USA > Iowa > Dubuque County > The history of Dubuque County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc. > Part 78
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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY.
distance covered by the trip is two miles, over one of the most attractive and highly improved portions of Dubuque County.
The grade is comparatively imperceptible from Main street to the Lorimer House; 7} feet to the 100 feet from the Lorimer House to Hill street ; 8} feet to Pine street, whence it is easy of ascent to Third street ; thence along Alpine street and Julien avenue the grade is scarcely to be noticed. The total elevation made is 2443 feet.
The work accomplished is after the most approved plan and of the very . best material. The ties are of white oak, thoroughly seasoned and designed for the purpose ; the rail is of ordinary T iron, twenty-five pounds to the yard, firmly laid, and calculated to endure the wear and tear of many years.
The Company has furnished the public with ample, convenient and com- fortable means of conveyance from the center of the city to its remote bounda- ries. Trains are run on regular time-card, so that it may be known when the cars will arrive at designated points, and it is an accommodation of decided value to those who reside on the bluffs, to those who contemplate building in these delightful suburbs, or who purchase property there as an investment. The trial trip of the motor improvement was made on Thursday, July 12, 1877, and the first regular train started from Main street on the Saturday following, when an opportunity was afforded many to test its merits.
Now trips are made at stated intervals from the depot, corner of Main and Eighth streets, and occupy forty minutes in making the round trip, for which 10 cents is charged. With ninety pounds of steam, the motor drags one car loaded to repletion up the steep incline as readily as though on level ground, and returns in the same manner, the operator, on the curves and steepest grades, controlling its motion at will.
The railway is a success, and the introduction of the motor is regarded as another evidence of the advanced progress of Dubuque enterprise.
The first Board of Directors consisted of D. S. Cummings, H. M. King- man, R. H. Collier and F. I. Massey ; J. K. Graves, President ; F. I. Massey, Secretary and Treasurer.
The present Board is made up of D. S. Cummings, J. K. Graves, Frank Adams and R. H. Collier, with D. S. Cummings, President, and Marshall Kingman, Secretary and Treasurer.
The stock of the corporation is stated at $30,000. The rolling stock con- sists of two motors and four passenger cars.
The Dubuque &. Dunleith Ferry connects Dubuque with Dunleith, and, notwithstanding the " bridge, " is a source of revenue by no means inconsider- able to the present owners, as also a convenience to the public (whom it has served fifty-two years), beyond comparison.
The first ferry of which any account can be obtained, was that established by Gen. G. W. Jones, between a landing opposite the point now occupied by Dunleith and the present city, named in honor of Julien Dubuque. It was a primitive affair, composed of two Indian canoes lashed together, and was first utilized as a public conveyance about the 2d of June, 1828. It was propelled by oars " pulled " by Baptiste Louissent, Charles Valle, Luke Courtois, alias Jacalbeau, Antoine Molly and others, who sweat and swore at the labor demanded to successfully cross to the opposite shore, and piloted the " barque " without regard to results, until the ensuing fall, when the inhospitable weather forced them to " take a rest " until the winter's ice and snows yielded prece- dence to genial spring and the attendant concomitants of emigration and reviv- ing prosperity.
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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY.
During the late fall.or early winter, however, Thomas Jordan came upon the scene, and Gen. Jones, who was a smelter at Sinsinawa Mound in those days, transferred the franchise to Jordan for the consideration of transporting the General's mine products back and forth across the river. Jordan concluded the negotiation, took charge of the canoes, and, for many years thereafter, his enterprise was known from East to West as " Jordan's Ferry." During low water, the ferry landed at an island opposite the foot of Jones street, but in high water a mooring was effected at the present intersection of Jones and Main streets. The transportation rates were two shillings each for passenger and horse, while freight was carried at the rate of 12} cents per hundred.
Some time after assuming charge of the enterprise, or about 1832, Mr. Jordan built a new ferry, in shape and comfort similar to the flatboats which breasted the raging waters of the Mississippi at that early day, still working the paddles by man-power, and furnishing accommodations to man and beast for remunerative considerations, until 1836. In the fall of that year, Gen. Jones, who had in the meantime established himself in quarters located within the present site of Dubuque, where he had attained political and financial emi- nence, repurchased the ferry of Jordan for the sum of $15,000, a munificent sum to invest for purposes of speculation, at a day when primitive modes of travel were accepted more thankfully than the modern voyager receives palatial apartments on a Mississippi steamer or Pullman car. Up to that date, the boat had been managed by John Bunyan Jordan, John Paul his brother-in- law, Hayden Gilbert and James Sloan. In the fall of 1837, Gen. Jones obtained a charter from the Illinois Legislature, incorporating "Jordan's Ferry ;" and a new ferry, with machinery worked by horse-power, was substituted for the old "flat," the same being commanded by George Ord Karrick, who remained in charge until 1840, when he was succeeded by Capt. Weldon. Dur- ing the latter year, Augustus L. and Charles Gregoire purchased a quarter- interest of Gen. Jones, and, in 1841, the latter disposed of his remaining shares to Daniel Webster for $15,000, who in turn parted with his purchase to the United States Bank, by which it was sold to A. L. Gregoire, his brother Charles retaining one-eighth.
Thus matters remained without any material change, the property, in the meantime, increasing in value as the country in the vicinity of Dubuque and Dunleith became settled, until 1847, when application was made to the Illinois Legislature for a renewal of the charter obtained ten years previous, which was, on motion of Abraham Lincoln, granted without debate.
In 1853, Mr. Gregoire, the proprietor, suffering from ill health, removed from Dubuque to St. Louis, and Charles V. Bogy, brother of Louis V. Bogy, subsequently a Senator from Missouri in the Congress of the United States, was placed in charge. During the same year, the ferry franchise equipments, tackle, apparel and furniture, together with 530 acres of land contiguous to the ferry landing in Illinois, were disposed of by Charles Gregoire, acting for him- self and as the agent of his brother, to Jonathan Sturgis and others, on behalf of the Executive Committee of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, for the sum of $40,000, Bogy remaining in command, and Charles Gregoire superin- tending the vendees' interest. During the same year, Timothy Fanning, a rival in business, filed a bill in equity against Gregoire and Bogy, to restrain them from keeping a ferry across the Mississippi River opposite Dubuque, the plaintiff claiming an exclusive right to the franchise, under a charter granted by the Territorial Legislature on the 14th of December, 1838. The defend- ants admitted the keeping of a ferry, but claimed they had a right to do so
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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY.
under and by virtue of a license obtained from the city of Dubuque, under Section 15 of the city charter. The plaintiff responded, claiming that the original charter granted to him was exclusive; that it was a contract between himself and the Territory, and that the subsequent act of the Legislature, giv- ing to the city the right to license ferries, was in violation of that contract, and consequently unconstitutional, null and void. The issue, being thus joined, was submitted to the Hon. John J. Dyer, Judge of the United States Court, who rendered a decision adverse to plaintiff. Thereupon an appeal was taken to the Supreme Court of the United States, by which the decision of the lower court was affirmed, and a period put to Fanning's litigious disposition.
Previous to the institution of this action, about 1849, a steam ferry-boat, the Utah, was substituted for the keel-boat previously employed; the name of the corporation changed, and the " horse marines" retired from active service. The innovation has been since maintained, the following boats having served as " common carriers" in the transaction of business between Dubuque and the State of Illinois : A. L. Gregoire, wrecked ; Peosta, sold to the Government ; Joe Gales, wrecked, and the Key City, at present in service.
In 1856, the franchise was sold by the railroad company, and, in 1872, H. L. Stout, Richard Cox, Thomas Levens, Charles Gregoire, D. A. Mckenzie and G. W. Jones, became coparceners, by purchase, for $6,500, and other con- siderations, in which capacity they remained until 1872, when the Illinois Central, through Charles H. Merry, repurchased the venture; seven-eighths at the rate of $40,000, and one-eighth at the rate of $50,000, for the entirety.
The company continued to be vested with title until February, 1876, when its final sale was effected to Nicholas Hansen & B. E. Linehan, H. L. Stout and W. B. Yates, for $3,500, who are still owners.
The following officers are now serving: H. L. Stout, President, B. E. Linehan, Secretary and Treasurer.
The franchise is regarded as valuable. Trips are mnade every fifteen min- utes from alternate shores, during navigation, and the rates of fare, being 5 cents per passenger and 50 cents per teain, affording a remunerative interest on the investment.
MANUFACTURES.
" No State is without its manufacturing center, where capital and labor congregate and levy tribute upon the non-producing sections," observes a cotem- porary. While the West, and Iowa in particular, is an agricultural country, it is a non sequitur to conclude that manufactures do not thrive within her limits. Indeed, it should be the manufacturing center of the country. Cheap breadstuffs, an abundance of labor, and accessibility to supplies of materials at almost nominal expense, should combine to render Iowa superior and inde- pendent, in place of relying upon other States for manufactured commodities, In former days, thrashing machines and other farm implements, furniture, iron, glass, cotton and woolen goods and all the other et ceteras, without which suc- cess in any department of life was impossible, came from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and the East. The people of Iowa shipped their products thither and exchanged them for articles of consumption, as also a large proportion of the machinery with which they made and secured their crops. The true remedy for these evils of which the farmer complained was in time found in the encourage- ment held out to home productions. This being discovered, the preference was finally given to home interests, and, as a legitimate result, factories of every conceivable character sprang into existence, attracting large bodies of mechanics
Plynulweber (DECEASED.) DUBUQUE.
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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY.
and their families to the State, and creating a home demand for a large per- centage of the traffic which sought a market in the East and South.
No city in the West offers more advantages as a point for the investment of money in manufacturing enterprises than Dubuque. Real estate is held at a reasonable figure ; there is an unfailing supply of water-power, a ready market, abundant means of transportation, which are constantly multiplying, and other attractions from which the deduction to be drawn is irresistible as to the asser- tion made. Capitalists and others should reflect upon these facts, as but a superficial consideration thereof will influence those interested in securing ready and reasonable returns upon their investments, to affirm the premises.
Thomas Connolly's Carriage Factory, located at the corner of Seventh and Iowa streets, is the most important undertaking of the kind west of the Mississippi. The business, like that of most other successful manufacturing enterprises in the West, has from a small commencement increased to gigantic proportions. In 1858, Mr. Connolly first began business in Dubuque, employ- ing a limited force, and paying 25 per cent for the use of money employed
at that time. He has been burned out three times, twice sustaining a total loss of his investment, yet, notwithstanding these calamitous reverses, his success has been as wonderful as it is pronounced and deserving. His " shop" was located at first on the corner of Eighth and Locust streets, where employment was furnished to six men,-to-day his force consists of 150 hands, at a weekly cost of $750-and within the following two years the business was materially enlarged and in successful operation, when his premises were destroyed by fire, entailing a heavy loss, as stated, without insurance. Mr. Connolly was by no means discouraged at the wreck of his fortune, but resumed business immediately, gradually increasing his facilities, each year turning out more work than during that preceding. After another fire, his present factory, at the corner of Seventh and Iowa streets, was completed and occupied. It is of brick, five stories in height (with a basement), compre- hending half a square of ground and presenting an attractive appearance. The entire premises are devoted to the business, and all of the labor pertaining to the construction of a carriage, buggy, sleigh or wagon, is accomplished within their walls.
Upon the first floor is the office, carriage repository, storeroom for trimmings and other materials, and blacksmith's shop, where sturdy arms realize the " anvil chorus " from morning until night.
The second floor is occupied by the wood-working department, where the rough material is fashioned into elegant carriage and buggy beds.
The next floor is appropriated to painting, trimming, etc., and the last to finishing that which remains incomplete, when the vehicles are lowered to the salesrooms, where they are ready for inspection and purchase.
Besides carriages and buggies, Mr. Connolly also manufactures a large number of spring wagons each year, the total productions of the works of all kinds being upward of a thousand annually, ranging in price at from $100 to $1,500 each. Carriages and buggies are his specialties, however, for super- iority in the manufacture of which he has already taken seventy-five diplomas, and there is no establishment west of the Alleghanies that has achieved a more widespread reputation. They go to the North, South, East and West, and everywhere add to the character of their manufacturer, as also to the city of which he has been a resident since childhood, and his business to-day is a deserved monument to a quality of energy and enterprise which is indispensable to success in any calling in life.
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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY.
Cooper's Wagon Factory .- As has been previously stated, the most suc- cessful enterprises of Dubuque have sprung from an insignificant origin. The truth of this premise is further illustrated and confirmed by the history of the origin and growth of Cooper's works. Mr. Cooper first made his advent into Dubuque in 1846. After completing his trade, he, in conjunction with Mr. Newman, opened a wagon-shop at the corner of Second and Locust streets. Neither had capital, and both did the work intrusted to them, which was of a miscellaneous character, for in those days a wagon-maker in Iowa was obliged to comprehend various duties under his mechanical title, including the repair of machinery, miners' tools, etc .; a shoe had to be set, a tire replaced, a wheel repaired, in short, everything in and out of their special line of business had to be attended to. Manufacturing new work was a small part of the firm's business, and six or eight orders was the extent of the first year's work. This partnership continued until 1862, when Mr. Newman withdrew, leaving Mr. Cooper to " go it alone " and assume the entire management of the venture.
In 1866, he erected a portion of the premises now occupied by him on Third street, from Locust to Main, and was in the enjoyment of a large busi- ness, but in the following year, his establishment was destroyed by fire, entail- ing a loss of $40,000. With indomitable energy, he immediately resumed business in temporary quarters, and, in 1868, completed his present commo- dious quarters ready for occupation. An idea of the extent of the business yearly transacted may be inferred from the following figures : The buildings are of brick, four stories high, having a frontage of 260 feet on Third street, and 64 feet on Locust and Main streets. In this model structure, supplied with every appliance that will facilitate business, he employs 175 men, and annually turns out upward of five thousand wagons, which find a ready market throughout the States, reaching from the extreme North to the Gulf, and from the lakes to the Pacific. On all the highways of trade, commerce or emigra- tion, " A. A. Cooper, Maker, Dubuque," may be read upon the countless vehicles he sends forth, and his name, as well also as the superior quality of his work, has become, as it were, a household word. familiar to travelers and the public.
His long experience in wagon-making, dating back to boyhood, gives him the advantage that comes from a thorough knowledge of the craft, and, as a result, whatever leaves his works is perfect and regarded as an indispensable acquisition by the purchaser. He has built up the most extensive establish- ment of the kind in the Mississippi Valley, has accomplished this result by hard labor, and now has, to his credit and that of the city, the only wagon factory worthy of the name in the State of Iowa.
Key City Carriage-Top Factory, a comparatively new enterprise, projected and carried on by Charles and L. Fockler, was established in Dubuque, dur- ing the year 1877, and in a short time has attained huge dimensions. The idea originated with Charles Fockler, while traveling about the country effect- . ing the sale of agricultural implements. During the torrid season peculiar to the " dog-days," he improvised a buggy-top to shield him from the sun's rays, which attracted the notice of farmers, and procured for him so numerous a pat- ronage, that he abandoned the sale of agricultural wares exclusively, and began the manufacture of the " buggy and extension vehicle tops," which he had in the meantime patented, at 42 South Main street. The demand for his commodity increased, so that in a short time he was compelled to enlarge his facilities and quarters, which latter now include three stores, 42, 44 and 46 South Main street, furnishing employment to seventy-five men, at a weekly cost of $600 for
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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY.
the one item of wages. In 1878, he associated his brother, L. Fockler, with him in the business, which has since increased in such ratio that his establish- ment is constantly over-run with orders from all parts of the United States and Canada, the annual sales aggregating upward of $200,000. The works are said to be the first of the kind established in America, and the investment is said to represent a capital of $75,000.
The Buggy-Top Manufactory of C. L. Pritchard and John Kuntz, at the cor- ner of Fourth and White streets, was established in 1877. At first, the manufac- tory was located at the corner of Fifth and White streets, where it was destroyed by fire in 1878, whence a removal to the present site was effected. The firm occupy a three-story brick, employ sixty men, costing $300 per week, and do an annual business of $50,000, their goods being shipped to points in every State except Maine and Delaware.
About two hundred and fifty vehicle tops of every description and quality are turned out weekly, and the investment is valued at $75,000 ..
Armstrong's Carriage and Wagon Factory was first brought to the atten- tion of the public by Thomas Armstrong, the founder and present owner, in May, 1865, when his " shop " was located on Third street between Main and Locust, where he remained ten years. In 1875, he began the erection of his present premises, corner of Locust and Jones streets, which were completed in June of the same year, at a cost of $12,000, and occupied soon after.
The buildings consist of a carriage factory, 60x120 feet, four stories high, and a blacksmith-shop 32x60 feet, one story in height, both of brick, together with supply sheds, lumber and drying rooms, etc.
When running to its full capacity, twenty-five men are employed, at a weekly salary of $300, who turn out five carriages in that space of time, which are marketed in Dubuque and adjoining counties, as also in the Northwestern States and Territories.
The business is quoted as worth $25,000 per annum, and the investment at a similar amount.
John Butt & Brothers' Wagon Factory, at No. 645 Iowa street, dates its foundation to 1852, when John Butt, Sr., began the manufacture of wagons and a general stock of light-running vehicles. He continued in the business until his death, in 1873, when he was succeeded by John, Ernest, William and Hel- muth Butt, who now compose the firm.
In 1876, they put up the three-story brick wherein the manufactory is to-day located, costing $3,500; and are engaged in a profitable and steadily increasing business, working seven men, who are paid a total of $100 per week, and marketing stock producing an annual return of $8,000. The investment is valued at $12,000.
Dubuque Shot Company .- Along in 1860, Chadbourne & Co., representing the St. Louis Shot Tower corporation, visited Dubuque and purchased the shot tower located in this city, with a view, as it subsequently appeared, of monopo- lizing the manufacture of this commodity, and closing out Dubuque from par- ticipation therein.
In 1862, the demand for shot and other lead missiles far exceeding the sup- ply, James Hughes, and the mining firm of Booth, Carter & Co., determined to engage in the business of manufacturing shot, etc. The former erected a tower on Julien avenue, on the present site of F. E. Augustin's house, and, for a brief period, prospered. But, being twice subjected to destruction by fire, he abandoned the undertaking.
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HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY.
In the same year Booth, Carter & Co. put up buildings at their mine on the Hale's mill road, where, for fourteen years, they succeeded in supplying the markets, and became prominent rivals of other enterprises in the same line. In October, 1877, their houses, too, were burned to the ground, and business, for a brief period, was suspended. The works, however, were rebuilt again in operation by February, 1878, and have since been actively at work. They consist of a four-story brick with wings, storehouses, etc., and a " drop " of 170 feet, supplied with every facility for manufacturing all grades of shot, with a capacity of turning out 60,000 bags of twenty-five pounds each, annually.
The Company employ four men, and the establishment when running to its full measure costs $16,000 per year to pay expenses. Their article is sold largely in Chicago and St. Paul.
Dubuque Cabinet-Makers' Association, one of the most enterprising, wealthy and influential corporations, was first projected early in 1867, but it was not until June 15 of that year that matters assumed form and were defined. Upon that date the Association was duly chartered by authority of the Legislature, with the following gentlemen as incorporators : Henry Wunderlich, John Stuber, C. Jacobi, John Foerst, Jacob Seeger, G. Schneider, Joachim Kurtz, William Kley, H. Huber, John Chrismer, B. Baumhoefer, Otto Wullweber, George Scheuler and H. Tischer. The capital stock was established at $7,000, and the first officers elected were George Scheuler, President, and William Kley, Manager, etc.
The objects of the Association were the manufacture and purchase of all qualities of furniture, and, for the attainment of that end, a large three-story frame building at the corner of Jackson and Tenth streets was taken possession of and transformed into a factory (attached to which was the lumber-yard, etc.), in which twenty-five hands were employed, the profits accruing from sales being re-invested in the enterprise. By the time the business had been fairly estab- lished, the visitation which usually attends the inception of promising enter- prises at critical periods, fire, intervened between success and the Association. A few minutes past 7 o'clock on the evening of January 11, 1870, the factory was swallowed up in one of the largest and most disastrous conflagrations that ever occurred in Dubuque, entailing a loss of $15,000, upon which there was an insurance of modest proportions, and inflicting a blow to the interests of the Cabinet-Makers' Association, which though temporary was severe.
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