Fort Madison is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 as of the 2020 census, and was estimated at 9,935 in 2025. Located along the Mississippi River in the state's southeast corner, it lies between small bluffs along one of the widest portions of the river. Fort Madison is also the home of the Iowa State Penitentiary.
History Fort Madison was founded as the location of the first U.S. military fort in the upper Mississippi region. — A biographical sketch of the first settler and founder of the new Fort Madison A replica of the fort stands along the river.Old Fort Madison: Sheaffer Pens were developed and made in Fort Madison for many years. The city is the location of the Iowa State Penitentiary—the state's maximum security prison for men. Fort Madison is the Mississippi river crossing and station stop for Amtrak's Southwest Chief. Fort Madison has one of two remaining double swing-span bridges on the Mississippi River, the Fort Madison Toll Bridge, the other being the Government Bridge in Rock Island, Illinois. It has a top level for cars and a similar level for trains; it is also the world's largest.
The Fort Madison Downtown Commercial Historic District is a collection of well-preserved historic storefronts from the late 19th century. Along with this is the Park-to-Park Residential Historic District. The Historic Park to Park District is a seven block long, three block wide section of homes that represent the Gothic, Victorian, and Tudor era. With a rich variety of architectural styles like Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Eastlake Stick, Richardson Romanesque, Queen Anne, and Tudor. With two of the six parks within the District. It is on the National Historic Registry.
Original Fort Madison (1808–1813)
The city of Fort Madison was established around the site of the historic Fort Madison (1808–1813), which was the first permanent U.S. military fortification on the Upper Mississippi. Fort Madison was the site of Black Hawk's first battle against U.S. troops, the only real War of 1812 battle fought west of the Mississippi. It was also the location of the first U.S. military cemetery in the upper Midwest.For general histories of Fort Madison, refer to Jackson 1958, 1960, 1966; Prucha 1964, 1969; Van der Zee 1913, 1914, 1918. The fort was named for James Madison, fourth President of the United States.
Fort Madison was one of three posts established by the U.S. Army to establish control over the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase territories. Fort Madison was built to control trade and pacify Native Americans in the Upper Mississippi River region. The other two posts were Fort Belle Fontaine near St. Louis, which controlled the mouth of the Missouri, and Fort Osage, near what is now Kansas City, which controlled trade with western Native American tribes.Prucha (1964, 1969)
Location of the Fort A disputed 1804 treaty with the Sauk and affiliated tribes led to the U.S. claim of control over western Illinois and parts of what is now Iowa. To establish control, the U.S. Army set out to construct a post near the mouth of the Des Moines River, a major trading route into the interior of Iowa. Not finding suitable land near the mouth of the Des Moines, the expedition also considered land near Quashquame's Sauk and Meskwaki village at the head of the Des Moines Rapids, a choke point of trade and transportation on the Upper Mississippi below modern Montrose. Again, this land was not considered suitable for a fort. The Army settled on a location several miles upstream at what is now the city of Fort Madison.Jackson (1958, 1960)
First called Fort Belleview, this post was also soon deemed inadequate. It was poorly situated at the base of a bluff next to a deep ravine, areas from which enemies could safely fire at the fort. Its construction led to resentment among the local Native Americans, especially the Sauk: They considered the 1804 treaty invalid, the fort threatened established trading networks, and American trade goods were considered inferior to French or British goods.Jackson (1960); Van der Zee (1914)
Black Hawk lamented over the new fort, and disparaged its construction in his autobiography.
Attacks on Fort Madison Almost from the beginning, the fort was attacked by Sauk and other tribes. U.S. troops were harassed when they left the fort, and in April 1809, only threat of cannon fire stopped an attempted storming of the fort.Van der Zee (1918); Jackson (1958; 1966)
During its existence, several improvements were made to the fort, including reinforcing the stockade and making it higher, extending the fort to a nearby bluff to provide cover from below, and constructing of additional blockhouses outside the stockade. These improvements could not fully compensate for the fort's poor location, however, and it was again attacked in March 1812, and was the focus of a coordinated siege in the following September. The September siege was intense, and the fort was nearly overrun. Significant damage resulted to fort-related buildings, and the attack was only stopped when cannon fire destroyed a fortified Indian position.Jackson (1960); Van der Zee (1913, 1918) Black Hawk participated in the siege, and claimed to have personally shot down the fort's flag.Black Hawk (1882)
Final siege and abandonment As the War of 1812 expanded to the frontier, British-allied Sauk and other tribes began a determined effort to push out the Americans and reclaim control of the upper Mississippi. Beginning in July 1813, attacks on troops outside the fort led to another siege. Conditions were so dangerous that the Army could not recover the bodies of soldiers killed outside the fort and troops could not leave the fort to collect firewood. The Army burned outbuildings to prevent them from falling into Indian hands.Van der Zee (1918); Jackson (1958, 1960, 1966)
After weeks of paralyzing siege, the Army finally abandoned the post, burning it as they evacuated. They retreated in the dark through a trench to the river, where they escaped on boats. The date of the abandonment is unknown, as much of the military correspondence from this period of the war is missing, but it probably happened in September. Black Hawk observed the ruins soon after. "We started in canoes, and descended the Mississippi, until we arrived near the place where Fort Madison had stood. It had been abandoned and burned by the whites, and nothing remained but the chimneys. We were pleased to see that the white people had retired from the country."
United States government had established a federal fur trade station at Fort Madison in 1808. It was burned down in 1812 by order of the military commander who feared that it would endanger the fort.Wesley, Edgar Bruce (1935). Guarding the Frontier. University of Minnesota Press, p. 40.
Three active battalions of the current 3rd Infantry (1–3 Inf, 2–3 Inf and 4-3 Inf) perpetuate the lineage of the old 1st Infantry Regiment, which had a detachment at Fort Madison.
Fort ruins and archaeology Early settlers built their homes near the ruins and named the town that grew up around them for the fort. A large monument was erected in the early 20th century at the fort location. Archaeological excavations in the parking lot of the Sheaffer Pen Company factory in 1965 exposed the fort's central blockhouse and the foundations of officers' quarters.McKusick (1965, 1966) The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. A replica fort was built several blocks away; much of the labor was supplied by volunteer inmates at the nearby Iowa State Penitentiary.
Preservation and threats to the fort site The fort site is now the subject of preservation efforts. After the Sheaffer Pen factory closed in 2007, the site was sold to developers. Arguing that Fort Madison is "Iowa's most important historical site", preservationists want to convert the parking lot into a memorial park dedicated to soldiers killed at the fort. So far, no agreement has been reached for its preservation.Bergin, Nick: "Effort to preserve fort site heats up." Burlington Hawk Eye, December 3, 2008.Delany, Robin: "Preservationists fear future development will rob Fort Madison of original fort site." Fort Madison Daily Democrat, December 3, 2008Save Fort Madison Website, http://fortmadison.googlepages.com/home
Founding of the town of Fort Madison The first settler at the ruins of the fort was General John Holly Knapp, who in 1832 bought a claim to some land of the fort and built the first building in the fall of the same year, utilized as an Indian Supply Store. Early next spring and his cousin Nathaniel Knapp with family settled there, joined by some other settlers the same year, In June 1835, General Knapp and Nathaniel Knapp, laid out the town of Fort Madison. Due to some land title issues, in 1840 the town was relocated on the same lot lines by the government.
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and (27.15%) is water.
Fort Madison is famous for the Tri-State Rodeo, RiverFest, Mexican Fiesta, Balloons Over the Mississippi, Art in Central Park and Annual Lighted Parade.
Climate
Demographics
According to realtor website Zillow, the average price of a home as of July 31, 2026, in Fort Madison was $112,910.
As of the 2024 American Community Survey, there were 4,548 estimated households in Fort Madison with an average of 2.05 persons per household. The city has a median household income of $50,705. Approximately 15.0% of the city's population lives at or below the poverty line. Fort Madison has an estimated 51.5% employment rate, with 18.5% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 90.7% holding a high school diploma. There were 5,030 housing units at an average density of .
The top five reported languages (people were allowed to report up to two languages, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (97.3%), Spanish (1.4%), Indo-European (0.8%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.3%), and Other (0.3%).
The median age in the city was 42.1 years.
+Fort Madison, Iowa – racial and ethnic composition Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) Pop. 1990 Pop. 2000 Pop. 2010 % 1990 % 2000 % 2010 White alone (NH) 10,443 9,629 9,4038,574 89.89% 89.86% 85.09%83.49% Black or African American alone (NH) 546 274 598444 4.70% 2.56% 5.41%4.32% Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 21 28 4026 0.18% 0.26% 0.36%0.25% Asian alone (NH) 47 65 6063 0.40% 0.61% 0.54%0.61% Pacific Islander alone (NH) — 17 32 — 0.16% 0.03%0.02% Other race alone (NH) 9 14 734 0.08% 0.13% 0.06%0.33% Mixed race or multiracial (NH) — 105 205486 — 0.98% 1.86%4.73% Hispanic or Latino (any race) 552 583 735641 4.75% 5.44% 6.65%6.24%Total11,61810,71511,05110,270100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 10,270 people, 4,315 households, and 2,455 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,013 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.97% White, 4.40% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.74% from some other races and 6.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 6.24% of the population.
2010 census As of the 2010 census, there were 11,051 people, 4,403 households, and 2,667 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,956 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.33% White, 5.54% African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.65% from some other races and 2.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 6.65% of the population.