The National Society
Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR
or DAR) is a non-profit, non political,
volunteer women's service organization.
The Lawrence Van Hook Chapter, NSDAR,
Maquoketa, Iowa, was organized on May 23,
1970, and is named in honor of Captain James
Lawrence Van Hook, a Revolutionary War
patriot who was born in New Jersey and
served from that state. He was born in 1755,
and he died in Jackson County, Iowa, in
1853/1854. Nearby Andrew, Iowa, is his
burial site. A marker was placed on his
grave by the Addie Merrill Lee Chapter in
1960; that marker is no longer on his
gravesite. A new marker was dedicated in
2023 by the Lawrence Van Hook Chapter,
NSDAR.
As part of the DAR Day of
Service in 2022, members cleaned the
gravestones of Jackson County Patriots James
Lawrence Van Hook, William Sinkey/Sankey,
and William Potter. They also cleaned the
gravesite of Clinton County Patriot John
Lepper.
Jackson County Courthouse, 1848 - 1861
Two towns in Jackson County
were disputing, in the early 1800s, as to
where the county courthouse should be
located: in Bellevue, on the Mississippi
River, or in Andrew, centered in the county
about 14 miles southwest of Bellevue. The
courthouse was moved between the two towns
several times. It was finally placed in
Maquoketa, Iowa, where the county seat is
today. For almost 20 years, the courthouse
had its day in Bellevue, where it served as:
the courthouse, the town hall, public
school, and the Bellevue Lodge. The site was
marked by the Lawrence Van Hook Chapter,
NSDAR, in 1979. The marker is located in
Jackson County at the town of Bellevue, on
U.S. Highway 52. The DAR marker is on the
front of the Elementary School building on
the corner of State and Third Street.
LaMotte
Railroad Depot, 1911-1936
In 2016, the Lawrence Van
Hook Chapter, NSDAR, applied for an NSDAR
Special Projects Grant to benefit the
Jackson County Iowa Historical Society. The
NSDAR awarded a $10,000 grant for the
historic preservation of the narrow gauge
railroad depot from LaMotte, Iowa. The depot
was moved by flatbed truck to the grounds of
the Jackson County Historical Society in
Maquoketa, Iowa. The depot was in service
from 1911 to 1936, for the Chicago,
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, a branch
line of the Milwaukee Road Railroad.
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