HISTORY:  Dubuque Co., IA
From the A.T. Andreas Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Iowa, 1875

This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by:
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DUBUQUE COUNTY.

	This county is situated on the Mississippi River, in the third tier of 
counties south from the Minnesota line. It is bounded north partly by Clayton 
County, northwest and east by the Mississippi River, south by Jackson, and west 
by Delaware County. Dubuque contains the following seventeen townships, viz; 
Cascade, Centre, Concord, Dodge, Iowa, Jefferson, Julien, Liberty, Masalem, 
New Vienna, Peru, Prairie Creek, Table Mound, Taylor, Vernon, Washington 
and Whitewater, all fully six miles square, except Peru and Masalem, which are 
rounded by the channel of the Mississippi. The area of the county is therefore 
about 612 square miles, or 391, 680 acres.

	STREAMS.

	The Little Maquoketa and its numerous branches water the northern 
and central portions of the county, while the larger stream of the same name and 
its tributaries run through the southern, southeastern and western townships. 
There is a considerable amount of water-power on both sides of the Little and 
Big Maquoketa and their branches.

SURFACE AND SOIL.

	The nature of the surface and soil varies considerably in different 
portions of the county. In the northwestern townships the streams have cut deep 
valleys, exposing the rocks in steep bluffs; the surface is therefore quite broken, 
and a large part of it well timbered, mostly with oak of good quality. The soil of 
these townships is rather sandy, except in the river bottoms, where it is of the 
most fertile description. Julien Township (T.80, R.2, E.), wherein Dubuque is 
situated, is mostly high rolling prairie with very little timber, except on the 
bluffs, which border on the Mississippi, and mark the line of out-crop of the 
Niagara limestone. The township immediately west of this (T. 89, R. 1, E.) is 
very much broken and intersected with deep ravines. It is almost entirely 
covered with timber of vigorous growth, and a great variety of species. Farther 
west in the same tier of townships, the country becomes more elevated and less 
broken; the proportion of timbered land to prairie constantly increasing. In the 
southern half of the county, the same gradual passage from a broken timbered 
region to the high rolling prairie takes place in going from the east to the west. 
The central and western townships are almost entirely prairie, except in the 
extreme  southwestern corner of the county, where the Maquoketa River and its 
tributaries have cut deep into the rocks. 

GEOLOGY.

	The geological formations exposed in this county include all the groups 
from the Trenton to the Niagara limestone. The former is the lowest which 
makes its appearance. It is seen along the Mississippi in the neighborhood of 
Dubuque, and at Eagle Point, two miles above, where it has been quarried; the 
thickness of the exposure above low water mark is from twenty to thirty feet. 
This is all that need be said in this place about the Trenton, as the Galena, or 
lead-bearing limestone, the formation next above, is that which gives to the 
geology of this county its peculiar character. 
	The Galena limestone is finely exposed along the bluffs of the 
Mississippi for the whole length of the county, and extends into Clayton County 
to the neighborhood of McGregor. It is also seen on the Little Maquoketa and its 
branches, and the smaller streams emptying directly into the Mississippi. At 
Buena Vista the whole height of the bluffs which border the river is of Galena 
limestone. But at a distance of between two and three miles from the river, the 
precipitous cliffs of the Niagara limestone may be seen, and can be followed in a 
southeasterly direction, passing about seven miles west of Dubuque and 
gradually approaching the river again, and finally reaching it a little south of the 
Tete des Morts Valley in Jackson County.
	The space thus enclosed between the Niagara limestone and the 
Mississippi, forming a belt some eight or ten miles wide in its widest part, is 
chiefly occupied by the Galena limestone, which may also be traced for some 
distance up all the valleys of the streams running down from the Niagara 
plateau.
	In its lithological character the Galena limestone is almost a pure 
dolomite, containing a small percentage of silicious substances intermixed with 
the double carbonate of lime and magnesia, and tinged of a light grayish color 
with a little carbonate of iron, when it has not been exposed, but which soon 
changes to a light buff by the oxidation of the iron when acted upon by the 
atmosphere.
	A thickness of a little over 250 feet of this formation is exposed at 
Dubuque, which is probably its maximum thickness.
	Of the Niagara limestone, overlying the Galena, we need say but little 
in this connection. This formation occupied all the elevated prairie regions of 
Dubuque County, composing about  three-fourths of its surface. The line of out 
crop is well marked, and may be traced in a range of precipitous bluffs, having a 
very irregular outline, and with occasional outlying masses, in a direction 
parallel with Turkey River, and at a distance of from one to two miles from it, 
diagonally across the county, gradually curving in towards the Mississippi to the 
south of Dubuque, when it reaches the river about five miles below the city, in a 
high and precipitous bluff. The numerous small streams which descend from the 
elevated plateau of the Niagara have been cut deep down into the rocks so that 
the lower formations may be followed up the valleys far above the point where 
the Niagara occupies the general level of the county.
	The St. Peter sandstone is exposed a few feet within the limits of the 
county, and the Cincinnati (formerly supposed to be the Hudson River) shales 
have quite an extensive area in conjunction with the Trenton and Galena 
limestones.

LEAD.

	Dubuque County being the principal lead-mining section of Iowa, it is 
proper here to state a few facts with regard to this mineral product. The area of 
the lead region in the Northwest is about four thousand square miles, and 
included the cities of Dubuque and Galena, and a number of smaller towns that 
have grown up from the wealth derived from mining. This region is over sixty 
miles in diameter, divided by the Mississippi River, parts of it being in Iowa, 
Illinois and Wisconsin. Some of the most valuable mines of this region are 
worked beneath cultivated fields, and the district generally, unlike most mining 
counties, is in a rich agricultural country. This region contains mineral enough to 
supply the world with lead for ages. The existence of the lead deposit of this 
region was probably known to the Aborigines, but it does not appear that they 
ever made any use of the metal till after the advent of the white miners. The first 
mention of the discovery of lead in this portion of the country occurs in an 
account of the expedition of Nicholas Parrot, who, in 1869, was sent by De 
LaBarre, Governor of Canada, to establish friendly relations among the Indians 
of the Upper Mississippi, and who erected Fort St. Nicholas, and took formal 
possession of the Northwest in the name of the King of France. A second 
discovery was made by LeSeur, a French explorer, in his famous mining 
expedition to the Blue Earth River, Minnesota, in 1700.
	About twenty years after this period mining was actually commenced 
in the Missouri lead region. As early as 1822 the lead mines began to be worked 
at Galena by Col. Johnson, of Kentucky, and a few others. Thirty-four years 
earlier, however, in 1788, Julien Dubuque, a French Indian trader, of Prairie du 
Chien, commenced with a colony of miners to work the lead mines on the site of 
the flourishing city which now bears his name, and continued there till his death 
in 1810.  (See Early History of Dubuque, in this work.) The lead mines of 
Dubuque have been almost constantly worked for eighty-seven years, and have 
been a source of great profit to the inhabitants. They were under the control of 
the War Department of the United States as Indian possessions till June 1, 1833, 
and were subsequently for a time under the manage-ment of an agent appointed 
by Congress. During this period a geological survey was made of the entire lead 
region of this section for the purpose of ascertaining the extent of the productive 
lead formation, in pursuance of an act of Congress approved in 1839.
	The occurrence of lead ore in this mineral region is limited to the 
groups between the Cincinnati shales and the lower sandstones. Some fair 
specimens have been found in the exposures of the lower magnesian, higher up 
the river than Dubuque County; but lead has never been found in paying 
quantities in this region except in the Galena limestone. The terms "dice-
mineral," "sheet-mineral," "chunk-mineral," and the like are names given by 
miners to the different forms of lead ore, as it is found in the mines.
	The freedom of the Galena, or lead ore, in this section from mixture 
with other metals is remarkable. Sulphuret of zinc is almost the only one that 
occurs in any quantity intimately associated with the Galena, and a large 
majority of the mines do not show even a trace of this. Hence the purity and 
softness of the metalic lead of this region, and the high price it bears in the 
markets, compared with most of the imported metal.
	The simplest form in which lead ore is found in this region is the 
vertical or upright crevice, which is usually from one to three inches in 
thickness, and then gradually closing up, the ore thins out and disappears. It 
occurs chiefly in horizontal lodes, extending from a few rods to miles in length, 
of a thickness varying from a few feet-or even inches-to yards in width, and at 
intervals expanding into what may be called caves in the rocks. The general 
direction of these lodes is on nearly the same horizontal line. The "openings," as 
these expansions are called, whether containing ore or not, are frequently in a 
vertical series of two or three, and sometimes four, separated by layers of harder 
rocks. In such instances the upper one usually contains the largest amount of 
mineral. Sometimes the cavities are connected with irregular vertical openings 
called "chimneys," which are often lined with the ore. In such cases, within the 
same range, the mineral has been found to occupy a vertical space in the rocks 
of more than sixty feet.
	The two principal forms in which the lead ore occurs in this vicinity are 
the irregular, massive and the crystalline, the latter being almost invariably a 
regular cube.

COUNTY ORGANIZATION.

	Soon after Wisconsin became a territory, July 4, 1836, that part of its 
domain lying west of the Mississippi River, was divided into two counties-
Dubuque and Des Moines, the boundary line between them being at the foot of 
Rock Island. Dubuque County then embraced all the northern half of the state, 
and by estimate of population was entitled to a representation in the Territorial 
Legislature, of three members in the Council and five members in the House. 
The following is a list of the places named in the proclamation of Governor 
Dodge, as election precincts; The 1st, Town of Dubuque, house of Robert 
Bourne; 2d, headwaters of Cutfish Creek, house of H. T. Camp; 3d, Peru, house 
of M. Patterson; 4th, Turkey River, house of Robert Hatfield; 5th, Prairie La 
Porte; 6th, Durango; 7th, Bellevue; 8th, North Fork Maquoketa River; 9th, 
Higginsport; 10th, Upper end of the Rapids; 11th, Brophy's Ferry on the 
Wapsipinicon River; 12th, Cedar River.

FIRST ELECTION.

	The first election was held October 10, 1836,with the following result;
	Civil Officers. -Delegate in Congress-Geo. W. Jones; Members of the 
Council-James Foley, Thomas McCraney, and Thomas McNight; 
Representatives-Loring Wheeler, Hardin Nowlin, H. T. Camp, P. H. Engle, and 
Patrick Quigley.
	Militia Officers. -Colonel, W. W. Chapman; Lieutenant Colonel, Paul 
Cain; Major, Wm. S. Anderson.

JUDICIAL.

	Under Wisconsin, the first judge of the District Court was David Irwin; 
Clerk, Warner Lewis. The first term of this Court was held in Dubuque, May 1, 
1837. The first Grand Jury empanelled consisted of the following named 
persons;
	Thomas Childs, foremen; Paul Cain, Wm. Smith, John Parker, David 
Sleator, David Hogan, J. L. Langworthy, Chester Sage, Ambrose Kennedy, 
August Bowers, James Smith, I. J. Ackron, Thomas McCraney, J. E. Miller, 
Wm. Carter, C. C. Bellows, Andrew J. Divine, Jacob Hamilton, Reuben Estis, 
Matthias Ham, Rufus Miller, James Miller, John Wharton, Thos. R. Brasher, 
Lyman Dillon.
	The first term of Probate Court was held at Dubuque, January 10, 1835. 
E. Lockwood, Judge. Joseph T. Fales was appointed his successor in 1838.
	Under Iowa Territorial Government, the first District Court held at 
Dubuque was on April 15, 1839. Judge Thomas S. Wilson, presiding; Phillip S. 
Dade, Clerk, I. V. Berry, District Attorney. John King was the first Judge of 
County Court after Iowa became a territory.
	The first Circuit Court was held at Dubuque, January, 1869. The same 
year, by enactment of the State Legislature, County Courts were abolished 
throughout the state, and the office of County Auditor created. Winslow T. 
Barker was made Circuit Judge, and H. A. Rooney, Clerk. Stephen Hempsted 
was elected to the auditorship.

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.

	The first Board of County Supervisors met May 30, 1836, and 
consisted of F. Gehon, Wm. Smith, and John Paul. Warner Lewis was appointed 
clerk. By record of that time the historian finds grocers and victualing house 
keepers taxed $10 per annum, payable quarterly. On the list is made mention of 
thirty-eight groceries, etc. that afforded revenue to the county. Also in their 
proceedings of that year can be found a pauper and insane expense account of 
$35.38. The first jail built cost $577.25. On June 11, same year, plans and 
specifications for a court house were received. John A. Wright was appointed 
assessor and collector, and a tax levied of three-fourths per cent on valuation of 
property assessed. At their meeting April 1, 1837, Geo. W. Cummins was 
appointed Sheriff, and a bill of F. Gehon amounting to $4.00, allowed in full for 
service as County Treasurer for preceding year.
	The Territorial tax of the county for 1835 was $280.00. County taxes 
for same year, $1,952.78. The amount of $176.00, for territorial taxes, was 
added and accrued by reason of business institutions being established after the 
assessment was made. 


COUNTY BUILDINGS.

	The old County Commissioners' records, under Wisconsin Territory, 
showed that a "court house of hewed logs" was ordered to be built, "twenty-six 
by twenty feet in size, walls to be seven inches thick, first story nine feet high, 
second story five feet to the beginning of the roof, second story, to be divided 
into three rooms, lower story to have five seven light windows, and upper story 
two eight-light windows. Said court house to have a good stout lock, and thumb-
latch on the lower door, to be furnished with a circular pine table, two and a half 
feet wide, and to be finished by October 1, 1836." This was the first court house 
of Dubuque County. A jail had been erected previously, and in September, 1836, 
a suit was ordered to be brought to recover damages from parties who had 
contracted for its erection. The above described court house was never used for 
judicial purposes, but as a jail, and courts were held in various churches and 
public halls till 1843, when, according to the best information we can get of the 
date, the present court house was constructed-or the rear portion of it. In 1854 it 
was enlarged to its present size. It is built of red brick, and in early times met 
every requirement in convenience of offices and court room. Such is the wealth 
and importance of the county, it is probable it will be superseded by a grand 
temple of justice at no distant day. 
	At the September term of the County Court, 1856, the contract for the 
construction of a county jail was awarded, its dimensions to be 35x54 feet, built 
of stone, two stories high and basement, with three rows of cells, to be 
completed November1, 1857, at a cost of $36,000. In course of construction it 
was found necessary to make additional expenditures in excess of the contract 
price to the amount of $5,447.47, bringing the cost figures up to $41,458.47. In 
1874 the jail was enlarged by adding an apartment for females at a cost of 
$5,600, and Dubuque has now one of the safest and best constructed jails in the 
West.

COUNTY INSTITUTIONS.

	A county agricultural society was organized in 1854, and the first fair 
held in the Fall of 1855. Fairs continued to be held annually, except when the 
State Fair was held at Dubuque in 1861 and '62, until 1870, when they were 
discontinued, and the small sum remaining in the treasury was turned over to its 
successor-the Dubuque Agricultural and Manufacturing Exposition. This latter 
is an important institution, and promises to be of great advantage to the 
agricultural and manufacturing interests of the Northwest.
	Dubuque County has also a farmer's club which was organized in 
1860, and is reported in a prosperous condition.
	The Early Settler's Association of Dubuque City and County was 
organized in 1865, and has a membership of over two hundred. This association, 
through its indefatigable Secretary, Mr. C. Childs, has collected a great amount 
of valuable  information, both historical and biographical, on the early 
settlement of the city and county, and is doing much to preserve the records of 
the oldest settled portion of Iowa in a complete form.
	President—Benjamin Rupert.
	The County Poor House, with twelve acres of land attached, is located 
about two and a half miles north of Dubuque, and is a large three-story stone 
building. The number of inmates for 1874, was 52. Expenses for the year, 
$6,500. The relief granted by the Board of Supervisors outside amounted to 
$16,000. Stewart of the Poor House, Michael Martin.

COUNTY OFFICERS FOR 1875.

	FRANK McLAUGHLIN, Auditor,			L. H. CADY, 
County Attorney.
	V. J. WILLIAMS, Treasurer.			N. W. BOYES, 
Sup't. of Schools.
	MICHAEL LIDDY, Sheriff.			W. EVANS, 
County Surveyor.
	PATRICK J. QUIGLEY, Clerk of Court.		J. O'HEA 
CANTILLON, Coroner.
	WARNER LEWIS, Recorder.
SUPERVISORS.

THEOPHILUS CRAWFORD, Chairman		WILLIAM COATES, and 
MARK SULLIVAN.

CITY OF DUBUQUE.

	The City of Dubuque is situated on the west bank of the Mississippi 
River, four hundred and seventy miles above St. Louis, and is the seat of justice 
of Dubuque County. It is the oldest, and in point of business and population, if 
not to say commercial importance, the chief city of Iowa.
	The site on which Dubuque is built combines many points of beauty 
and desirableness of location, being on a plateau or table-land which rises 
gradually from the river, and at the average distance of about half a mile swells 
into an almost semi-circular range of bluffs, which rise about two hundred and 
fifty feet above the river level. While the business portion of the city is situated 
on the plateau and is compactly and substantially built, containing some costly 
and elegant blocks and one of the finest streets in the state, the most attractive 
part, on account of fine residences, gardens and ornamented grounds, extends up 
the sides and over the bluffs, presenting from this high point of observation a 
picturesque and beautiful appearance.
	The improvements which have been made in the way of decoration and 
grading have not only enlarged the area of land in front of the city, but have 
added an artistic effect to the general aspect of the place. The low lands near the 
river have been raised at considerable cost, a large portion of which has been 
borne by the different railroad companies, in making room for a suitable 
location for their business and buildings. 
	The river at this point runs almost due south, so that the principal 
streets of the city are nearly in a line with the cardinal points of the compass.
	Dubuque contains a population of about twenty-five thousand 
inhabitants, and possesses all the institutions, comforts, social appliances and 
business facilities which characterize any city of similar dimensions in any part 
of the country. The growth and progress of such a city from its humble 
beginning, by a few lead miners scarcely more than forty years ago, to is present 
status among the flourishing commercial centers of the West, must be a matter 
of interest, not only to the present population, numbering as it does many 
survivors and descendants of the early settlers, but to the public generally. We 
can not of course go into details, for our article would swell into volumes were 
we to attempt to write all the particulars of the History of Dubuque. The most 
that we can do is to give a brief outline of the more important facts.

EARLY HISTORY.

	The first settlement in this vicinity was made by a colony of miners 
from Prairie du Chien under Julien Dubuque in 1788-one hundred and fifteen 
years after the discovery of these shores by Marquette and Joliet. The entire 
territory now belonging to Iowa was then a part of the Spanish province of 
Louisiana, and the northern portion of the present state was occupied by the Fox 
Indians. From the representative chiefs and braves of these Indians, assembled 
in council at Prairie du Chien, September 22, 1788, Julien Dubuque obtained a 
permit to work the lead mines of this vicinity, and in that year sent here nine 
Frenchmen whom he had employed as miners.
	The extent of the mining territory claimed by Dubuque, as shown by a 
petition to Baron Carondelet, Governor of Louisiana, for a confirmation of his 
purchase from the Indians, in 1795, was defined as "about seven leagues" along 
the Mississippi, extending from the Little Maquoketa, several miles north of the 
city, to the mouth of the Tetes des Morts, then known as the Mesquabysnonques, 
several miles below. The distance between these points is about sixteen miles. 
The claim also extended "three leagues" in width from the river, including the 
prairie and bluffs on which the city is situated and nearly all the lead-bearing 
land in the vicinity.
	On the petition above referred to, a mining privilege was granted to 
Dubuque, September 10, 1796, which, however, was never confirmed by the 
Spanish Government.
	Dubuque lived on good terms with the Indians, acquired great influence 
over them, was a sort of patriarchal chief in his colony, collected around him a 
number of French and half-breeds, built a furnace for smelting lead, a horse-
power mill, and carried on some trade with the Indians in the sale of goods 
obtained in exchange for lead at St. Louis.
	In October, 1804, he transferred to August Choteau, of St. Louis, a part 
of his interest in the mines-about seven-eighths of the whole claim, which was 
decided by a majority of the Board of Land Commissioners in September, 1806, 
to be a valid claim of the Spanish grants. The tract would probably exceed 
20,000 acres.
	Dubuque died at the mines in 1810. He was buried on a high bluff near 
the Indian village, at the mouth of Catfish Creek, in a stone vault, and a red 
cedar cross was erected near by, on which was the following inscription in 
French; "Julian Dubuque, miner, of the mines of Spain, DIED 24th of March, 
1810, aged 45 years and 6 months."
	For the next fifteen years little was done by the French miners, 
although many followers of Dubuque remained in the vicinity nearly twenty 
years. The settlement made by Dubuque was broken up in the fierce Indian wars 
between the rival tribes of the Northwest. But the Indian owners, sometimes 
driven away by their enemies, the Sioux, at length gained strength enough to 
maintain their position, and carried on mining to a considerable extent. They 
claimed that Dubuque had only a life-interest in the privilege they had granted 
him
	In 1830 the Langworthy brothers and a few others obtained permission 
from the Indians to explore the lead mines around Dubuque. They crossed the 
Mississippi at that time swimming their horses by the side of a canoe. It was the 
first flow, or the first tide of civilization on these Western shores. There was not 
then a white settler north of the Des Moines, and west of the Mississippi to 
Astoria on the Columbia River, with the exception of Indian traders. On their 
arrival they found but few traces of Dubuque's settlement remaining. His 
followers had buried their leader twenty years before and had all departed. The 
Indians had all along guarded this mining district with scrupulous care. They 
would not allow the white people to visit the place, even to look at the old grass-
grown diggings of Julien Dubuque, much less would they permit mining to be 
done or settlements to be made. When these white settlers arrived, however, the 
place had been abandoned by the Indians. Their moccasin tracks were yet fresh 
in the prairie trails, along which the retreating race had fled on their mysterious 
mission westward, and the decaying embers were yet cooling on the deserted 
hearths within their lonely and silent wigwams. 
	Where Dubuque now stands cornfields stretched along the bluffs and 
up the ravines; a thousand acres skirting the shore was covered with tall grass 
like a field of waving grain. The stalks of corn were of the last years' growth; 
the ears had been plucked and they, withered and blighted, remained sad 
memorials of a vanished race. A large Indian village was then standing at the 
mouth of Catfish Creek. About seventy buildings constructed of poles and the 
bard of trees remained to tell of those who had so recently inhabited them. Their 
council-house, though rude, was ample in dimensions and contained a great 
number of furnaces in which kettles had been placed in the preparation of feasts 
of peace or war. On the inside of the bark covering this council room were many 
paintings or rude inscriptions, representing animals of the chase, and their wild 
sports and feats in war, where chief met chief in the bloody fray. Could this rude 
record of their national life have been preserved on the canvas or by the 
Daguerrean art, it would have been an interesting relic. But it was burned down 
in the Summer of 1830 by some visitors to the place, much to the regret of the 
more thoughtful of the first settlers.
	At the time of the arrival of these first settlers the land here was not in 
the actual possession of the United States. The Indian title had not been 
extinguished; and, being outside of any state or territorial government, the 
settlers were obliged to make such temporary laws as the exigencies of their 
situation demanded. The first act resembling civil legislation within the limits of 
the state, was done at this point in June, 1830. The miners met by the side of an 
old cotton-wood  drift log, situated on the shore at the Jones street levee, and 
appointed a committee to prepare such regulations as might be deemed 
expedient. The committee reported the following, the original of which is still 
preserved. It was written by J. L. Langworthy on a half sheet of coarse unruled 
paper, the old log around which they assembled being used for a desk; 
	"We, a committee having been chosen to draft certain rules and 
regulations, by which we as miners will be governed, and having duly 
considered the subject do unanimously agree that we will be governed by the 
regulations on the east side of the Mississippi River, with the following 
exceptions, to wit;
	ARTICLE 1. That each and every man shall hold 200 yards square of 
ground by working said ground one day in six.
	ART. 2. We further agree that there shall be chosen, by the majority of 
the miners present, a person who shall hold this article and who shall grant 
letters of arbitration on application having been made, and that said letters of 
arbitration shall be obligatory on the parties concerned so applying.
	To the above, we, the undersigned, subscribe.
							J. J. 
LANGWORTHY,
H. F. LANDER,
		 					JAMES 
McPHEETERS,
							SAMUEL 
SCALES,
							E.M. WREN."
	The person chosen in pursuance of the second article of the above was 
Dr. Jarote. Hence, the doctor was the first person in the territory clothed by the 
people with the judicial power to grant letters of arbitration. 

MILITARY INTERFERENCE.

	But mining operations, although proving very successful, and attracting 
considerable numbers to this locality, were soon interfered with by the military 
commander at the nearest garrison under authority of the War Department. The 
west side of the river, belonged by treaty to the Sac and Fox Indians, who, 
through certain of their chiefs, had previously ceded to the United States all their 
territory lying south of the Wisconsin River, between Lake Michigan and the 
Mississippi. Hence, the Government to preserve peace on the frontiers, as well 
as to protect the Indians in their rights, ordered the military to disperse the 
intruders from the Dubuque mines. This order was executed by Col. Zachary 
Taylor, then in command at Prairie du Chien, who about the first of July sent an 
officer to the mines, by whom in a formal manner he forbade settlement and 
commanded the miners to re-cross the river. He gave them notice that, if they 
did not leave the mines within a week, they would be driven off by force. The 
miners were not disposed to relinquish their claims, the rich lodes of lead which 
they had already discovered and opened, and from which they had taken large 
quantities of mineral. Therefore, in a few days Col. Taylor sent a detachment of 
troops to enforce his order. All but three of the miners, anticipating the 
movement, had re-crossed the river, and from its east bank saw the steamer 
bearing the troops land on the west shore. The three who had lingered an hour 
too long were, however, permitted to escape.
	A military force was then stationed at Dubuque to keep the settlers 
from returning. The Indians ventured to the place, sure of protection, and were 
encouraged to mine upon the lodes and prospects opened by the late white 
occupants. From one mine alone it is said that the Indians obtained more than a 
million pounds of ore, in which they were assisted by the traders and settlers 
along the river with implements and teams; while the discoverers-those who had 
reopened these mines after they had been abandoned more than twenty years by 
the French miners-were compelled to look across the Father of Waters and see 
the fruits of their industry and enterprise consumed by the Indians. They 
probably lost in this manner more than $20,000 worth of mineral. The 
government troops guarded the mines the remainder of the year 1830 and 1831. 
But the Black Hawk war commencing in June, 1832, they were withdrawn to 
protect the settlements in Illinois and Wisconsin. Thus the same soldiers who 
protected the Indians at Dubuque, were compelled to fight them on the opposite 
side of the river; the same force that compelled the white settlers to respect the 
treaty on the west side of the river had to punish the Indians for its violation on 
the east side; for they had embarked in an insane attempt to regain possession of 
the lands they had ceded east of the Mississippi by the slaughter and massacre of 
the white inhabitants. Many of the miners who had been driven from Dubuque 
joined the volunteers under Col. Dodge, of Wisconsin. The war lasted only a 
few weeks, when it was terminated by the surrender of Black Hawk at the battle 
of Bad-ax, in August 1832.

THE BLACK HAWK PURCHASE.

	As a result of this war the Indians not only failed to regain by treachery 
and perfidy the lands which they had sold east of the Mississippi, but lost a large 
tract of their possessions in Iowa. The treaty which secured the Black Hawk 
Purchase followed in September. It was made by Gen. Winfield Scott, on behalf 
of the Government, at Rock Island, with Black Hawk and the Chiefs of the Sac 
and Fox Indians, and included that territory bordering on the west side of the 
Mississippi, extending back a distance of about forty miles, and comprising the 
eastern portion of the present State of Iowa.

RETURN TO THE MINES.

	After the close of the war the Indians mostly abandoned the 
neighborhood of Dubuque, and some of the settlers who had been driven off in 
1830 returned in the Fall of 1832 to take possession of their former claims. They 
built houses and erected furnaces; large quantities of lead were prepared for the 
market; and the industry and activity about the mines began to make them a 
noted place in this section of Iowa. In January, 1832, however, the troops were 
again sent from Prairie du Chien, to remove the miners a second time, on the 
ground that the treaty with the Indians would not take effect till June 1, 1883. 
This was a great hardship to the settlers, as they were compelled to leave their 
cabins in mid-winter. Many re-crossed the river and did not return; a few moved 
their lead to an island near the west side of the river, and  there built rude huts of 
poles, in which to live till the opening of navigation in the Spring should enable 
them to float the products of their toil to St. Louis. Among these were the 
Langworthy brothers, who had accumulated and had on hand three hundred 
thousand pounds of lead.
Lieutenant Covington, the officer in command, ordered some of the 
cabins to be pulled down and wagons and other property destroyed; but it is just 
to Colonel Taylor to say that he disapproved of this wanton action, and 
superseded Covington by appointing Lieutenant George Wilson to take his 
place. This latter officer, so far as was compatible with his strict military duty, 
pursued a course just and friendly to the pioneers.

THE GOVERNMENT AGENT.

	On the first of June, 1833, the treaty took effect; the military 
force was withdrawn, and the superintendence of the mines was placed under 
John P. Sheldon, who had been appointed Government Agent. Mr. Sheldon 
proceeded to grant permits to the miners and licenses to the smelters—the 
permits coinciding very nearly with the regulations adopted by the committee in 
1830. They entitled the holder to have possession of two hundred square yards 
of land, wherever he chose, if not occupied by others, and required him to 
deliver his mineral to a licensed smelter. The smelter was required to give bonds 
to pay to the Government the value of six per cent of all the lead he 
manufactured. This tax upon the miners produced great dissatisfaction. As 
pioneers they suffered hardships and privations enough in opening the way for 
the advance of civilization into a new country, without being subjected to the 
imposition of a Government tax on the means of their subsistence, when the 
Government could better afford to aid them than to gain a revenue from their 
scanty resources. The measure became so unpopular that it was abolished in 
about ten years, and no further tax was afterward imposed.

PERMANENT SETTLEMENT.

The permanent settlement of Dubuque dates from 1833. During that 
year about five hundred persons came to the place, one hundred and fifty of 
them from Galena. Notwithstanding the prevalence of cholera that year, and 
fever also in the Fall, most of the surviving miners and other residents 
determined to make this spot their home. In May, 1834, the people assembled 
and named the place Dubuque. The first survey of the town was made by 
George W. Harrison. It included thirty blocks of land, mostly in what is now the 
lower part of the city. The immigration during 1834, the establishment of many 
other branches of business besides mining, and the attention given to Dubuque 
by the outside public generally, began to point to it as a place whose prospects in 
the future were sufficiently promising to induce many to select it as their future 
home.

LYNCH LAW.

Every new community not included under an organized form of 
government has its period of transition from first settlement to a condition of 
law and order. Such was the experience at the Dubuque lead mines from 1833 to 
1836. During that period, not only was there no legal government extending its 
protection over the settlement, for the punishment of offenders and the security 
of the rights of the people, but the influences of religion and the salutary 
restraints of family relations were in a great measure of wanting. Sunday was 
made a holiday; drinking and gambling were common practices; the vices 
common to mining districts were prevalent; both the miners, and the 
desperadoes who lived by filching their earnings at the gaming table, carried 
bowie-knives and pistols. It is not to be wondered at that violence and 
bloodshed, as well as lesser crimes and misdemeanors, should have been of 
frequent occurrence in such a state of society, and should mark a chapter in the 
early history of the Dubuque mines.
During this period a man named O'Connor murdered his business 
partner, O'Keefe, by shooting him dead with a rifle. A general meeting of the 
settlers was called; a man was appointed to perform the part of Sheriff; 
O'Conner was arrested; a temporary court was immediately organized; twelve 
men were selected as jurors; a lawyer appointed to defend the prisoner; a trial 
was had; the murderer was found guilty and condemned to die. After some time 
allowed him to prepare for death, by the aid of a priest of his own choice, he was 
hung on a gallows erected on a mound, at the corner of what is now White and 
Seventh Streets, in the presence of several hundred people. The mound and the 
bones of the murderer, who was buried beneath it, were removed in later years 
to make room for the erection of the Adams House on the same spot.
Lynching for minor offences was frequent. A fellow named Leck stole 
a canoe belonging to Thomas McCraney, and loading it with stolen lead, 
commenced a voyage down the river with a view of taking it to market. Leck 
was pursued to Rock Island, where he had sold his cargo. He was there arrested 
and brought back; tried before some one representing Judge Lynch, and 
sentenced to receive thirty-nine lashes. Mr. Enoch, who acted as temporary 
sheriff, inflicted the punishment. The whipping-post was a small oak tree on 
Main Street, not far from the residence known as that of Judge Dyer.
Among the murders committed on account of claim difficulties was 
that of Woodbury Massey, by a Mr. Smith and his son. Massey had purchased a 
lot and mineral lode. Smith and his son claimed it under the plea of some 
previous right. A suit was brought by the Smiths, and the magistrate awarded the 
title to Massey. The sheriff gave Massey possession of the premises. The 
Smiths, exasperated, concealed themselves on the ground, armed with guns, and 
on the approach of Massey shot him through the heart. The murderers were 
arrested and taken before the next session of the Circuit Court, then held at 
Mineral Point, Wisconsin, by Judge Irwin. The counsel for the prisoners 
objected to the jurisdiction of the court, and was sustained by the judge. The 
prisoners were discharged, and left for a time the neighborhood of the Dubuque 
mines. Mr. Massey was a very highly respected citizen. One of the younger 
brothers of Mr. Massey, feeling outraged at the tardiness of legal justice, 
resolved to take the punishment of the elder Smith into his own hands. He was 
then living in Galena. On seeing Smith pass by the door one day, he seized a 
rifle, and rushing into the street, fired and shot him. He had caused Smith to be 
previously warned of his intention, and to keep out of the way. Public sentiment 
generally exonerated Mr. Massey. He was not even arrested, but has lived in the 
country a quiet and respected citizen.
Information of the event soon brought the younger Smith to Dubuque 
to avenge the death of his father. He was known to be, like his father, of a rash 
temper, and it was understood that he had determined to kill, on the first 
opportunity, one of the brothers of Mr. Massey. These rumors reached a young 
sister of the Massey brothers, who by her affection was roused to form the 
daring and chivalrous resolution of preventing the murder of her brother by the 
assassination of Smith, wherever he might be found. Disguising herself for the 
occasion, and without informing any one of her purpose, she went into the 
streets in search of Smith, whom she did not even know by sight. She engaged 
the services of a boy who knew Smith to point him out. The boy designated him 
by his dress in passing a store. She well knew Smith's resolute and desperate 
character, yet she boldly entered the store, approached him where he was sitting, 
and in a voice ominous with indignant emotion, asked if he was Smith. He was 
about replying and rising from his seat, when she quickly drew a pistol, 
presented it toward his breast, fired, and retired from his presence. Smith fell, 
and for a moment it was supposed that he was dead. She had appeared so 
suddenly as to take Smith and those present entirely by surprise, so that they had 
no idea of her intentions until she had fired, and having retired from their sight 
as quickly as she came, the men present did not even notice which way she 
went. Smith was saved from death only by a thick pocket-book which he had in 
his breast pocket, in which the ball lodged. He soon recovered sufficiently to 
rush into the street in pursuit of his assailant. Meantime she had sought 
protection in the house of Mr. John Johnson, a merchant, and received also the 
protection of other citizens. She subsequently went to Illinois, and resided there 
with some of her relations. Smith was much injured by the shot, and though he 
lived several years, his death was thought to have been hastened by the effect of 
the wound. Miss Massey married a Mr. Williamson, formerly a resident of 
Dubuque. Both she and her husband are now dead. Her name, Louisa, was given 
to one of the river counties of the State.
Other cases of murder occurred during this period--that, for example, of 
John O'Mara by Patrick Brennen. The latter struck the former a fatal blow with 
a club, killing him almost instantly. He, however, escaped the self-constituted 
police authority, which in those early times was a sort of necessity. This tribunal 
took cognizance of a man who was known to shamefully ill-treat his family. He 
was taken, tarred and feathered and sent across the river.
These instances are a few that have been preserved, by tradition, of the 
exercise of lynch-law, in the infancy of Dubuque. At best it was only a necessity 
of the times, and as such had the sanction and approval of those who, in a later 
stage of society, were the most law-abiding citizens. In its exercise it was always 
under the restraint of justice and humanity, and was administered with 
moderation. Capital punishment was not inflicted, nor has that penalty yet been 
enforced in Dubuque city or county, except in the single instance of the 
execution of O'Connor, before alluded to.

LEGAL AUTHORITY.

Legal authority can hardly be said to have assumed sway in this locality 
till the inauguration of the territorial government of Wisconsin, July 4th, 1836. 
As few justices had been appointed under the authority of the territory of 
Michigan, among whom was Ira Williams, in the fall of 1834. He was the first 
justice in Dubuque. The first warrant under judicial authority was issued by him, 
October 28, 1834. Patrick Quigley was appointed Justice of the Peace, October 
29, 1835. His commission was issued by John S. Homer, Secretary and Acting 
Governor of the Territory of Michigan, and residing at Detroit. About the same 
time Gen. Warner Lewis was also appointed Justice of the Peace.
The officers of the territory were; Gen. Henry Dodge, Governor; John 
S. Homer, Secretary; Col. Charles Dunn, Chief Justice; Mr. Hoffman and Daniel 
Irwin, Associate Justices, and Capt. F. Gehon, Marshal. At that time there was 
not a brick building in Dubuque, few frame buildings, and no public building 
suitable to hold court in. The first session of the District Court having 
jurisdiction over what is now the northern half of Iowa, was held in a log 
building on the corner of Main and Fourth Streets. The first term commenced in 
May, 1837. The first official act of Judge Irwin was to order "that the seal, of 
which the following is a copy, be the seal of this court." The "copy" referred to 
was a common wafer stuck upon the page, with a piece of coarse white paper 
like that of a book, over it, and an impression made upon it with a silver twenty-
five cent piece.
Gen. Warner Lewis was appointed clerk of the court. It is said that he 
used to carry his justice's docket in his hat, so as to be ready to hold court at any 
time and place when the administration of justice required his presence. Be that 
as it may, he has left a volume of well kept court records in the archives of the 
District Court.
There were but few attorneys in Dubuque at that time. The records 
show that the first session of the court held by Judge Irwin was attended by John 
Turney, Joseph P. Hoge and Thomas Campbell, attorneys from Galena. They are 
either dead now or have moved away from the country.
When the Territory of Wisconsin was organized it was expected that 
Dubuque, from its central location, would be made the capital. That honor, 
however, was conferred upon Belmont, a place now of only two or three houses, 
in Wisconsin. The members of the council elected for the first session of the 
legislature to represent this portion of the territory, were John Foley, Thomas 
McCraney and Thomas McKnight. The representatives were Lorin Wheeler, 
Hardin Nowlin, P. H. Engle, Patrick Quigley and H. T. Camp.

FIRST FOURTH OF JULY.

The day from which Wisconsin dates her political existence was 
celebrated, together with that of our national independence, with grand 
ceremonies, at Dubuque, July 4, 1836. Dr. Stephen Langworthy was president, 
and E. Lockwood marshal of the day. The proceedings, reported in The Visitor, 
filled over seven columns. William W. Coriell, Esq., delivered the oration, in the 
Catholic Church of St. Raphael, the walls of which were then erected, though 
the roof was not completed. Hon. W. R. Prentice read the Declaration. A dinner 
was partaken of by a large concourse on the green in front of the town. Many 
toasts were proposed and happily responded to, with an eloquence and 
patriotism which have hardly been improved upon by later Dubuque orators. We 
should like to quote some specimens of the speeches made on that occasion, did 
space permit.
On the 16th of July, 1836, a public dinner was given at Dubuque to 
Gov. Henry Dodge. 

PROGRESS.

In 1835 a large number of immigrants, from the Eastern States and 
cities, came, many of whom became permanent citizens. In June, 1836, a 
Library Association was formed, at a meeting held in the Methodist meeting 
house.
S. Hempstead, since Governor of Iowa, Hon. John S. Horner, Acting 
Governor, and William W. Coriell, published their cards as practicing attorneys, 
at Dubuque. The population of the town, in the Fall of 1836, was 1,300. There 
were four principal streets, seven cross streets, and fifty stores and groceries, 
fifty-five dwelling houses, and one warehouse. In 1838 Dubuque began to 
assume the character of a well regulated community. Temperance and literary 
societies had been formed and public amusements began to attract attention. An 
amateur dramatic society had been organized, under the name of the "Iowa 
Thespian Association." One of the means of promoting the prosperity of 
Dubuque was the location of the land office here, through the influence of Gen. 
George W. Jones, Delegate in Congress in 1837-8. In 1839, the first fire engine 
was purchased by the town, the principal streets were graded, and cross-walks 
and culverts constructed. In 1841 important harbor improvements were made. 
On the 5th of May, 1842, the first regularly organized fire company was formed. 
In 1843 improvements in grading and building culverts on Main, Bluff, Iowa, 
Clay, Locust and White streets were carried on. In 1844 an appropriation of 
$7,500 was made by Congress for harbor improvements, which was soon 
followed by another appropriation of $7,000. In the Fall of 1845 the Fifth Street 
Market House was erected, and the city for the first time divided into wards—
three in number. In the Spring of 1847, the first appointment of city printer was 
made, the choice falling on A. P. Wood, at that time editor and publisher of the 
Dubuque Tribune. On the 11th of March, 1847, the first step was taken by the 
citizens to secure railroad connections with Chicago. A meeting was held and a 
committee appointed to take action in the matter. In 1848 the first night police 
was put on duty. In the same year a stock company was formed, and $6,000 
subscribed for the first telegraphic connection of this city with the East and 
South, which was obtained in August, 1848. The Julien House (then the Waples) 
was opened in 1847; the City Hall in 1848.
In the Spring of 1852, the large immigration to Iowa gave new 
accessions to the population of Dubuque, and a new impetus to its trade. 
Wholesale business may be said to have begun in that year. During this year 
Congress made another appropriation of $15,000 for harbor improvements.
When Dubuque became a city of scarcely 2,000 people, in 1841, there 
was no railroad in any of the Northwestern States. Both trade and travel 
followed the river, on account of the cheaper freights and shorter time than by 
land. Many immigrants from the Eastern States came by the way of the Ohio 
River, and those who came by the way of the great lakes had still a wagon 
journey of 200 miles between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi. The farmer 
immigrants continued to come from the Eastern States, from the earlier settled 
Northwestern States, and from the South.
By the time Iowa Territory became a state, at the close of 1846, the 
fame of the lead mines and the fine lands of the lead district, indeed of the whole 
region around it, had reached thousands of would-be emigrants from the Eastern 
States and from Europe. From the time when the population of the City of 
Dubuque was only 2,500, of the county only 8,000, and of the state only 
192,214, to the present, when the city has at least 25,000, the county 41,000 and 
the state over 1,200,000, there has been a steady immigration.

EARLY RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS.

Methodist Denomination. —The Methodists of Dubuque were indebted 
to the Galena Mission District, of which it was one station, for their first 
licensed public exponent of Christian faith, in the person of Reverend Barton 
Randle, who arrived November 6, 1833, and preached for the first time to them 
the same evening, at the boarding house of J. M. Harrison. About Christmas of 
that year the people made up a collection for him of a small sum of money—less 
than $100—of which a noted gambler contributed $10.
Religious services were well attended, and on Sunday, May 18, 1834, a 
society of that church was organized, and on June 1, following, the first class 
meeting was formed. Among the members of the class was Mrs. Charlotte 
Morgan (colored.) The first edifice for religious purposes was erected July 25, 
1834. Its dimensions were 20x26 feet in the clear, one story high, of ten feet, of 
hewn logs, pointed with lime and sand, shingle roof, batten door, two windows, 
and total cost $255. This church building when not in use by the Methodists, 
was open to any other denomination for religious services. It stood in what is 
now Washington Square, permission having been first obtained from the 
Superintendent of the Upper Mississippi Lead Mines to occupy the ground on 
which it stood. It was used, by permission, as a court room, town hall, and 
school room, being for many years the only place sufficiently commodious to 
accommodate large public or judicial gatherings. The first quarterly meeting was 
held November 22 and 23, 1834, Reverend Peter Crews officiating. The first 
circuit preacher sent by Conference was Reverend N. S. Bastion, in 1838, and 
his circuit involved a travel of about 400 miles. The first assistant associated on 
this circuit was Reverend Mr. Smith, in 1836. In 1834-35 Mrs. Elizabeth 
Atkinson frequently preached. She was licensed by the Primitive Methodist 
Church of England. She was graceful, eloquent and talented. The compensation 
to the first preachers here by the Missionary Society was $100. per annum.
The first camp meeting service was observed in the Fall of 1837.
Catholics. —It is difficult to give a strictly correct history of the first 
Catholic Church, from 1834 to 1837, by reason of the loss of all the early church 
records, which were deposited in the Catholic Church at Galena when that 
structure and contents were destroyed by fire. Our best information is that the 
first mass was celebrated at the house of Patrick Quigley, and services 
conducted by Reverend Father McMahon, in 1833. In 1834 the duties of priest 
were performed by Rev. Father Fitz Maurice. In the same year preparations were 
made for the erection of a church edifice, and on the 15th of August, 1835, the 
corner stone of St. Raphael's Church was laid, and the event observed with 
becoming ceremonies. The building was erected under the financial 
management and direct personal supervision of the Very Reverend Samuel 
Muzzuchelli, missionary for the Catholic denomination, who received his 
authority from Right Reverend Bishop Rosati, of St. Louis. 
The building was located on the south side of the present St. Raphael's 
Cathedral, on Bluff Street. It was built of stone, 40x70 feet. The walls were 
twenty-four feet high. It was designed to accommodate 360 persons. The 
missionary field of Father Muzzuchelli, embraced Illinois, Western Wisconsin, 
and Iowa. His jurisdiction west of the Mississippi River ceased July 2, 1837, the 
date of the consecration of the Reverend Father Mathias Loras as Bishop of the 
Diocese of Dubuque. Bishop Loras belonged to the nobility of France, and used 
his private fortune to build up the church and carry out the plans devised by his 
noble predecessor. He remained bishop of this diocese until the time of his 
death, in 1858.
Father Muzzuchelli was a man of very superior business talent, energy, 
and faithfulness to his mission, and did more to perpetuate and build up his 
church in the great Northwest than all other influences put together. Other noble 
and worthy fathers filled the responsible positions to which they were appointed 
here in early times acceptably, among whom were Fathers Ravoos and Petoit, 
who resided here, but were not ordained until 1840. The total number of 
members of the Catholic denomination, including, children, at the close of the 
year 1839, did not exceed 300, and the total number in Iowa more than 400.
	Congregational. —In August, 1833, Rev. Aratus Kent, of Galena, 
preached at the house of Mrs. Willoughby, located at what is now the corner of 
Third and Locust streets which was the first religious service of a public 
character ever held in this state. He was stationed at Galena in 1829 by the 
American Home Missionary Society, and extended his labors throughout the 
mines and the whole upper county, bearing his labors with cheerfulness and a 
zeal that made him respected among all classes with whom he mingled, 
performing his day like a true Christian, continuing in the service many years.
	As near as we can ascertain, Reverend Cyrus L. Watson was the first 
minister of this denomination located here, in 1835. By his efforts and the hearty 
co-operation of citizens the construction of a church building for their use was 
begun. On July 18, 1836, the corner stone was laid, with ceremony, Dr. Timothy 
Mason delivering an address. There were present Colonel Dunn, Chief Justice of 
the Territory, and a large assemblage of citizens. The procession formed and 
marched, led by a band of music, to the place selected for the church, and after 
appropriate ceremonies the corner stone was put in position, a memorandum, 
one copy of the Dubuque Visitor, and a copy of the subscription list of the 
church were deposited, and the ceremonies closed with singing and prayer. The 
house was not completed prior to 1840, with the exception of the basement, 
which was used both for church purposes and for schools. 
	Presbyterian. —May 12, 1839, Reverend J. A. Clark, organized a 
Presbyterian Society (first in the State). The ceremonies took place in the 
Methodist log meeting house, and the society consisted of nineteen members. In 
December, 1839, Reverend Z. K. Hawley became their pastor, and remained in 
charge until 1841. Reverend John C. Holbrook supplied the pulpit of this church 
the last Sabbath in February, 1842. He received a unanimous call to become its 
pastor, which was accepted, and entered upon his pastoral duties the 20th of 
March following, but was not formally installed until April 5, 1843. At this time 
a heavy debt was hanging over the church. The total number of members on the 
church roll was but twenty-six, and the prospect of liquidating the obligation 
although the situation was far from agreeable, these zealous Christians did not 
permit their religious order to be stifled, but continued worship, first in the court 
house, next in the Baptist church. Afterward, a small brick church edifice was 
erected on Main Street, at a cost of $3,000. In time this became too small. The 
building was enlarged and improved until, in 1857, it was sold, together with the 
site, for $20,000, and the commodious structure they now occupy was erected, 
Reverend John C. Holbrook being their pastor.
	Presbyterian—Old School. —In 1850, the Congregational Church 
having become quite large, and containing a considerable number of Old School 
Presbyterians, about twenty of its members, by request, were dismissed, to form 
the First Presbyterian Church of that school. They erected a small brick structure 
in which to worship.
	A small Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church was formed in 
1850, and occupied the old Presbyterian Church building on Ninth street.
	Episcopalian. —Reverend Richard F. Cadle, chaplain of the military 
post at Prairie du Chien, visited here in April, 1838, and conducted the first 
service for this denomination. By the united call of the resident Episcopalians 
and Reverend Mr. Cadle, the General Episcopal Convention attached the part of 
the Wisconsin Territory west of the Mississippi to the diocese of Bishop 
Kemper, and in the same year the request was granted, and Bishop Kemper, 
accompanied by Reverend Mr. Cadle, visited Dubuque and organized St. John's 
Church, consisting of twenty-three members. E. M. Bissell and Richard Plumbe, 
wardens; and W. M. Miller, and Geo. L. Nightingale, vestrymen. 
	German Catholic. —The first society of this denomination here was 
that of the Holy Trinity, in 1851. The construction of a church building given 
that name was completed that year. The corner stone ceremonies were 
conducted by Reverend Father Kelley. The first priest of this parish was 
Reverend Father Platte. Out of this parish grew what is now St. Mary's Church. 
Two benevolent societies are attached to St. Mary's Church. The Plus Society, 
formed February 4, 1855, numbers now 200 members, and the fund for the 
protection of its members is about $6,000 at the present time. Its President is 
Peter Ferring; Secretaries. L. Lochner, and J. M. Werner. The other, the 
Alphonso Society, formed September 29, 1867, numbers 102 members, and has 
over $1,000 in cash. Its President is Jacob Klauer; Secretaries, J. Pregier, and J. 
Willinger.
	Roman Catholic. —In 1854, St. Patrick's Church was organized by 
Bishop Loras. It was conducted by him for some time, but Father McCabe was 
its first pastor. He was succeeded by Father Walsh, and he by Rev. N. F. 
Scallan, who was succeeded by the present Rev. R. Ryan. This society numbers 
a congregation of about 1,200.
	German Congregational. —This church was formed in 1867, by Rev. 
Henry Frankfurth, with a membership of twenty-three. They built a house of 
worship the same year. In the Fall of 1968 Rev. H. Frankfurth was succeeded by 
the present pastor, Rev. Hermann Ficke. The present membership is forty-five.	
	Presbyterian—New School. —The Second Presbyterian Church of this 
city was organized, Sabbath, August 26, 1855, by Rev. S. G. Spees, of Galena. 
The society numbered seventeen members. For a short time they occupied the 
Locust Street Methodist Church as a place of worship; and at its own request 
was taken under the care of the Presbytery of Iowa City. They rented an upper 
hall on Main Street, and enjoyed the ministry of Rev. J. Gurnsey till June 1, 
1856. He was succeeded in the pastorate by Rev. J. H. Trowbridge, who 
resigned in 1862. In 1859 the present church edifice was dedicated. December 
14, 1862, Rev. H. B. Holmes became pastor, and continued until April 30, 1866, 
when he resigned. Rev. S. G. Spees accepted a call, and filled the pastorate from 
December 30, 1866, until May 21, 1871. On the 15th of September, 1871, Rev. I. 
A. Ostrander was elected pastor, and installed November 1 following. The 
church now numbers 230 members.
	Baptist. —The first Baptist Church was organized in the Spring of 
1842, by Rev. Chester Carpenter, the society consisting of eleven members. 
Rev. Mr. Morey, of Galena, was arranged with to preach before it once in each 
month and remained in 1844-5. The society built a small frame meeting house 
on Clay Street, between Eighth and Ninth Streets. They continued to worship in 
this house till 1856, when they built the brick structure now occupied by the 
Universalists, Rev. Thomas S. Griffith, pastor. Rev. J. Billings Smith succeeded 
him and remained until 1861. At this time the society was so much embarrassed 
financially, that the church building was transferred to the Universalists, and 
they (the Universalists) assumed the debts. The society as a church was then 
disbanded, and the present Second Baptist Church formed. Caleb Saddler, a 
member of the church, sold to the society its present building; the society 
purchased a lot and moved their building thereto. Rev. Asahel Chapin became 
pastor and remained over six years, resigning in 1868. Rev. Mr. Raymond was 
succeeded in the pastorate by Rev. J. M. Ferris, the present pastor, September 1, 
1873. The present membership is about 150.
	Universalist. —Movement for the establishment of this church began in 
February, 1858, and on the 22d of March following, the society was formed with 
Dr. Timothy Mason, President, and Charles A. McArthur, Secretary, and a 
membership of thirty-nine. Rev. J. W. Dennis was the first pastor, and began his 
labors in July, 1858. First Sabbath school was organized May 23, 1858. The 
present pastor, Rev. Asa Countryman, began his pastorate February, 1874. There 
is connected with the society about 100 families. Church located at the corner of 
Tenth and Main Streets. The church building was purchased from the Baptist 
Society in 1862, and was refitted the same year.
	First Presbyterian (German). —The First German Presbyterian Church 
of this city was organized in the year 1847, by Rev. Peter Florey, with thirty-
nine members. Its present membership is 175. Its first pastor was Rev. Peter 
Florey, and the time intervening between his resignation and the occupancy of 
the pastoral charge by the present Rev. J. Conzett, was filled by Rev. Madalott 
and Rev. A. Van Vliet, successively. The church is located corner of Iowa and 
Seventeenth Streets.
	In conjunction with this church is the German Theological Seminary. It 
was formed by and kept under the immediate control of Rev. A. VanVliet, until 
its success required an enlargement to accommodate its attendants. Then the 
building was enlarged to its present magnificent proportions and given into the 
hands of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the U.S.A. in 
1866, by Rev. A. VanVliet. It has two professors, two tutors, and about twenty 
students. 
	Methodist Episcopal (African). —In 1864 this organization was 
perfected through the instrumentality of Rev. Mr. Spaulden, and consisted of 
thirty-nine members as the Colored Christian Association. Regular religious 
services have been kept up under the auspices of the Young Men's Christian 
Association and the co-operation of different denominational churches of the 
city. The present pastor is Rev. Mr. Willitt. Much of the credit for the success of 
this society is owing to the indefatigable Christian efforts of H. N. Rice of this 
city. 

EARLY SABBATH SCHOOLS.

	In the Summer of 1834 the first Sabbath school was organized. It met 
in a small room in the second story of a building on what is now the corner of 
Main and Third Streets, and afterward in the log church. Its list of teachers 
would embrace the names of all the devoted Christian women of that early day; 
and by their efforts this ennobling institution was made to prosper until absorbed 
by denominational Sabbath schools, established after 1839.

FIRST THINGS IN DUBUQUE.

	The first steamboat that landed at Dubuque, for trade, was the 
"Galena," Capt. David G. Bates, in 1828.
	The first family that lived in Dubuque was that of Hosea T. Camp, in 
1832
	The first woman who came to the main shore at Dubuque, with a view 
to permanent residence, was Mrs. Noble F. Dean, in the Fall of 1832, who is at 
this writing enjoying good health.
	The first raft of lumber that reached Dubuque, was owned by James H. 
and Ezekiel Lockwood; was brought from Chippewa River, Wisconsin, in the 
Fall of 1832.
	The first white child born here was a daughter of Thomas McCraney, 
January 10, 1833. She was named Susan Ann.
	The first sermon in Dubuque was preached by Rev. Aratus Kent, of 
Galena, in August, 1833.
	The first mass celebrated in Dubuque was at the house of Patrick 
Quigley, in the Fall of 1833.
	The first physician was Dr. John B. Stoddard, in 1833.
	The first school house built and first school taught was in the Fall of 
1833.
	The first postmaster was Milo H. Prentice, appointed in 1833.
	The first farm opened in the county was by Capt. Robert T. Read, in 
1833.
	The first death was of Mr. Fox, which occurred in May, 1833.
	The first bell brought here was in March, 1834.
	The first Sabbath school was organized early in the Summer of 1834.
	The first prayer meeting was at the house of John Johnson, April 20, 
1834.
	The first Methodist society was formed on the 18th of May, 1834, and 
the first class-meeting was held June 1, of the same year.
	The first house of worship was built by the Methodists, in 1834.
	The first justice of the peace was Ira Williams, appointed in the Fall of 
1834.
	The first warrant issued by judicial authority was on the 28th of 
October, 1834.
	The first marriage was between a Mr. McCabe and Miss Mary Finley, 
in the Summer of 1834, and was publicly celebrated.
	The first ferry boat, by horse power, was put on in the Spring of 1834.
	The first temperance meeting was on the 9th of March, 1834.
	The first political speech was by Col. George W. Jones, in 1835.
	The first estate administered upon was that of Nobel F. Dean, January 
10, 1835.
	The first lawyer was E. E. Coriell, in 1835.
	The first closing of stores and shops on Sunday was on August 1, 1835.
	The first man who applied for naturalization was John Cunningham, 
August 1, 1836. The territorial court having no authority to naturalize aliens, it 
being a function of the State Court, the first man actually naturalized was 
Alexander Levi
	The first public land survey was by William A. Burt, the inventor of the 
solar compass, November 2, 1836.
	The first public observance of American Independence, by a 
celebration, was July 4, 1836.
	The first district court was held May 1, 1837.
	The first literary society or lyceum was organized December 27, 1837.
	The first brick house completed was that of Leroy Jackson, in 1837. In 
the same year John Johnson completed his brick store-room on Main Street. 
James and Edward Langworthy commenced their brick houses in 1837, and 
completed them in 1838.

EARLY SCHOOLS OF DUBUQUE.

	The first school house was built in the Fall of 1833, near the northeast 
corner of what is now Jackson Square. The funds for its erection were 
contributed by the worthy and generous pioneers of that time. The first term run 
through the close of the year 1833 and beginning of 1834. Its teacher was 
George Cabbage, with thirty-five pupils on the roll.
	The second school term, taught in the same building, was by Barrett 
Whittemore, and had an attendance of twenty-five pupils.
	Others filled in the line to instruct the young and develop the mental 
faculties of those that could be spared from assisting in the labors at home in 
that remote day. The first female teacher was Mrs. Caroline Dexter, who taught 
in the Methodist log church, in March, 1836. The first school opened 
exclusively for young ladies, was taught by Mrs. Louisa King, assisted by Miss 
Louisa C. F. King, during 1837-8-9, which was quite well patronized.
	Alonzo P. Phelps opened in the year 1838 the first classical school, 
which continued during 1839. In the same year, Mrs. Mary Ann O'Riley opened 
a boarding school for young ladies, which met with such success that it was 
continued a number of years. In 1839, Thomas H. Benton, for many years after 
Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State, opened an English and 
classical school. The first tax was levied for the support of public schools in 
1840, although a law authorizing the levying of such a tax had been passed by 
the territorial Legislature the previous year.

INCORPORATION AND LIMITS.

	A town government by a board of trustees was organized under an act 
of the Territorial Legislature in 1837. Honorable T. S. Wilson was elected 
President, and Thomas C. Fassitt, Charles Miller, Timothy Fanning, and 
William Myers, members of the board. 
	A city charter providing for the election of a mayor and six aldermen 
was adopted by a popular vote in April, 1841. C. H. Booth was elected Mayor; 
Benjamin Rupert, Recorder; Jesse P. Farley, Chas. Miller, Edward Langworthy, 
William W. Coriell, H. Simplot, and Timothy Fanning, Alderman
	The original corporate limits of Dubuque included only a single square 
mile. The limits were extended in 1853, and again in 1854, and now include 
eleven square miles, being about four miles on the river front and an average of 
nearly three miles wide, including much picturesque scenery, arising from the 
variety in the combination of bluffs, ravines, level spaced, and beautiful groves. 
The bluffs at an average of half a mile from the main channel of the river are 
about 150 feet high, and are intersected by ravines through which pass the 
principal roads leading to the country beyond.
	The city charter as amended in 1855, provided for a board of education, 
clothed will full powers to manage the interests of the public schools, and in 
pursuance thereof the first Board of Education was created provisionally until 
the next regular election in January, 1856. It consisted of D. A. Mohony, 
President; Phineas W. Crawford, Secretary; James A. Reid, James Burt, James 
R. Goodrich, and Robert C. Waples members.

THE PRESS OF DUBUQUE.

DEMOCRATIC LINE.

	The Dubuque Visitor, --The first newspaper published west of the 
Mississippi River (except in St. Louis) was the Dubuque Visitor, issued May 11, 
1836. It appeared under the management of John King, editor, and William C. 
Jones, printer. In politics it was neutral, and had for its motto; "Truth our Guide; 
the Public Good our Aim." Six months after is first appearance John King sold 
the Visitor to W. W. Chapman, who, three months later, sold the same to 
William H. Turner, and he, in April, 1837, disposed of the Visitor to W. W. 
Coriell, John King, and John B. Russell.
	The Iowa News. —At the conclusion of the first volume of the Visitor, 
Coriell, King & Russell changed the name of the paper to The Iowa News, which 
became expressly Democratic in politics. In the Fall of 1838, W. W. Coriell sold 
his interest to Edwin Reeves, and its publication was continued under the 
management of Russell & Reeves till 1840, during which year it passed into the 
hands of W. W. Coriell.
	The Dubuque Miner's Express. —In 1841 the Iowa News gave place to 
the Miner's Express, started by Avery Thomas, and six months later the Express 
became the property of D. S. Wilson and Andrew Keesecker, and was continued 
by them till 1845, when they sold to George Greene. He conducted the paper till 
1848, and sold to William Y. Lovell, and the latter, three months later, sold to 
Harrison H. Holt and Andrew Keesecker. In March, 1851, they sold the Express 
to William H. Merritt and William Ashley Jones. Soon after Mr. Jones sold his 
interest to Mr. Merritt, who remained sole proprietor and continued as such till 
1854, when the Express was absorbed by the Dubuque Herald. The Express was 
first issued as a daily August 19, 1851.
	The Dubuque Herald. —This paper had been in existence about three 
years when it swallowed up the Miner's Express in 1854. It was established as 
an independent newspaper by Dr. Harrison H. Holt, D. A. Mahony, W. A. 
Adams, and A. A. White in 1851, and issued its first number on the 19th of April 
of that year. On the 4th of July, 1851, it appeared as a continuous daily 
publication, the firm name of the publishers being Holt, Mahony & Co., and the 
labor of the office thus divided; Editor, D. A. Mahony; news department, A. A. 
White; mechanical department, W. A. Adams. In 1851 Mr. White died, and F. J. 
Stanton came into the firm in place of the deceased, and also purchased Dr. 
Holt's interest, and Mr. Adams sold his interest to J. B. Dorr. Later, Messrs. 
Mahony and Dorr bought Mr. Stanton's interest, and until sometime in 1854 the 
Herald was conducted by them. In this year the consolidation of the Miner's 
Express (Democratic) and the Herald (Independent) occurred, and the Express 
and Herald (as the consolidated paper was for some time called) became a 
strong advocate of Democratic faith under the proprietorship and editorial 
management of Merritt, Mahony & Dorr. In 1855 Mr. Merritt purchased the 
interest of his two partners and continued its management till 1860, when, in 
July of that year, D. A. Mahony purchased of him the entire establishment and 
took in as partners John Hodnett and James Brown, the firm name being D. A. 
Mahony & Co.
	Early in 1862, Mr. Mahony purchased the interest of James Brown, and 
in the Fall of that year received Stilson Hutchins as a partner. In 1863 Mr. 
Hutchins leased the interests of Messrs. Mahony and Hodnett. In March, 1864, 
Patrick Robb, F. M. Zeibach, and M. M. Ham purchased and continued the 
publication of the Herald under the firm name of Patrick Robb & Co. till 
January 13, 1865, when M. M. Ham and D. D. W. Carver purchased the entire 
interest, and have continued its publication as a non-compromising Democratic 
organ to the present time (1875) under the firm name of Ham & Carver.
	The Iowa State Democrat. —In 1852, D. A. Mahony published from 
the Herald office the Iowa State Democrat, which became merged in the 
Dubuque Herald in 1853. 
	The Northwest was started in 1856 by LaCossitt & Jarboe, who formed 
a publishing company, Mr. LaCossitt being the editor. He was succeeded for a 
short time by M. B. Mulkern. In 1856, H. H. Heath, who got the appointment of 
postmaster of Dubuque through the influence of Gen. George W. Jones, then 
United States Senator from this district, became editor, and continued in that 
capacity till the expiration of the paper in 1858. The Northwest was established 
as a Buchanan organ in opposition the Dubuque Herald, which espoused the 
principles of Stephan A. Douglas. 
	The Dubuque Telegraph. —The first number of the Dubuque Daily 
Telegraph was issued July 5th, 1870, by S. P. Rich and Dr. J. P. Quigley. In a 
few weeks Mr.Quigley sold his interest to Mr. Rich, who shortly after sold to 
Gen. M. M. Trumbull, and he in turn sold to James Hughes. Mr. Hughes formed 
a company, consisting of himself and several printers, by whom the paper was 
conducted till June, 1871, when D. A. Mahony bought out Mr. Hughes and most 
of the other proprietors, thus securing a controlling interest, and in April, 1872, 
took in Mr. M. Brady as a partner. The paper has since been published by them 
under the title of the Telegraph Publishing Company. Since the Winter of 1871 
both a daily and weekly edition have been regularly issued.
	The Dubuque National Democrat, a German newspaper, was 
established in 1856 by F. A. Gniffke. It is democratic in politics. This paper has 
passed the ups and downs, and experienced all the difficulties incident to a 
frontier newspaper, yet it has been under the sole management of Mr. Gniffke 
since its first appearance. In the Spring of 1857 a daily edition was published, 
and continued regularly till the stringent times of 1858, when the daily issue was 
discontinued and a tri-weekly kept up till 1860, when the tri-weekly was 
abandoned, since which it has been a weekly publication.
	The Daily Union, a democratic war paper, was started early in 1861 by 
Bennett, Knowlton & Co., edited by Samuel McNutt. It continued about five 
months when it suspended, and was never afterwards revived. Some of the 
material of the office was purchased by the Telegraph establishment.

WHIG AND REPUBLICAN LINE.

	The Dubuque Transcript was the first Whig paper published in the city. 
It made its appearance in 1843 under the editorship and management of H. H. 
Houghton, formerly editor of a paper at Galena, and who subsequently returned 
to that city. Mr. Houghton published the Transcript about a year, when he sold 
to Hill & Wharton, who continued it nearly a year longer. It was discontinued in 
1845.
	The Dubuque Tribune was first issued by A. P. Wood, December 21, 
1846. It first appeared as a semi-weekly February 22, 1848, and continued as 
such till September 1 of that year, being the first semi-weekly newspaper 
published in Iowa. On the 26th of March, 1851, it was issued as a daily, and 
continued as such one year. Mr. Wood continued to publish the weekly Tribune 
till March 22, 1854. He then sold to William A. Adams, who took in A. W. 
Hackney as partner, and the firm thus formed continued the publication of the 
paper till March, 1858, when it was finally discontinued.
	The Democratic Telegraph. —This paper was not what its name 
indicates, but was really in spirit and purpose a Whig journal, while carrying a 
democratic banner. It advocated the election of Taylor and Filmore. It was 
issued as a weekly by an association of politicians, and published by Orlando 
McCraney. Its first issue appeared September 21, 1848, and it continued till 
October 1, 1850, at which date it was absorbed by the Tribune.
	
	The Dubuque Observer. —In the Spring of 1854 the Dubuque Observer 
was issued as a daily and weekly by C. J. Chapline & Co., Dr. R. I. Thomas, a 
member of the firm, being editor. It was professedly a Whig paper, with the 
addition of know-nothingism, which it advocated in connection with its Whig 
principles. Chapline & Co. published it about a year and a half when it was 
discontinued.
	The Dubuque Republican. —In the Fall of 1855, C. C. Flint began 
publishing the Dubuque Republican, daily and weekly, having purchased the 
office of the Observer. He continued to publish it till April, 1857, when it was 
discontinued. On the 6th of June of the same year both the daily and weekly 
editions were revived by A. P. Wood, who conducted the paper till October 20, 
1857, when it was absorbed by the Tribune.
	The Dubuque Times was first issued June 15, 1857, by a joint stock 
company, G. G. Lyon, editor. It continued about fifteen months, when it expired. 
It was resuscitated about the beginning of 1859 by Palmer, Upham & Gilmore, 
who continued it till May, 1861, when Mr. Palmer withdrew, and the firm 
became Upham & Gilmore, till June, 1862, at which time they sold to G. T. 
Stewart, who published it till May, 1864. Mr. Stewart sold to Charles Aldrich 
and W. S. Peterson, who converted the stock into The Times Publishing 
Company, Mr. Peterson continuing as editor and manager for about four years, 
at which time he went out, and the stock fell into the hands of J. K. Graves, who 
employed J. L. McCreery as editor for a short time, and soon sold out to Barnes, 
Tompkins & Newcomb. This company was succeeded by Barnes & Ryan in 
1867, who continued to publish the Times till 1870, when Jacob Rich succeeded 
Mr. Barnes, and the firm became Rich & Ryan till the death of Mr. Ryan in the 
Fall of 1873. In March, 1874, M. C. Woodruff bought the interest of Mr. Ryan, 
and the firm became Rich & Woodruff, present proprietors. Mr. Woodruff is 
editor-in-chief, J. L. McCreery, assistant editor, and A. Jordan, business 
manager.
	Iowa Staats Zeitung. —This paper was established as a German 
Democratic journal by F. Hauf in 1847. Mr. Hauf published it till the Taylor and 
Filmore campaign in 1849, when it was purchased by George Price, George 
Nightingale and others in the interest of the Whig party, and became from that 
time a Whig paper till it was discontinued after the election. The materials were 
then purchased by Dr. Katman, who revived it as an independent paper, and 
continued to publish it about four years, when it was discontinued, and the 
materials of the office were afterwards purchased by the National Democrat.
	In 1857 another Staats Zeitung (Republican) was founded, which 
continued to be published by Henry Richter, Dr. Bengel, Adolph Schill and 
Peter Karberg till 1873, when the materials were bought by Peter Karberg and 
removed to Lansing.

MISCELLANEOUS.

	The Morning Sun.—On the expiration of the Northwest in 1858, some 
of the printers who had been connected with that paper started a daily called The 
Morning Sun. It was edited by V. J. David, but was of short duration, continuing 
only a few months.
	The Dubuque Commercial. —In 1872 the monthly Real Estate Journal 
was established by J. W. McLaury with an edition of 5,000 copies. On the first 
of October, 1873, W. G. Farrer issued the first number of the monthly 
Commercial, and in February following produced it as a weekly. By purchase, 
on the first of May, 1874, J. W. McLaury became proprietor, and consolidating 
with it the Real Estate Journal, has since continued to publish it as a mercantile, 
manufacturing and real estate journal for Iowa, under the name of the Dubuque 
Commercial.
	The Luxemberger Gazette. —This German weekly was established in 
1871, by the German Catholic Printing Company. Its first number appeared 
August 4, 1871, with John A. Koob, editor. He was succeeded by the present 
editor, Nicholas Gonnor.
	The Iowa, another German weekly, printed at the same place (the Times 
office), made its appearance January 5, 1875, and is also edited by Nicholas 
Gonnor. 
	The Presbyterianer, a German religious semi-monthly publication, is 
published by a corps of German Presbyterian Elders, and has a circulation of 
1,400 copies. It is edited by Reverend J. Bantley, assisted by a committee of 
three clergymen. The composition is done at its own office, the printing at the 
office of the Times. This paper is now in its eighth year, having been established 
in 1867.
	The Chess Journal is published from the Herald building by Professor 
O. A. Brownson, Jr., and meets with favor from the most celebrated chess 
players of the country.
	The following is a list of other publications of a miscellaneous 
character which have appeared in Dubuque;
	The Spike, a campaign paper, published by D. A. Mahony from the 
Herald office in 1852; the German Turn-Zeitung, published here for a time; The 
American Flag, for a short time during the war; The Ledger; the Northwestern 
Farmer, afterwards merged in the Iowa Homestead, by Mark Miller; the News-
Letter, a religious paper, by Reverend J. Gurnsey, the Christian Witness, by J. C. 
Benedict; the Legal Inquisitor; the District School Journal of Education; the 
Evergreen, a Masonic publication, by Dr. E. A. Guilbert, Sr.; the Press, by J. J. 
E. Norman; and the Temperance Platform, by W. S. Peterson.

PERIOD OF THE DAILIES.

	It will be seen from the above sketch of the papers of Dubuque that 
three daily newspapers appeared within a few months of each other, viz; the 
Daily Tribune, the Daily Herald and the Daily Miner's Express, in the order 
named. The first was Whig in politics, the second independent, and the third 
Democratic. The dates of the issue of these dailies respectively were, Daily 
Tribune, March 26, 1851; Daily Herald, July 4, 1851; Daily Express, August 19, 
1851. Of these papers only one, the Daily Herald, has been a continuous daily to 
the present time, entitling it to be regarded as the oldest daily newspaper now 
existing in Iowa.

COMMERCIAL POSITION.

	Physical geography and commercial necessity determine the location of 
prosperous cities. The banks of navigable rivers and intervals become places for 
the concentration of trade. Western civilization is advanced by migration on 
nearly the same parallel of latitude, encouraged by the higher agricultural, 
climatic and sanitary advantages as compared with the Atlantic States. For these 
reasons the twelve Iowa cities on the right bank of the Mississippi have all 
grown to an unusual degree of commercial importance considering the short 
time of their existence. Dubuque is favorably situated for commerce, having a 
good harbor on the Mississippi, and being nearer than any other Iowa city that 
will be likely to compete with it to the lumber regions of the Northwest. It is 
nearly midway between St. Louis and St. Paul, and also between the flourishing 
Illinois and Wisconsin cities on Lake Michigan and the second great commercial 
river, the Missouri. The railroads are so constructed as to make a large scope of 
country, now thickly settled and developing prosperous industries, tributary to 
Dubuque; and notwithstanding the interior adjacent towns are favored with 
railroads and with freights often discriminative against the Key City, a very 
large wholesale trade is maintained against the competition of still larger cities, 
and a heavy volume of retail business is done in every department.

BUSINESS.

	The amount and increase of trade and manufactures from year to year 
are correct criteria by which to measure the material progress of a new city. 
Allusion to only a few of the many interests under this head need be made to 
indicate the surprising advancement of all the interests which constitute the most 
healthful business condition.
	In the Fall of 1833 a small raft of lumber, the first that ever descended 
the Upper Mississippi, furnished a widow lady at Dubuque with the materials 
for a frame boarding house. In 1869, 50,000,000 feet of pine lumber from the 
forests of Minnesota and Wisconsin were sold to the amount of $7,500,000, 
from the fifteen Dubuque lumber yards.
	In 1834 there was but one man engaged in the manufacture of furniture. 
Now one of the principal furniture manufactories furnish employment for forty 
men.
	In 1840, the country west of the Mississippi had not become self-
sustaining in articles of food. Dubuque City and County did not become so till 
1850. Now the shipments from Dubuque to Eastern and Southern markets are 
over 100,000 barrels of flour, 2,000,000 bushels of wheat, 500,000 bushels of 
oats, and nearly 100,000 bushels of barley per annum. The immense corn crop is 
mostly converted into animal products at a much greater profit than by the 
shipment of the grain. Twenty million pounds of dressed pork, 30,000 live hogs, 
and 10,000 head of cattle, do not overreach the shipments of these products 
annually from Dubuque.

	The financial revulsion of 1837 did not materially affect Dubuque. Its 
main resource was lead, produced steadily by the enterprise of hundreds of 
miners and the working of half a dozen smelting furnaces. This product 
commanded a ready cash sale in the markets of St. Louis or New Orleans. In all 
American mining districts paper money is received slowly and cautiously as a 
circulating medium, and accordingly the depreciated bank-note currency of the 
Eastern States was despised by the miners. God and silver were the principal 
forms of money, and so continued for twenty years. The financial crisis of 1857, 
however, had a more disastrous effect. The West at that time was flooded with 
nearly worthless paper money. Iowa had then no bank of issue, but acceded 
afterwards to the policy of a general banking law, which has since been swept 
away by the necessity for a National Currency.
	Dubuque in 1835 had one wagon shop. In 1869 eighteen wagon and 
carriage manufactories employed 150 men, and sold over 5,000 vehicles. The 
first mill of thirty years ago, after running twenty years, was succeeded by a 
dozen lumber mills, flouring mills, manufactories of wooden ware, planing 
mills, extensive iron foundries, machine shops and other branches of skilled 
industry, to such an extent that Dubuque now ships in every direction, and with 
few exceptions, all the articles required in practical agriculture, household 
economy, and most other useful and practical industries.
	However uninteresting statistics may be to the general reader, they 
become very significant to those who wish to trace the progress, determine the 
results, or estimate the future of a growing city. The following figures indicate a 
few of the branches of business and the amount done per annum in each;
	Twenty-six grocery houses sell to the amount of $2,500,000. The sales 
of four hardware stores amount to $800,000. Drugs, paints and oils, $530,000. 
Three crockery stores, $180,000. Nine boot and shoe stores, $400,000. Sales 
from tobacco stores, $100,000. Five hat and cap stores, $80,000. Two Yankee 
notion houses, $190,000. Fourteen clothing and merchant tailors, $700,000. 
Nine leather, harness, etc., $400,000. Books and stationery, $162,000. Six 
furniture houses, $175,000. Wholesale liquor dealers, $350,000. Six dealers in 
stoves and tinware, $125,000. Fruit and confectionery, $370,000. Millinery 
goods, $75,000. One firm, seeds and agricultural implements, $60,000. Five 
produce and commission houses, $275,000. Musical instruments, $75,000. Coal, 
$75,000. Wood, $365,000.
	The value of the manufacturing interests of Dubuque amounts to about 
$4,000,000 by assessment. Among them are works for the manufacture of steam 
engines, boilers, threshing machines, castings, iron foundries, machine shops, 
coppersmith works, pails and tubs, brooms, tobacco, window-shades, churns, 
fanning mills, trunks, soap and candles, flour, woolen goods, wagons and 
carriages, furniture, planing millwork, cooperage, breweries, vinegar, brick, and 
many other branches not named. Several branches are of quite recent 
establishment-namely, a packing house, with facilities for dressing 400 hogs 
daily; a metal stamping establishment, which supplies the city and country trade 
with pressed tin ware.

CITY LANDS.

	The city obtained corporate possession of several hundred acres of 
land, portions of which, amounting to over two hundred acres, have been sold or 
donated to railroad companies for depot purposes, and to other corporations, in 
consideration of street extensions and harbor improvements required to be made, 
as an equivalent, and some have been sold at such a price as greatly to increase 
the city revenue. About sixty acres were sold to one company, in 1857, for 
$200,000, leaving still over a hundred acres belonging to the city.

ASSESSMENT AND TAXES.

	As showing something of the financial history of Dubuque, the 
following facts may be stated. The village tax in 1838 was only $524. This was 
paid by ninety-nine persons, including business firms. In 1839 the tax was $645, 
paid by 123 business firms and individuals. The average for the two years was a 
little over $5 for each property owner. In 1854 the assessed value of property in 
the city was $4,323,530, which increased to $8,203,665 in 1855. So rapid was 
the increase of speculative values during this period of inflation that, in 1866, 
the property in the city was assessed at $13,000,000, and a tax levied of 
$113,000. The assessments and taxes, however, were soon after greatly reduced, 
throughout the West, in consequence of the financial revulsion of 1857, so that 
in Dubuque, in 1859, the assessed value of property was about $6,000,000, and 
the city tax levied about $50,000. Since then the valuation of property in the city 
has been gradually approaching a sound financial basis, and the figures for 1875 
show the actual increase of wealth in Dubuque. The assessments were based on 
the actual value of property, and were as follows;

ASSESSMENTS.
Total Real 
Estate………………………………………………………………$11,788,338.0
0
Total Personal 
Property…………………………………………………………..6,177,753.00

Total 
Assessment………………………………………………………………$17,965,
091.00
	
	The City Council reduced the above twenty per cent, which was 
thought to be fair on real estate, though not on capital and merchandise, as the 
latter had not been assessed above its true value. The reduced assessment stood 
as follows;

Total Real 
Estate………………………………………………………………..$10,025,000.
00
Total Personal 
Property………………………...………………………………….4,402,100.00

Total 
Assessment…………………………………………………..……………$14,42
7,300.00

TAXES.
	
	The general tax on all city property is 14 mills; within the water limits a 
special tax of one and one-fourth mills is levied, making the city tax for 1875 as 
follows;

Consolidated 
Tax……………………………………………..……………………..$201,953.3
6
Water 
Tax……………………………………………….……………………………..10
,315.20

Total for the 
year……………………………………………..………………………212,268.5
6

WATER WORKS.

	By the fortunate appropriation of a series of springs, issuing from a 
tunnel which had been dug to drain a lead mine, in the northwest part of the city, 
Dubuque has become possessed of a system of water works unsurpassed by any 
in the country. The water is as clear as crystal and abundant in supply. The 
stream issuing from the mouth of the tunnel was nearly a hundred feet above the 
level of Main Street. This stream has been enclosed, a reservoir constructed to 
supply water for extra occasions, and pipes laid to convey the abundant product 
to every part of the city. The head is such that in several instances the water is 
also used as a motive power, by being applied to a turbine water wheel, about 
six inches in diameter, and several of the printing presses of the city are run in 
this manner. The supply is sufficient to run several more in addition to the 
demands already made upon it.

CITY INSTITUTIONS.

	Under this head we include quite a number of organizations not classed 
with schools and churches;
	The Northwestern Agricultural and Manufacturing Exposition. —This 
is an organization of great importance to Dubuque and the Northwest. It had its 
origin in the expectation that the Iowa State Fair would be held at Dubuque, in 
1874. But the directors of that institution deciding on Keokuk, led to the 
establishment of the exposition at Dubuque. The session of 1874 was a decided 
success, although there were several Fairs held adjacent to Dubuque, during the 
same week. The directors have taken the precaution to avoid this in the future, 
and with proper interest and management the institution may become a great 
benefit to the city, and to the manufacturing and agricultural interests generally 
of the country.
	A Citizens Association to aid in the general improvements of the city, 
particularly of encouraging manufactures. This organization has been 
instrumental in bringing at least one important establishment into the place, of 
adding more than a hundred to the population directly, and indirectly increasing 
the business of the city and contiguous country to a considerable extent. We 
refer to Mr. Joseph Miller's establishment for the manufacture of boots and 
shoes.
	The Iowa Institute of Science and Art, was designed to meet a demand 
for information in natural history and advanced culture in general science. 
Rooms have been kept open and a cabinet of specimens has been gathered, 
largely by the efforts of Prof. Woodman, who has made that subject a specialty. 
Prof. Woodman is now engaged in the Iowa State University, at Iowa City, and 
feels obliged to withdraw from the society.
	The Young Men's Literary Association is an organization that does 
much good in keeping up the standard of literature. The library numbers 7,000 
volumes, and is a popular resort for all reading people.
	The Fine Art Association has a gallery containing many creditable 
pictures, several of which are from the hands of home artists. Two resident 
artists of Dubuque have gained considerable reputation—Mr. R. S. Merrill and 
Mr. Alexander Simplot, the former as a painter of portraits and landscapes, the 
latter as a delineator and designer. Architecture is even more successful in 
Dubuque than the fine arts, as the fact that all the public buildings of the city 
were designed and superintended by home architects, will abundantly show.  

SOCIAL AND MORAL.

	Among the social and moral institutions may be remarked the Young 
Mens' Christian Association, whose rooms are open constantly, and good 
reading matter furnished; the Masonic and Odd-Fellows Fraternities, numerous 
and prosperous in the city; the Good Templars, Palestine Class, Children's 
Natural History Society; the Quintette Club for reading and conversation; Young 
People's Baptist Progressive Association; Shakesperian Club; Round Table; 
Young Mens' Sodality; Mechanics' Benevolent Society; German Benevolent 
Society; Soldiers' Benevolent Association; Home for the Friendless; Catholic 
Benevolent Sodality; St. Vincent De Paul, and many others. These societies 
have a large membership, and are doing a good work in their various 
departments of charity and social culture.

PUBLIC HALLS.

	These are ample in number and size for all the purposes required. The 
City Hall building is perhaps the largest in the city, and the hall is free for all 
public occasions, the lower part being occupied as a general market. The 
Atheneum, on Main Street, is the principal place for operas, concerts and 
theatres; Turners' Hall is used by the German societies, and the Masons and Odd 
Fellows have capacious rooms for their own purposes.
	There are two well organized brass bands in the city.

SCHOOLS.

	In 1857 the present free school system of the city was inaugurated. Two 
buildings were erected each for the occupancy of twelve teachers and 600 
pupils. In 1858 a third building of the same size was added, and since that time 
another, for the use of the Free High School. The number of pupils enrolled in 
the public schools is about 4,000. The public school property is worth about 
$250,000. The teachers employed, about sixty. The schools are graded, 
culminating in a high school department. This has a cabinet of geological and 
other specimens worthy of note.
	There are several private and parochial schools in the city, receiving a 
large share of patronage. Among these are St. Joseph's and St. Mary's 
Academies, under the auspices of the Catholic Church; the German Theological 
Seminary, and Baylies' Commercial College, the latter a popular institution in 
all branches relating to a business education.

RAILROADS.

	The first railroad which reached the shore opposite Dubuque was the 
Illinois Central, in 1855. It was unfortunate for this city and for the country west 
of it that the Illinois Central Railroad Company did not bridge the river in 
accordance with the terms on which the munificent land grant of 1850 was 
accepted. It required the road to be constructed to Dubuque, Iowa, before the 
20th of September, 1860, but failing to comply with these terms, the building of 
the bridge was delayed ten years, until another corporation, the Dubuque and 
Dunleith Bridge Company, assumed the work. The bridge was completed in 
1865. The main bridge is 1,760 feet long, and cost $650,000. It is built entirely 
of iron and stone.
	The first railroad westward from Dubuque was the Dubuque and Sioux 
City, commenced in 1856, and since extended to its western terminus on the 
Missouri River. The Dubuque and Southwestern was soon after put in operation, 
and now connects Dubuque with Cedar Rapids. The Chicago, Clinton and 
Dubuque road, and the Chicago Dubuque and Minnesota, complete the list 
centering in this city, and give it railroad facilities equal to the demands of its 
large and increasing business. The citizens, however, are agitating the subject of 
building, in addition to the above, a narrow-gauge road from Dubuque to 
Milwaukee, which has a fair prospect of being soon constructed.

GAS AND STREET RAILWAY.

	The city is lighted by gas furnished by a private corporation. A system 
of street railways is also in operation, extending from the Levee to Couler 
Avenue, through the principal streets. It affords a small margin of profit during 
the busy season, and with the farther extension, particularly to the Fair Ground, 
will undoubtedly pay better.

CHURCHES.

	Under another head we have given a sketch of the early history of 
nearly all the churches of the city. We have only to add here the present number 
of churches. There are seventeen churches in Dubuque—four Catholic, four 
Methodist, three Presbyterian, two Congregational, two Lutheran, one 
Episcopal, one Universalist, one Baptist and one Christian. The Main Street 
Methodist, the Congregational, the Second Presbyterian, the Cathedral and St. 
Mary's, are very fine church structures.

DYERSVILLE.

	DYERSVILLE, a town on the extreme west line of Dubuque County, is 
beautifully situated on the line of the Illinois Central Railroad, twenty-nine miles 
from Dubuque. This road affords a highway important to its commercial 
prosperity, by putting it in direct communication with Dubuque, Chicago and 
the eastern cities; and Dyersville, being an inland patron, contributes largely to 
the commerce of the road, by its extensive shipments of grain, country produce, 
live stock, beef and pork.
	The country surrounding Dyersville is rolling prairie, intermixed with 
considerable quantities of growing timber. The soil is light yet of a very 
wholesome and productive character, east and west, while north and south it is 
of a black clay loam—the former giving a quick, and the latter a more 
substantial growth to the cereals; and the populous and well-to-do farming 
classes find the harvests yielding bountifully to their well-directed efforts. The 
general surroundings are such as to guarantee for all future time a healthful and 
pleasant location and a prosperous business for Dyersville. The country is well 
watered, its principal stream being the north branch of the Big Maquoketa, 
which affords very good water-power for milling purposes.

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

	The earliest settlement of the town of New Wine by a civilized people 
dates back to 1837, when Theophilus Crawford and Messrs. Mouncey, Hewitt 
and others located claims, and to 1838, when Thomas Riggs and family settled 
in that neighborhood. The territory on which the town of Dyersville is situated 
was purchased from the government in 1848 by James Dyer, in whose honor the 
town was named, who commenced the settlement of what is now a thrifty and 
prosperous incorporated town. In 1849 his partner, James Dyer, Sen., and Rev. 
William Trick, with their families, came on from Bonwall, Somersetshire, 
England, and became permanent residents. Other families collected, and in 1853 
the town was surveyed by Henry Jennings. In 1854 it was re-surveyed and 
platted, by Samuel Bethel.
	In this year Dyersville made remarkable progress, and among other 
substantial improvements O. L. Foot built the present Dyersville hotel, 
purchased a one-half interest in the water-power, and in partnership with James 
Dyer, Jr., erected a grist mill.
	The Sabbath was observed by public worship, with preaching by Rev. 
William Trick, in James Dyer's store, and early in the year 1855, through the 
instrumentality of Rev. William Trick, the present Methodist Church was 
formed and a house of worship erected. The old church building is now the 
district school house.
	In 1855 the dark mantle of sorrow overspread the entire community by 
the loss of many of its enterprising, esteemed and respected citizens, by the 
ravages of cholera, which broke forth upon their prosperous village in the dark 
hours of night, on the 20th of June, and so general, instantaneous and fatal was 
its work, that of the inhabitants who retired well and hearty at night, four were 
found dead the next morning; six more died within the next twenty-four hours; 
and for two long months, day and night, could be heard in all parts of the place 
the sound of hammer or saw, preparing coffins for the numerous victims of this 
terrible malady.
	In 1856 the first newspaper was established, The Dyersville Mercury.
	Dyersville had scarcely recovered from the stagnation produced by the 
ravages of the cholera when the crash of 1857-8 came upon it and found it, like 
all new towns, unprepared for such a crisis, and it fell. For a long time very little 
business was done, until in 1863 it began to improve and has since continued 
every year to increase in prosperity.
	The first frame house built was by George Hyler, and is at present a 
part of the prosperity.
	In 1872 Dyersville became an incorporated town, and at the March 
election, in 1873, the following officers were chosen; William Trick, Mayor; A. 
Limback, D. S. Smith, C. C. Chesterman, Andrew Krapff, August Mauche, 
Trustees; John Morley, Recorder; W. E. Bagley, Marshal.
	Since its incorporation many improvements of a public character have 
been made, and all from revenue derived from saloon and other licenses. No 
officers of the town are salaried, except the recorder and marshal, who have 
$50.00 each. In 1874 a new iron truss bridge was built, at a cost of $4,500. 
Bonds have been voted and orders issued for the erection of an $8,000 school 
house, to be built of brick, with all modern appliances. 
	There are five church societies—the Methodist, the Episcopal, the 
German Presbyterian, the Catholic, and the Congregational. All have church 
buildings, except the Episcopal, who worship in the Congregational Church.
	The Dyersville Commercial, a wide-awake, seven-column weekly 
newspaper, both sides printed at its own office, was started March 12, 1873, and 
has continued since, under the management of Rose & Son; Jerome Rose, editor. 
It is well conducted and has a circulation of 650, which is considered a fair 
patronage.
	The population of the town is about 1,200, and its business is classified 
as follows! One bank, four dry goods stores, two drug and stationery stores, two 
hardware stores, two breweries, two agricultural implement depots, six grain and 
produce elevators, two hotels, two livery stables, ten saloons, two jewelry stores, 
two photograph galleries, two butcher shops, five blacksmith shops, and one 
merchant and flouring mill, one vinegar factory, two wagon factories, five boot 
and shoe shops, and other branches of trade. There are also lodges of Masons 
and Good Templars.