Letter requesting Court House and Squirrel Cage Jail be on National Register_06.15.1971TIM STATE III.STORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY, IOWA
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WILLIAM J. PRTRNRRN
June 15, 1971
Mr. William J. Murtagh
Keeper of the National Register
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
801 - 19th Street NW
Washington, D. C. 20006
Dear Bill:
This letter is written with the sincere hope that at least two of Iowa's historic sites
may be given top priority and placed on the National Register.
(1) The Dubuque County Court House, for which material and pictures are enclosed,
could have its fate decreed in an election on June 28 unless prompt action is taken
at once! I am enclosing a copy of my letter urging that this magnificent edifice
should not be torn down. This letter was reprinted without a single deletion in
the Dubuque Telegraph -Herald. It seems incredible that the construction of a
speedway, in the guise of Urban Renewal, should be responsible for such action.
The substitution of such a monstrosity as the Town Clock on stilts in downtown
Dubuque leaves me cold and nauseated. Please check Deny Myers of the National
Trust on this situation as he has just returned from Dubuque and is fully
alerted to the situation. I might say that my letter in the Telegraph -Herald
drew warm support from New York to California.
(2) Unless prompt action is taken, the so-called Squirrel Cage Jail in Council
Bluffs is also slated for demolition in order to provide downtown parking space.
I made a thorough inspection of this amazing structure two weeks ago and am convinced
that, since it appears to be the only one of its kind in the country, it ought by
all means to be placed on the National Register and preserved for posterity. A
half million people live in the vicinity of the jail. It, and the Grenville Dodge
Home, should be visited by the many thousands who will traverse the Lewis and Clark
Trail in years to come.
In addition to the above I want to particularly call your attention to the fact
that the Iowa General Assembly has made a modest appropriation for our Toolesboro
Mounds which is already on the National Register. We have erected a small museum
and built six beautiful dioramas of a quality that the Smithsonian would be delighted
to exhibit. We have $7,500 appropriated for next year and another $7,500 for the
Gardner Log Cabin --site of the Spirit Lake Massacre. The latter is not on the
National Register but should definitely be placed on it.
We hope our Preliminary Survey will allow us to resubmit such sites as Bentonsport
and the Nelson Farm in Mahaska County.
l
June 15, 1971
William J. Murtagh
Page 2
The Preliminary Survey which I sent you to meet the May 1 deadline was placed in the
hands of the Office of Planning and Programming on May 4 and immediately began making
the rounds of various departments for additions, corrections, and suggestions. I
have patiently awaited its return in order to incorporate any ideas and changes
before embarking on the broader and more comprehensive survey. Chatles Petersen
loaned me a copy of the Utah Survey which he was able to complete with additional
employees --something we don't have. And, with the General Assembly folding up
this week, it would appear our Society will once more go with its requests un-
heeded.
Faithfully,
William J. Petersen
Superintendent
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