The history of Dubuque County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., Part 65

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical
Number of Pages: 964

USA > Iowa > Dubuque County > The history of Dubuque County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc. > Part 65

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In December, 1879, the market, which had been a source of revenue to the city from the sale of stalls to butchers and hucksters, was remodeled, and is now used in part for public gatherings, balls, etc .; the second floor contains the Council Chamber, city offices and city court, and the third story, as for- merly, is used for a town hall.

The building is in a good state of repair, and promises to fulfill its objects for many years to come.

POLICE.

The present system was organized in 1873, and has since served its pur- poses effectually. The force consists of fifteen uniformed patrolmen, under the command of Capt. Dennis Ryan, who reports to Marshal H. C. Deckert. The pay of the Captain is $60 per month, the patrolmen being paid each $50 for the same term of service.

The department is uniformed, and discipline maintained by rules and regulations similar to those governing metropolitans.

THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.

Under the pioneer regime, fires were of rare occurrence, outside their legit- imate uses, and the services of a few buckets of water sufficed to extinguish an incipient conflagration before it had exceeded the limits usually it accorded by the busy housewife. It was not until 1839 that an engine was purchased, for, previous to that date, so unpretentious had been the growth of the future city, that the deficiency was not noted. But, among the various institutions to which necessity, expediency and the growth of the city has given birth to, none has been more important, its development more gradual and permanent, and services more invaluable, than those of the men who compose the Dubuque Fire Depart- ment.

Two years after the introduction of the " masheen " into the growing city, the first regular company was organized.

On the 5th of May, 1841, the City Council adopted a resolution providing for the establishment of a company, defining its duties and obligations, and enrolling the following-named persons as members : George W. Starr, Fore- man ; John R. Harvey, P. McGoldrick, James V. Campton, Warren Emer- son, William H. Robbins, James M. Emerson, David S. Wilson, Rufus Miller, Samuel Dodge, William Rebman, B. F. Davis, James H. Warren, C. Pelan, Andrew Keesecker, Charles Miller, R. C. Anderson, Jacob Evans, J. E. Whit- cher, William Young, William Newman, Timothy Smith and William W. Anderson. The engine alluded to was by no means a model of beauty or architectural finish ; indeed, many of the "boys " were irreverent enough to style it an " old coffee-mill," which useful piece of kitchen furniture it greatly resembled. The box would hold quite a barrel of water, which was supplied with pails from neighboring wells, and, by the united efforts of the company at the cranks, supplemented by an amount of "swearing " immeasurable and original, the same could be propelled to the eaves of a three-story house. In

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those days, this was regarded as a wonderful achievement, and the applause manifested by the pioneer girls at the remarkable " squirting" capacity of the young leviathan was simply immense.

Those were wild days, and the company partook of their character. This was all the fire apparatus Dubuque possessed from 1841 to 1854. And even this was not taken care of. It was kept in barns and sheds at first, but, dur- ing the last years of its existence, it lay out "on the commons " till rust and heat put an end to the little usefulness it had once possessed. The time came when a new department was needed. In the spring of 1852, a fire occurred on the south side of Main street, between Third and Fourth, and the old engine wouldn't work. Had not the air been calm, a serious conflagration would have occurred. As it was, it was with the utmost exertions on the part of the citizens that Langworthy's block was saved. This aroused the citizens to a sense of the danger of their property from a want of suitable fire appar- atus. A public meeting was held in Globe Hall. In the city were a large number of young men who had been firemen elsewhere. They entered into the scheme with characteristic ardor, and organized a company. George W. Starr was elected Foreman ; J. A. Parker, First Assistant, and C. H. Bowman, Second Assistant. In the course of a month, the company numbered sixty men, most of them experienced firemen, and they offered their services to the city. Jesse P. Farley was Mayor, and he promised the boys a new machine. So the company supplied themselves with pails, and stood ready to fight fire as best they could until the promised engine should arrive.

In December, 1852, the Council ordered the purchase of a fire engine, but winter had come, and there was no way of getting one here from the far-away East. It so happened that Col. McHenry and Hannibal Emerson were members of the Council, also of the then triumphant Democratic party. Pierce was to be inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1853, and these two Aldermen had axes to grind at Washington. So the Council requested them to "look about" during their Eastern trip, and see upon what terms they could purchase a fire engine. Well, they saw Pierce inaugurated, got the promise of fat offices, and, having heard that one Hunneman, at Boston, was building powerful engines for low prices, they went to Boston to see him. They cared little for show or ornamentation-they told him to build them a plain machine as strong as it could be made ; also a hose carriage and 500 feet of leather hose. When Mr. Hunneman asked what name the machine should bear, "Washington, the greatest of all names," replied the Colonel, patrioti- cally. When the committee arrived home, the company adopted the name and became Washington Engine Company, No. 1.

The engine was a long time in coming. It was shipped from Boston on the 13th of February, 1854, nearly a year after it was ordered, for Dubuque via New Orleans, and was brought all the way to Dubuque by water, arriving here on the 26th of March. The company was bitterly disappointed. They had expected to see a "piano" engine, beautifully painted, its outer works of burnished brass and steel. Here was a plain, low-boxed affair, all its works visible; hard to haul and harder still to work. Their doughty fore- man called it a "d-d old tub, got up on purpose to kill firemen." The two unfortunate Aldermen who had ordered it came in for a heavy share of cursing. The boys consigned " Old Hunneman and his 'tubs' to perdition's depths," and thought those who bought her would "look well alongside of her." However, they marched down to the levee and tried the machine. She was heavy and cumbersome, but slie threw a power of water, and threw it a

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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY.

good distance too. So they " manned the ropes," and housed the engine on the first floor of the Council Hall, at the head of the old Fifth street market. The cost of the engine, hose-cart and hose, was $2,250. The company became tired of the machine, never having recovered from their disappointment, and " hung together loosely " until the following fall, when, becoming disgusted with the tub, and the poor encouragement they received from the City Council, they disbanded. It may be here remarked, that, however unpopular the Hunneman machine was, the city never possessed a more powerful hand engine. It paid for itself many times over.

Another meeting was called in December, 1854, and an independent fire company was organized, with George W. Starr as Foreman-most of the former company joining the new one. Sometime during the previous decade, Mrs. Gen. Booth, Mrs. William Mobley, Mrs. Stephen Hempstead, and several other ladies, got up what was called a "bell supper," the object being the pur- chase of a church bell. About $400 was raised, and placed in Mobley's Bank. It was never used for the purpose for which it was raised. A goodly number of old and prominent citizens interested themselves in this new movement, and they applied to the ladies for the appropriation of the "bell money " for a new fire-engine fund. It was given, and $700 more was raised by subscription. The company voted unanimously for a piano engine, and made a contract with the then famous builders, Burton & Co., of Waterford, N. Y., for one of his first-class machines. In the fall of 1855, the engine arrived. It cost $1,400. The company retained the old name of "Washington No. 1." The machine had ten-inch cylinders and seven inches of stroke.

Three or four fires occurred during 1856, and the citizens became anxious for a regularly organized and more efficient fire department. Mr. J. A. Parker was requested to take the lead in getting up a new company. A meeting was held in Smith & Parker's and sixty names were enrolled. The name of " Protection No. 2" was adopted, with Mr. Parker as Foreman, D. Lorimier, First Assistant, and E. Valentine, Second Assistant. The company was mostly composed of business men, and, by the 1st of January, 1856, num- bered 120 members. The company was accepted by the City Council, and the discarded Hunneman engine, which had lain for over a year in Gov. Hemp- stead's barn, was given them. They had it repaired and repainted with fancy touches. H. A. Littleton, Esq., agent of the Ætna Fire Insurance Company, came forward and gave No. 1 $150, and No. 2 $125, for regularly organizing under a fire-department ordinance. Each of the foremen was presented, at the same time, with a costly silver-plated trumpet. Uniforms were purchased, and the Fire Department was a lively institution. N. Nadeau was elected Chief Engineer, and William Vandever, Assistant Engineer.

Company No. 2, like their predecessors, became tired of their "old tub " very soon after working it, and were clamorous for a new one. The company was on thepoint of breaking, when their Foreman started a subscription, and, in two days, raised $700, Kinsey, David & Jennings heading the list with $50: The City Council appropriated $700 in bonds, payable in two years, and Mr. Par- ker contracted with Burton & Co. for a new machine. In May, 1857, the machine arrived. It was exactly like Engine No. 1, save that it was a size smaller. Its cost, with hose-carriage and freight, was $1,850. In June, there was an annual parade, and over two hundred firemen turned out, in uniform -leather fire-hats, red shirts and black pants.

In 1856, a new city charter was adopted, which discarded independent fire companies, and Engine No. 1 was sold to the city, which already owned

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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY.

the other machines. The 1's took the money and purchased their uniforms with it.

No. 2 played " sharp " on the Council, and spent the $700 raised by sub- scription for the new engine in getting uniforms at New York City, so, when the engine arrived, the Council had to assume all the indebtedness for it or send it back. The former alternative was adopted.

Fire Cisterns .- The great want of the Department was water facilities. There were four small cisterns on Main street, between Second and Sixth. Messrs. Littleton and Parker went to work and raised $1,500 for the building of cisterns. The contract for building six large cisterns was let to Mr. Robert Rogers, and they were filled as soon as completed.

A fire occurred at the corner of Main and Third streets, destroying Ran- dall's leather store and tannery, and the cisterns paid their cost. Had it not been for those between Second and Fourth streets, the whole block would have been consumed, Julien House and all. A few months before, William Vandever was elected Chief Engineer, and L. W. Jackson was chosen Assistant.

Fire-Bell .- During all these years the only alarm-bell in the city was a little tinkler on the top of the old Washington House, corner of Fifth and Locust streets. In 1858, a large bell was purchased and placed on the top of a frame-work in front of the Fifth street market-house. When the market was torn down, in 1858, the bell was removed to the market square, and was afterward given as part payment for the large bell in the City Hall belfry, which was purchased in 1859. To-day the city is supplied with the electrical fire alarm.

Mechanics, No. 3 .- Immediately after the engine arrived for Protection No. 2, another engine company was organized, which adopted the above name. It was composed principally of Germans. R. Sage was elected Foreman, and it was otherwise well officered. The city purchased a lot and built a house thereon. The other companies, whose machines were kept, one in a blacksmith- shop and the other in a paint-shop, got mad and vowed they would have new houses or disband. It was with much difficulty that they were able to keep their machines in order, and they were obliged to meet just where they could find room. The Council demurred. The 1's and 2's assembled, manned the drag- ropes and hauled their machines and hose-carriages to Washington Square and abandoned them, all vowing "never to run wid der masheen no more." The Council met almost immediately and leased a lot on Locust street, between Fourth and Fifth, and erected thereon a double engine-house, which was removed to Washington Square in 1862.

In the fall of 1867, J. B. Howard was elected Chief Engineer, with C. H. Bowman as Assistant. In the spring of 1868, there was an annual parade, and nearly four hundred firemen were in the procession. This was the last of the annual parades. So much dissatisfaction and bad feeling was engendered at the trial of engines-the old and despised Hunneman machine bearing off the " broom "-that nothing of the kind has been attempted since.

Hook and Ladder Company .- For years the city had been without a Hook and Ladder Company-an organization which, in other cities, is considered as necessary, almost, as engine companies themselves. In 1858, Mike Bluemen- auer got up a company and a truck, ladders, ropes and hooks were purchased for it. The company did good service for a couple of years, and then disbanded. Where the apparatus is now. the deponent knoweth not.

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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY.

The Present Department .- The hard times which followed the crash of '57 obliged many members to leave the city; the Department commenced to wane and its members decreased. The alarm of war was sounded in 1861, and many a brave fireman enlisted to quench the fires of rebellion, the Department being represented in the army by soldiers of all ranks, from Major General to private.

The present Department is made up of two steamers, one hook and ladder company and three sub-hose carts. with 4,600 feet of hose, officered as follows :

Steamer J. K. Graves-M. Eitel, Foreman ; J. Wiltse, Assistant; T. Strinsky, Engineer; J. Strinsky, Stoker ; F .. Harburger, Steward; W. How- ard and J. Williams, Drivers, with three additional aids.

Steamer "Sol Turck "-Monroe Barnes, Foreman ; Daniel Daley, Assist- ant ; Job Barnes, Engineer ; Frank Nowlin, Stoker ; J. Connolly, Steward ; W. Kennedy, Secretary ; Jerry Murphy and J. Daley, Drivers, and six aids.

Hook and Ladder Company-M. Cavanaugh, Foreman; M. Flynn, Assist- ant ; T. Cullen, Secretary ; G. Moyer, Tillerman ; E. Morgan, Driver and two aids.

The sub-hose companies are composed of volunteer members.

The following is a list of Chief Engineers and Assistants, who have served since the present Department was organized : 1869 to 1877-Burt Cook, Chief; Henry Shunk, Assistant.

1877-78-Phil Sage, Chief, and C. W. Shreiber, Assistant.

1878-79-C. W. Shreiber, Chief, and Frank Morgan, Assistant.

1879-80-Peter Fay, Chief, and Jerry Murphy, Assistant.

The total value of Department property, including houses, apparatus, hose, etc., is stated at $30,000.

The Fire Districts are as follows :

First District, south of First street.

Second District, east of Main and south of Eighth to First.

Third District, west of Main and south of Eighth to First.

Fourth District, west of Main and south of Seventeenth to Eighth. Fifth District, east of Main and south of Seventeenth to Eighth.

Sixth District, north of Seventeenth and east of Couler avenue.

Seventh District, north of Seventeenth and west of Couler avenue.

Eighth District, Julien avenue and Hill street.

WATER-WORKS.

In the year 1864, the " Dubuque Level and Lead Mining Company " was formed, and began the work of running an adit into the bluff in the vicinity of the G. O. Karrick diggings. Among the stockholders of that company, formed exclusively for mining purposes, was Henry W. Clark, a resident of Cleveland, Ohio. The mining company shared the delays and vexations which large cor- porations inevitably meet, and the discouragements caused some of those identified with the enterprise to withdraw from it. But Mr. Clark held on, and, after many days, his liberality and persistency realized a success commen- surate with their merits.

During the year 1870, the formation of a company to supply the city with water was agitated, and took shape in the summer resulting in its incor- poration, the charter bearing date December 5, 1870, and the incorporators being Selah Chamberlain, Henry W. Clark, Randall J. Gibbs, J. W. Parker and Nelson W. Kimball. The capital stock was established at $200,000, and,

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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY.

at a meeting of the stockholders, convened in the office of Gibbs & Coates, December 13 thereafter, Selah Chamberlain was elected President, J. W. Parker, Vice President, and R. J. Gibbs, Secretary.

The adit was purchased by Mr. Chamberlain prior to 1870 and appropriated to the purposes of conducting the water to reservoirs, for a consideration equal to one-third of the capital stock.

Thus was the organization completed and active work begun at once, with a view to place the enterprise upon a paying basis with the least possible delay. On the 25th of April, 1871, a contract was concluded with Gaylord & Son, of Cincinnati, for pipes, etc., and, shortly afterward, the first reservoir was com- pleted, under the supervision of Peter Mihm, at a cost of $4,000. During that year, there were over four miles of pipe laid, and water was supplied from the bluff springs (the source of supply) to a large number of consumers.

On Friday, October 21, 1871, the works were fully tested, under the super- vision of R. T. Scowden, consulting engineer, and found to be in every respect according to contract, with the following capacity : Storage capacity of the reservoir, 250,000 gallons; minimum supply of water per diem, 619,000 gal- lons, or 30 gallons per day to each inhabitant, allowing the population of Dubuque to be 20,000. The height of the reservoir above low water is 1292 feet, the greatest head is at the corner of Main and Eighth, and the least head at the corner of Bluff and Fifteenth streets.

In 1872, the demand becoming unexpectedly large, it was decided to build another reservoir, that would be able to accommodate consumers for a period of time beyond the memory of the proverbial oldest inhabitant. This was done during that year, being completed in the fall, under the direction of Joseph Brophy, and costing a matter of $15,000. The dimensions of both reservoirs according to the measurements made by the City Engineer, are as follows : The large reservoir measures 1844 feet in length, 5317_ feet in width and 16-92 feet in depth. The bottom of the inside or the invert of the waste-pipe is & feet below the top of the reservoir wall. The water is one foot below the invert of the waste-pipe, leaving a depth of 133 feet of water in the reservoir. The covered reservoir is 400 feet in length and 412 by 6 feet in sections arched over, making an area of 38-4.5%. 10'0 square feet. The storage capacity of these two reservoirs is as follows :

Large open reservoir, gallons 1,220,014

Covered reservoir, gallons. 135,012

Total capacity. 1,355,026

The " forehead," or end of the level, is 180 feet below the surface of the. ground. The water issues from a crevice at the bottom of the level, which is capable of supplying 307,800 gallons per hour. An additional supply, from a higher level, is being secured, which in a short time will be available. The extent of this supply is uncertain. No immediate danger need be apprehended by the city for lack of water for fire purposes, and yet, many think, it would be a wise policy for the city to have an additional reservoir capable of contain- ing 2,000,000 gallons-this to be kept filled for any emergency that might occur in case of any failure on the part of the level to supply the required amount.

Great credit is due to the parties who have had the project in hand, for the substantial and thorough manner in which the work has been done. As a safe- guard against frost, the pipes have been laid at a depth of six feet below the

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surface, the hydrants inclosed in wooden boxes, and filled round to prevent freezing.

The advantages claimed for the Dubuque Water Works are many. In the first place, there are no different degrees of pressure, as in other systems, but one constant, undiminishing power, which can be used at all times. There is nothing artificial. It furnishes its own motive power in the natural flow of the water; there is no need of engines. The quality of the water is pronounced by chemists to be absolutely " simon pure," and there is nothing that can deteriorate from this quality.

Since 1872, the distance of pipes laid has been increased to thirteen miles, and the consumers from a nominal number to nearly one thousand. The fol- lowing officers were elected for the year 1879, to administer a trust valued at $250,000 : Selah Chamberlain, President ; Peter Kiene, Vice President, and N. W. Kimball, Secretary and Treasurer.

The water is supplied from what some argue is an exhausted lead mine, filled by natural springs of pure water, which in turn, conveyed through pipes, supplies the thirsty consumer. Others insist that the source of supply is a mine never worked, in consequence of the presence of these springs, and, not- withstanding every effort that science can suggest has been employed to drain the mine, it still remains inaccessible, but furnishes the city with pure water, at an expense to each consumer at from $10 to $20 per annum.

WASHINGTON SQUARE.

Washington Square, comprehending nearly two acres of ground, included in the square bounded by Sixth, Seventh, Bluff and Locust streets, was originally surveyed and laid off in the summer of 1833, by G. W. Harrison. In 1834, the little log Methodist meeting-house, which served the purposes of court and schoolhouse also, was erected in the southeast corner of the square, and, in 1836, John Bush built a house on the north side, which was subsequently occu- pied by Philip Morhiser. The occupant remained in possession about two years, it is said, when he surrendered its occupation. The grounds thereafter, for a number of years, remained without improvements, save the log church, which was subsequently taken down and moved to near the corner of Fifth and Bluff streets. Early in 1848, the city fenced in the square, filled up the uneven surfaces, and prepared the grounds for park purposes. In 1877, the same were laid out in walks and flower-beds, trees and shrubbery planted, and other means employed to perfect the plan in view, including the erection of a music stand, the distribution of benches, rustic chairs, etc., until to-day the "Square " is regarded as one of the most attractive resorts in the city.

JACKSON SQUARE

is located at the northern end of Main street, on the site of the first graveyard dedicated in Dubuque, having been laid out in the summer of 1833, during the epidemic of cholera. In about 1851, it was condemned by the city as a burial ground, and, for a long time after, was appropriated to special uses. In 1867, the bodies were exhumed and removed to Linwood, where they were re-interred, so disrespectfully, it is said, as to nearly occasion a riot, and the grounds graded for the uses to which they are at present adapted. In 1872, the lot was inclosed by a neat white fence, and adorned with improvements sim- ilar to those completed at Washington Square about the same time. In 1878, a "pagoda," or music stand, was added to the objects of interest which delight the fancy of visitors, and contribute to the means of enjoyment available for

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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY.

that purpose in the aristocratic quarter in which it is located. It is now com- plete in all its attractions, and competes with Washington Square in the num- ber of visitors who daily visit its confines.

POST OFFICE AND CUSTOM HOUSE.

The post office in Dubuque is one of the oldest in Iowa, if not west of the Mississippi River. Until 1833, there was no mail service in Dubuque County, and, long after that date, letters were brought at intervals (to whom they were addressed) by chance carriers.

The first mail brought to Dubuque was during the year mentioned, from Galena, by George Ord Karrick. Milo H. Prentice was Postmaster, and enjoyed the dignities and emoluments connected therewith, in his store, on Main, between Third and Fourth streets, though the mail (which was weekly) was preserved in his hat or a tea-box in the further extreme of the premises. Mr. Prentice retained the office until along about 1835, when he gave way to Guy B. Morrison. Mr. M. retained possession for two years, and was succeeded by Hon. John King.

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The history of Dubuque County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., Part 65

Author: Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Number of Pages: 964

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical
Number of Pages: 964