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LOCATION
Lee County is located in the southeastern portion
of Iowa. The Des Moines River flows
southeasterly along the southern border, the Mississippi River flows
southerly along the eastern border, and the Skunk River flows southeasterly
along part of the northern border of the county.
The county is comprised of 334,080 acres of land,
or 522 square miles. Fort Madison and
Keokuk are the county seats, both of which are along Highway 61 and the
Mississippi River.
HISTORY
The first recorded history of the county starts
with the first explorers, Louis Joliet, accompanied by Father Jacques
Marquette. They were appointed by the
Governor of New France to make certain that the Great River of the West
flowed into the Gulf of California.
The Sac and Fox Indian tribes where the early inhabitants of Lee
County; however, given Lee County’s geographical location and the two rivers,
it became a location for explorers, trappers and traders.
A military outpost was
established at Fort Madison in 1808, but was later overrun by Indians and
abandoned. Settlers began arriving
around 1820 and Galland is the site of the first schoolhouse in Iowa.
With industrial development,
Fort Madison and Keokuk have become the large population centers; however,
the demand for conversion of rural land to urban uses has intensified
throughout the county. Due to the
limitations of many soils for buildings and septic disposal, planned growth
is tied closely to the soils in the county.
The past trend in land use in Lee County has been for preservation of
the agricultural base from unplanned urbanization, agricultural uses related
to soil potentials, and recognition of soil limitations in urban development.
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