. John Erwin of Keokuk, Iowa, Judge Wil- liam Logan of Keokuk, Iowa, Hon. Benjamin F. Marsh, Representative in Congress from this, Hancock County, and Lyman E. Cooley, en- gineer, were present and made statements before the committee with reference to the importance and feasibility of the work contemplated in the bill. Following the hearings on the bill the same was passed by the House of Representa- tives and the Senate of the United States, with some slight alterations, and was approved by the President, Theodore Roosevelt, February '9, 1905. This Act of Congress as passed and ap- proved reads as follows:
"An Act granting to the Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Company rights to construct and
maintain for the improvement of navigation and development of water power a dam across the Mississippi River.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That the assent of Con- gress is hereby given to the Keokuk and Hamil- ton Water Power Company, a corporation cre- ated and organized under the laws of the state of Illinois, its successors and assigns, to erect, construct, operate and maintain a dam, with its crest at an elevation of from thirty to thirty- five feet above standard low water, across the Mississippi River at or near the foot of the Des Moines Rapids, from Keokuk, Iowa, to Hamil- ton, Illinois, and to construct, operate and main- tain power stations on or in connection with the said dam, with suitable accessories for the de- velopment of water power, and the generation, use and transmission therefrom of electric en- ergy and power to be derived from the Des Moines Rapids on the Mississippi River: Pro- vided, That in lieu of the three locks and the dry dock, with their appurtenances, now owned and operated by the United States, at the Des Moines Rapids Canal, the said Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Company shall build, coincidentally with the construction of the said dam and appurtenances, at locations approved by the Secretary of War, a lock and dry dock with their appurtenances; the said lock shall be of such a kind and size and shall have such appurtenances and equipment as shall conveni- ently and safely accommodate the present and prospective commerce of the Mississippi River : the said dry dock and its appurtenances shall be such as to give space, facilities and con- veniences for the repair of vessels at least equal to those afforded by the existing Government dry dock and shops at the Des Moines Rapids Canal : And provided further, That the said dam and appurtenant works shall be so de- signed, located, constructed, maintained, and operated and the said lock and dry dock, with their appurtenances, shall be so designed, lo- cated, constructed, and equipped, as to permit at all times during the season of navigation, and at any stage of water, the safe and con- venient navigation of steamboats and other ves- sels, or of rafts and barges, through that portion of the Mississippi River now occupied by the Des Moines Rapids, as well as through the en- tire length of the pool formed by the said dam : And provided further. That detailed plans for
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
the construction and operation of said dam, lock, dry dock, and appurtenant works, shall be sub- mitted to and approved by the Secretary of War before the commencement of any portion of the said works; and the said works shall be con- structed under the supervision of some engineer officer of the Army designated for that purpose, and that after the approval of the said plans no deviation therefrom shall be made without the approval of the Secretary of War of any such deviation : And provided further. That com- pensation shall be made by the said Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Company to all per- sons, firms, or corporations whose lands or other property may be taken, overflowed, or otherwise damaged by the construction, maintenance, and operation of the said works in accordance with the laws of the State where such lands or other property may be situated ; but the United States shall not be held to have incurred any liability for such damages by the passage of this Act: And provided further, That when the said dam, lock, dry dock, and appurtenant works shall have been completed to the satisfaction of the Secretary of War, the United States shall have the ownership and control of the said lock, dry dock and their appurtenances, and operate and maintain the same.
SEC. 2. That the withdrawal of water from the Mississippi River and the discharge of water into the said river, for the purpose of operating the said power stations and appurtenant works, shall be under the direction and control of the Secretary of War, and shall at no time be such as to impede or interfere with the safe and con- venient navigation of the said river by means of steamboats or other vessels, or by rafts or barges : Provided, That the said company shall construct such suitable fishways as may be re- quired from time to time by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor.
SEC. 3. That, except as provided for below in this section, the Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Company shall bear the entire cost of locating, constructing, maintaining and operat- ing the structures and appurtenances provided for in this Act: Provided, That the United States shall bear the cost of the supervision of the work by an engineer officer of the Army as provided for in section one of this Act, and also the cost of maintaining and operating the lock and dry dock with their appurtenances, after their completion and due acceptance by the
Secretary of War on behalf of the United States : And provided further, That the Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Company shall pro- vide, in connection with such lock, dry dock and appurtenances, a suitable power plant for op- erating and lighting the same, according to plans and specifications submitted to and approved by the Secretary of War.
SEC. 4. That the Act entitled "An Act Grant- ing to the Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Company right to construct and maintain wing, dam, canal, and power station in the Mississippi River in Hancock County, Illinois, approved February eighth, nineteen hundred and one, is hereby repealed.
SEC. 5. That this Act shall be null and void if actual construction of the works herein authorized be not commenced within five years and completed within ten years from the date hereof.
SEC. 6. That the right to alter, amend, or re- peal this Act is hereby expressly reserved.
Approved, February 9, 1905."
Soon after this bill was passed the Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Company issued a printed "prospectus containing data and in- formation concerning the proposed dam across the Mississippi River." This was a book of about thirty pages and gave much valuable in- formation to those interested in the project. A copy fell into the hands of Hugh L. Cooper, a noted hydraulic engineer, who had constructed other dams somewhat similar, and who, at the time was engaged in developing water-power at Niagara Falls. He came to Keokuk and Hamil- ton and personally investigated the project and learned that the local incorporators of the Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Company were willing and ready to transfer all the rights of the Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Com- pany to any individual or company who would finance and build the dam, power house and lock in accordance with the above mentioned Act of Congress, and that the stockholders in the Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Company only wanted to be repaid the amount of money that they had actually been out in obtaining sur- veys and other necessary expenses, and was informed that no money had been expended in securing the passage of the bill in Congress and that the total expenses for surveys, etc., amounted to but about $20,000.00. Thereupon,
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
Mr. Cooper took an option from the Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Company for its rights in the premises and started out to obtain the required money.
After spending about four years' time and be- ing turned down by many of the largest finan- ciers, banking and other interests, he finally succeeded in getting Stone & Webster, of Boston, to agree to furnish the money. Thereupon, on January 10, 1910, just a little more than one month before the charter would have expired by its terms, actual construction of the works men- tioned in the Act of Congress were commenced on the Illinois side of the river. For a time the work progressed rather slowly, but continuously. During this time tlie machinery, appliances and tools for rapid construction work were being made and assembled and in the late fall of 1910, a working plant costing about one million dol- lars was in place ready for extraordinary work. From that time until the completion of the dam in June, 1913, the work progressed rapidly day and night under the direction of Mr. Hugh. L. Cooper, chief engineer.
The Mississippi River Power Company, in- corporated under the laws of the State of Maine, with an authorized capital of $22,000,000, was organized to take over the franchise, rights and property of the Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power Company, and construct and operate the dam, lock, dry dock and power house. The transfer was made February 27, 1911, and from that time on the Mississippi River Power Com- pany carried forward the works and completed. the same. Upon their completion the lock, dry dock, and accessories built by the Mississippi River Power Company at the time the dam was built, at a cost of about $3,000,000 became the property of the Government of the United States free of cost. The lock and dry dock are under the control and management of the Government of the United States, operated by it through its officers and employees.
The dam, power house and accessories are owned by the Mississippi River Power Company, and the property is being handled and managed by the Stone & Webster management associa- tion.
The dam, built out from the Illinois bluff, is of the gravity type; that is, its shape is such that it withstands all pressure upon it, by virtue of its bulk, without bracing or consideration of
any provisions for taking care of stresses and strains. It is of concrete without reinforcement.
The dam structure is composed of 119 spans, each consisting of two piers supporting an arch whichi upholds a causeway. Between the piers is placed on each span a section or spillway, the part over which the water flows. This bridge- like structure, with the water flowing over the spillway sections, extends from the Illinois Bluff, to which it is tied by an abutment, across the river to the upper outer corner of the power house, to which it is tied by another abutment.
The concrete dam, including the abutments, is 4,649 feet in length. It is twenty-nine feet wide at the top and forty-two feet at the bottom. It is fifty-three feet high. The spillway sections are each thirty feet long and thirty-two feet high. There are steel gates on top of the spill- ways 11 by 32 feet operated with electric cranes. The power house is 1,718 feet long, 132 feet 10 inches wide and 177 feet 6 inches high.
The lock is one of the largest in the world. It is 400 feet long inside and 618 feet 8 inches outside, 110 feet wide, and the height of the walls are 52 feet 4 inches. The lift is forty feet. The dry dock, located between the lock and the Iowa shore is 150 feet x 463 feet, and is one of the largest in fresh water. The sea wall is 1,110 feet long and the height ranges from forty-five to seventy-three feet. This was built to protect the railroad tracks which it be- came necessary to elevate.
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