Built in 1845 (Georgian architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
“The Franklin Pearson House is a historic house located on Dodge Street in Keosauqua, Iowa and is a confirmed stop on the Underground Railroad.”
Wikipedia article Franklin Pearson House, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 23 National Register listings published here for Van Buren County · listed in 1978 · category: Building · built in 1845, Georgian architecture.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Franklin Pearson House: 5 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Downing Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Old County Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Sargent Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Van Buren County Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Keosauqua, the town this property stands in, in 39 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 18 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 3 heavy rain, 2 flash flood. The reports record 1 death and 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2003 | Lightning | Keosauqua | 1 killed, 1 hurt | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Lightning | Keosauqua | $86,000 | Lightning struck the county 911 tower, damaging a console. |
| March 2006 | Hail | Keosauqua | $30,000 | Emergency manager's truck damaged. There is probable unknown damage to residences and cars in town as well. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Keosauqua | $20,000 | Hail ranged from 1 to 1.75 inches. Several reports were received from the general public and fire department. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keosauqua | $20,000 | Numerous trees downed. One homeowner reported her windows and window fan were blown out of her bedroom. Still another damage report was that of a top torn off a grain bin. |
| June 2005 | Hail | Keosauqua | $10,000 | Small branches down with estimated 43 knot (50 mph) winds. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keosauqua | $5,000 | Wind gusts estimated to be 65 mph blew down numerous trees and power lines in Keosauqua, IA at 645 pm July 27. A power outage was also observed. |
| July 2003 | Heavy Rain | Keosauqua | $5,000 | Jct Hwys 1 &2; water over road |
| September 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keosauqua | $3,000 | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keosauqua | $2,000 | Several trees were blown down near the intersection of Route J40 and Highway 1. The event time was estimated from local radar data. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keosauqua | $2,000 | In the center of town, a few older trees 2 feet in diameter were snapped off, local power was out, debris was everywhere. Up to 100 trees in town were damaged or down in the town of Keosauqua. The time of the event is estimated from local radar data. |
| July 2003 | Heavy Rain | Keosauqua | $2,000 | in 20 minutes |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keosauqua | $1,000 | tree down blocking the road; several sheets of gypsum board were blown over a one story house and into a ditch. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keosauqua | - | Law Enforcement tree limbs down in Keosauqua and trees down lacey State Park south of west of Keosauqua. |
| June 2024 | Hail | Keosauqua | - | Report gathered from mping. |
| June 2024 | Hail | Keosauqua | - | Report gathered from mping. |
| June 2021 | Heavy Rain | Keosauqua | - | Rainfall total of 4.91 inches recorded at a Keosauqua mesonet. |
| June 2020 | Flash Flood | Keosauqua | - | The Emergency Manager reported that water was over the eastbound lane of Highway 2 near the intersection with Highway 1. Also, the county engineer reports higher end flash flooding over the southern portions of the county. |
| June 2019 | Hail | Keosauqua | - | Quarter to half dollar sized hail was reported with heavy rain and gusty winds. |
| May 2017 | Hail | Keosauqua | - | The spotter reported the hail lasted for 1 minute. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keosauqua | - | Trees were blown down in Keosauqua, Farmington, and Bonaparte. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keosauqua | - | A trained spotter reported several trees down in town with a uprooted 36 inch diameter tree blocking a road. Numerous power lines were also down. |
| April 2012 | Hail | Keosauqua | - | A trained spotter reported lots of dime size hail falling just southeast of Keosauqua. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keosauqua | - | Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph blew down multiple 12 inch diameter tree limbs in|Keosauqua, IA around 439 pm June 19. |
| August 2007 | Flood | Keosauqua | - | The Des Moines River level at Keosauqua went into flood during this period. It crested at 27.40 feet on the morning of the 24th. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keosauqua | - | Winds estimated to be 60 mph blew down some small trees and branches along Highway J40 from Lebanon to Keosauqua. Delayed report. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Keosauqua | - | penny size hail |
| April 2006 | Hail | Keosauqua | - | A second severe thunderstorm developed on the flanking line of the original supercell. This storm produced marginal severe hail for 3 minutes. The combined duration of the severe and non-severe hail was 10 minutes from 1034 to 1044 CST. |
| December 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keosauqua | - | Law enforcement reported 4 inch diameter tree branches blown down. |
| May 2001 | Hail | Keosauqua | - | Penny sized hail reported by fire and rescue. |
| June 2024 | Hail | Keosauqua | - | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Hail | Keosauqua | - | no account filed |
| June 2021 | Hail | Keosauqua | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Keosauqua | - | no account filed |
| August 2017 | Hail | Keosauqua | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Keosauqua | - | no account filed |
| July 2007 | Hail | Keosauqua | - | no account filed |
| March 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keosauqua | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Flash Flood | Keosauqua | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Van Buren County Courthouse | 0.3 miles | 1977 |
 | Voltaire Twombley Building | 0.5 miles | 1993 |
 | Hotel Manning | 0.5 miles | 1973 |
 | Des Moines River Locks No. 5 and No. 7 | 0.7 miles | 1977 |
| Lacey-Keosauqua State Park, Picnic and Custodial Group (Area B) | 1.3 miles | 1990 | |
| Lacey-Keosauqua State Park, Lodge and Picnic Area (Area A) | 1.7 miles | 1990 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 78001267 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Van Buren County | All 23 listed properties in this county. |
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