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Official Website
Fort Madison dates to the War of 1812. Lee County was the location of the Half-Breed Tract, established by treaty in 1824. Allocations of land were made to American Indian descendants of European fathers and Indian mothers at this tract. Originally the land was to be held in common. Some who had an allocation lived in cities, where they hoped to make a better living.
Lee County as a named entity was formed on December 7, 1836, under the jurisdiction of Wisconsin Territory. It would become a part of Iowa Territory when it was formed on July 4, 1838. Large-scale European-American settlement in the area began in 1839, after Congress allowed owners to sell land individually. Members of the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) fled persecutions in Missouri to settle in Illinois and Iowa. Nauvoo, across the border in Hancock County, Illinois, became the main center of Latter-day Saints settlement, but there was also a Latter Day Saints stake organized in Lee County under the direction of John Smith, the uncle of Joseph Smith, land that was sold to them by Isaac Galland in 1839.
Adjacent Counties
- Henry County
- Des Moines
- Hancock County, Illinois
- Clark County, Missouri
- Henderson County, Illinois
- Van Buren County
Cities
- Donnellson
- Fort Madison (County Seat)
- Franklin
- Houghton
- Keokuk (County Seat)
- Montrose
- St. Paul
- West Point
Other Townships & Communities: Argyle, Cedar, Charleston, Croton, Denmark, Des Moines, Franklin, Green Bay, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Madison, Marion, Mooar, New Boston, Pilot Grove, Pleasant Ridge, Sandusky, Van Buren, Washington, West Point, Wever
Cemeteries
Links
National Register of Historic Places
