DUBUQUE AND KEOKUK RAILROAD

DUBUQUE AND KEOKUK RAILROAD. George GREENE was a railroad enthusiast who occasionally had potential lines surveyed and sometimes graded but never constructed. (1)

One of these was the Dubuque and Keokuk Railroad, often called the "Ram's Head" because of its odd shape. The line was to proceed from Dubuque southwestward to Cedar Rapids and Iowa City and then easterly to Keokuk. (2)

In 1848 Congress passed an act donating alternate sections of land to the Dubuque & Keokuk Railway; this was the first Dubuque county land thus granted. Dubuque was particularly anxious for rail connection with Lake Michigan, because during the 1830s and 1840s business men here were at the mercy of St. Louis, there being no competition. It became known here that combinations to keep up the prices at up-river points existed at St. Louis, and that the boat lines were in collusion with St. Louis to extort large revenues from Dubuque and other up-river points. During the late 1840s many railway projects were considered by large and enthusiastic mass meetings and conventions. (3) Lovell and Langworthy were agents of the Dubuque & Keokuk line. (4)

---

Source:

1. Donovan, Frank P. Jr. Iowa Railroads Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, p. 183

2. Ibid.

3. Oldt, Franklin T. History of Dubuque County, Iowa. Online: http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/franklin-t-oldt/history-of-dubuque-county-iowa-being-a-general-survey-of-dubuque-county-histor-tdl/page-27-history-of-dubuque-county-iowa-being-a-general-survey-of-dubuque-county-histor-tdl.shtml

4. Ibid.