An active town of about 1600 persons, Elkader is in a beautiful valley astride the Turkey River, in the “driftless area” of Clayton County. The region was not scoured by glaciers in the last ice age and remained rugged while the surrounding area was scraped level. Elkader is the hub of a large trade area which includes one of the most prosperous and diversified farming sections in the Midwest. It is near the center of 470,000 Clayton County farm acres. Sales tax reports constantly place Elkader in the top place for per capita business volume in the state.

Elkader is the seat of Clayton County, has excellent educational and recreational facilities, a highly regarded hospital and is home to the main office of the Keystone Area Education Agency. Three state highways, Iowa 13, 56, and 128 enter the community from the north, east, south and west. Two county paved highways connect Elkader with surrounding county towns.

In 1836 the first permanent settlers came to Elkader. Elisha Boardman and Horace D. Bronson were the first white settlers. The village of Elkader was established and laid out in 1845 by John Thompson, Chester Sage, and Timothy Davis. Davis was an admirer of Abdel Kader, a young emir of Algeria who led his people against an invasion by the French in 1832 and later, when in exile in Damascus saved 12,000 Christians from a murderous mob. Davis suggested that the last parts of the chieftain’s name be put together as a name for the new community he had helped found.

The people of Elkader are justly proud of their heritage and have preserved many of the older buildings in town, nine of which are on the National Register of Historic Places. One of the most interesting of these is the Keystone Bridge, which was constructed beginning in 1888. We invite you to look around our hometown and explore our treasured history, where our citizens have instilled the best of the past in planning for the future.

Photo by Dennis Morel

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