Overlooking the Mississippi River south of the city that bears his name is the Dubuque Monument. Julien Dubuque was one of the first European men to settle in the area. He received permission from the Meskwaki people to mine the lead in 1788. He lived the rest of his life in the region and died in 1810. The stone tower that stands on the site of his grave was built in 1897.
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West of downtown Dubuque Iowa is a large bluff. Odd looking white and green cable cars move up and down the hill on railroad tracks. They are part of the Fenelon Place Elevator Company that transport riders up and down the hill. It is more of a novelty now but before the automobile it transported residents to their homes and down to the city.
The first elevator was built by J. K. Graves, a former mayor, former State Senator, and banker who lived on top of the bluffs. Back then Dubuque shut down for an hour and a half every day for lunch. Mr. Graves wanted to go home for lunch but it took him an hour and a half to take a buggy to his home and back. He came up with an ingenious plan to build a cable car like he had seen in the Alps. He hired local engineer John Bell to build it. Bell used a wood fired steam engine to raise and lower an car using rope. Now Graves had time to eat his lunch and take a nap.
Many of the neighbors also rode the elevator and when it burned down in 1894 they banned together to form the Fenelon Place Elevator Company and constructed a new one. The group traveled to the 1893 Colombian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, to look for new ideas. They brought back a streetcar motor to run the elevator, and cables to hoist it up and down. The also added a second car so the system is counter balanced. The elevator still operates today and transports passengers for $2 per person from April to November.
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Clinton Iowa sits along the Mississippi River between Davenport and Dubuque. North of town is Eagle Point Park. Standing in the park is a massive stone tower that has been given the name The Castle. It was constructed in hte 1930s by the Works Progress Administration as part of Roosevelt’s New Deal during the Great Depression. It has a spiral stone staircase that winds around the structure to reach an observation deck at the top.
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This tall tower stands near the Mississippi River in an industrial part of Dubuque, Iowa. The region had several lead mines and the tower was used for making shot for guns. The lead was heated until molten liquid and then poured from the top of the tower through perforated metal. as the lead fell through the air it was shaped into spears and cooled and then landed in a pool of water where the shot was then collected.
The Dubuque shot tower was constructed in 1856 and stands 120 feet tall. the first seven stories are made from Galena Dolemite stone and the upper stories are made from red brick. The tower operated during the Civil War making shot. With more efficient ways of making lead shot the tower was sold to Standard Lumber Company and was then used as a fire watchtower. In 1911, the tower’s interior staircase was destroyed by a fire and it sat abandoned for decades. It was saved from decay by a non-profit organization and has been undergoing repairs and restoration.
It stands as a reminder of early manufacturing and an ingenious way of making lead shot as long as you are not the person carrying the led to the top of the stairs.
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