Mathias Ham House_Silos and Smokestacked National Heritage GrantMasterpiece on the Mississippi
Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area
Candy Streed, Program & Partnership Director
209 West Fifth Street, Suite E
PO Box 2845
Waterloo, IA 50704 -2845
April 26, 2011
Dear Ms. Streed,
Dubuque
AI- Amatcalfly
11111!
2007
City Manager's Office
City Hall
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001 -4805
Office (563) 5894110
Fax (563) 5894149
TTY (563) 690 -6678
ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org
www.cityofdubuque.org
The City of Dubuque supports the Dubuque County Historical Society in its quest to fund new
interpretation at the Mathias Ham House. The Ham House is owned by the City and leased to
the Society which presents public programming and local history interpretation on the historic
site.
The City is committed to the Ham House and partners with the Society for the site's continued
maintenance and development. The Dubuque County Historical Society and the Mathias Ham
House are tremendous resources not only for Dubuque, but also for Iowa and the Silos and
Smokestacks National Heritage Area. We believe that the living history presented at the Ham
House provides quality educational opportunities for Dubuque's residents and visitors alike.
We hope the Silos and Smokestacks supports this worthy project to interpret the agricultural
heritage of Dubuque.
Michael Van Milligen
City Manager
Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork
Kevin Firnstahl - Information about Letter of Support for Silos and Smokestacks
From: Juanita Hilkin
To: Van Milligen, Mike
Date: 4/29/2011 3:07 PM
Subject: Information about Letter of Support for Silos and Smokestacks
CC: Firnstahl, Kevin
Mike,
This is the information I had requested from the River Museum so that it could be included on
the agenda. Unfortunately it did not arrive until Friday. Do you want anything submitted to
the City Council at the meeting?
I will include Kevin Firnstahl on this e-mail in case you want him to add anything.
Juanita
»> "Meg Wall- Wild" <mwallwild @rivermuseum.com> 4/29/2011 11:48 AM »>
Oh, Juanita! I am so sorry for the delay!
I had several deadlines and did not get back to email or voice mail until just now!
Here is the project summary from the grant application:
The Mathias Ham House seeks an SSNHA General Grant to more effectively interpret the agricultural history
of the site. Recent research on the historic uses of the grounds for agricultural activities will shape the site's
new interpretative scope. This research was used to develop an Interpretive Site Plan, supported by funding
from Silos and Smokestacks. The comprehensive interpretive plan funded by this grant will allow for full and
accurate interpretation of the agricultural elements of the site. The Historical Society has applied to NEH to
fund the lead mining interpretive plan.
Please extend my apologies to Mr. Van Milligenl
Thank you!
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Through this project, the historic site will become a platform for strong and varied interpretation of the
agricultural story at the Ham House, which may include historic settings and recreations, participatory learning
exercises, the use of recreated tools and implements, and dynamic oral interpretation and demonstrations.
The interior interpretation will be revisited and re- invigorated to more fully engage the public and to tell a
more compelling story that relates the site to broader, nationally significant stories and connections. This
planning project takes the next step in fulfilling the long -range interpretive goals of the Society. Through this
project, the Society hopes to transform the site into a model of historic site interpretation and to be a
significant resource for tens of thousands of visitors each year. The planning process will take place in 2011
and 2012. Implementation will take place from 2013 through 2015. We plan to keep the site open during the
planning and implementation process, so that we can share the process with our visitors and also learn from
those visitors as we pilot different interpretive strategies.
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