KEOKUK, chief city of Lee county, Iowa, U.S., occupies a lofty site on the west bank of the Mississippi, 2 miles above the mouth of the Des Moines tributary, and about 200 miles above St Louis. It is situated in the extreme south-east corner of the State (whence its name “gate city”); its streets are spacious, and its houses handsome, although mostly of brick. Keokuk contains several churches, a medical college (founded in 1849), a good system of public schools, and a public library. Pork-packing, iron-founding, and smaller industries are carried on. The city is at the junction of seven railways, which, with its advantages of water communication, bring it an important trade. A canal, 9 miles in length, round the lower rapids of the Mississippi, which formerly obstructed the navigation, has been constructed by the United States Government at a cost of $8,000,000. Keokuk has been a port of entry since 1854. Population in 1880, 12,117.