History of Dubuque, Iowa_March 1999HISTORY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA
Dubuque is named after Julien Dubuque,
a French Canadian who received permission in
1788 from the Fox Indians to work the lead
mines around present-day Dubuque. Prior to
this time, Nicholas Perrot had come to this
wilderness property to teach the Miami Indians
how to mine lead.
Julien Dubuque was held in great respect
by the Indians. In 1810 he died at age 48 after
a short illness. He was buried with honors
befitting a chief. A large limestone monument
located on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi
marks his final resting place.
Recent research has brought to light the
life and times of another man who mined lead in
the Dubuque area until driven out by the British
in 1780 during the American Revolution.
Jean Marie Cardinal, called by some the
"Paul Revere of the West" escaped during an
attack on Dubuque by 850 British and paddled a
canoe to St. Louis where he warned that
settlement of the British approach. That alert
gave St. Louis enough time to prepare a defense
thus emerging victorious over the Red Coats.
Cardinal was killed in the battle.
The lead mines continued to play a
dramatic role after the Louisiana Purchase. Lt.
Zebulon Pike visited Julien Dubuque while on
the voyage of exploration of the Upper
Mississippi in 1805. Julien Dubuque greeted
Pike's expedition of 20 soldiers with a cannon
salute, and the former's Indian workers were
friendly and helpful to Pike, even rescuing two of
the soldiers who had become lost and guiding
them back to the river.
Leaving Dubuque, Pike continued up the
Mississippi until he came to the mouth of the
Wisconsin River, where he noticed a high bluff
on the Iowa side. Later this bluff would be
called Pike's Peak.
From the creation of the Territory of Iowa
in 1838 until the practice was prohibited by the
Constitution of 1857, 40 Iowa cities and towns
received special charters from Territorial or State
Legislatures. Of these, 27 were granted one
charter, eight obtained two charters, three had
three charters, and Mt. Pleasant and Dubuque
each operated under four special charters.
Dubuque also has flown five separate
sovereign flags over the City: one each of
England, Spain and the U.S. and two of France.
Local government by a Board of Trustees
was organized in 1833, and a City charter
providing for a mayor and six aldermen was
adopted in 1841. City limits of this thriving river
town have grown from one square mile to over
twenty-six square miles.
Dubuque, one of the first cities in the
nation to be declared a Bicentennial City,
celebrated many historical events during 1976,
including a re-enactment of Cardinal's canoe trip
to St: Louis and the staging of a musical "Get the
Lead Out", which was based on the early court
fight by the Auguste Chouteau family to take title
to the Dubuque lead mines and other lands
within the City.
The Shot Tower on E. 4th St. is one of the
City's best known landmarks. Erected in 1855,
it was used for molding lead shot which was
dropped through a series of screens, thus
forming various sizes of shot upon solidifying in
cool water at its base. This lead shot was used
during the Civil War.
One of few in the nation, the Fourth Street
Cable Railway is a major tourist attraction and
annually transports thousand of visitors from
Bluff Street to Fenelon Place atop the bluff. The
Fourth St. Cable Car Square area has many
unique gift shops.
Nearby, at Second and Bluff Sts., in front
of the beautiful, historic St. RaphaePs Cathedral,
there is an interesting sculpture, featuring a
miner, a farmer, a woman and a priest. This
very wide street was planned so that people
could see the church as they disembarked in the
Harbor and vice versa.
Historically significant structures which
have been placed on the National Historical
Register are Dubuque County Courthouse and
Jail, Dubuque City Hall and the Five Flags
(Orpheum) Theater (at 4th & Main Sts.). The
latter, a replica of the Majestic Theater in Paris,
has been fully restored to its original elegance
and is an integral part of the Five Flags Civic
Center at 4th and Main Sts.
Following devastating floods in 1951,
1951 and 1965, Dubuquers launched a
campaign to build a new floodwall around their
City. Their efforts were rewarded in 1973 when
the U.S. Corps of Army Engineers completed a
five mile levee of concrete and clay measuring
33 feet in height. Built in three phases, this
project cost $13 million.
There are many shopping areas in the
City. For quaint, unique one-of-kind shopping
there is the historic Fourth Street Cable Car
Square area.
Major discount stores such as K-Mart,
Target, and Wal-Mart solidify shopping areas
which include other major shops such as Lowes,
Aldi's and Hy-Vee.
In 1968 Kennedy Mall opened. It is still a
vital shopping center featuring a fully enclosed,
climate controlled center of shops, department
stores, restaurant and theater.
In 1999 there is a continuation of
discussion as to the possibility of opening up the
Town Clock Plaza area to vehicular traffic.
Many major insurance and office businesses
have relocated and expanded in this downtown
area.
Washington Park is beautiful with its trees
and gazebo at 7th and Bluff and Locust.
Underneath the gazebo is a buried time capsule
which will be opened in the year 2076.
Dubuque has several to ranked colleges:
Loras College (the first west of the Mississippi),
Clarke College, the University of Dubuque, and
Dubuque Bible College. There is also the
University of Dubuque Theological Seminary and
Wartburg Seminary.
The City has annexed many hundreds of
acres in the last few years, creating at least two
large industrial parks, one near the Dubuque
County Fairgrounds and one near Highway 151
and Lake Eleanor Road.
In the last few years Dubuque has made
national attention with its highly successful
"Come Back to Dubuque" program, accessed
especially on the Internet. Thousands of
individuals have checked out the job possibilities
in our community and many have chosen to
come to Dubuque.
Dubuque is definitely in a positive growth
era with much to be proud of.
Edited by Karen Chesterman 3199
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