Bob Welsh and the gift shop attendant at the Ham House. Bob is a storyteller, singer and banjo player and performs at Civil War reenactments around the tri-state area.
Oldest surviving log cabin in Iowa or so they say. This one is described in the writing. This is a Dog-Trot log cabin seem more frequently in the south. The kitchen is on the right and the living quarters are on the left. In the middle is a kind of breezeway that the family dogs liked to lay around in, thus, Dog Trot.
An example of what a "badger hole" might have looked like in the early 1800's. Illegal mining was done in the area looking for lead. This would have been the kind of shelter that these men would have constructed.
One of the two cars returning to the lower station at the Fenelon Place Elevator in Dubuque, just off of the 400 block of Bluff St..
Lead mining was done in several different ways. The Indians did what we might call strip mined just on the surface. The white man would did holes sometime many feet beneith the surface. The vain always ran east and west of lead. This is a depiction of an mine entrance. The wooden bucket was called a kittle and using a "Pigtail" hock was used to lower the miners and their tools into the mine and as well as raise the lead pieces to the surface.
Rear view of the Ham House
The front of the Ham House. NO filter was used on this shot, the sky was that blue when Denny took the picture.
We woke up to a beautiful morning with the birds tuning up and the sky so blue it hurt your eyes. Buddy knew we were getting ready to take a day trip and by now he had resigned himself to staying cool at home when it is so warm outside. We wanted to take in a couple of sights in Dubuque but first we grabbed a breakfast sandwich at Hardee's and then a stop to see what was being offered at the Manchester Farmer's Market. Our friend, Mike Henderson and his family were there with fresh veggies and homemade breads. Irene was there with her soaps and many more. Thank goodness we brought the cooler with our picnic lunch in it as we purchased so much that we completely filled it. If you haven't stopped in on a Saturday morning to check it out, you really should. Sweet corn will be coming soon so, make it a point to be there.
One of those places that is kind of a wee thing but of historical significance is the Fenelon Place Elevator Company. OK, I know, when you get in most elevators you see an OTIS sign, not Fenelon but that is another story. This is something that only Dubuque has. It is located off of the 400 block of Bluff Street. But wait, let's start at the beginning. Back in 1882, Dubuque was an hour and a half town (get this, everything in town shut down for an hour and a half for everyone to go home and have a nice lunch). When I was working for Motorola and Honeywell and the like it was 30 minutes or less and then you were back on the job and working. I thought things were supposed to have been so rough back then........ Anyway, Mr. J. K. Graves, a former mayor, former State Senator and also mining promoter and banker lived up high on the bluff and worked at the bottom. Driving his horse and buggy to and from work involved a half hour ride each way and the good man didn't have time to eat his lunch and get in a nap as well. What to do? Well, remembering things that he had seen on trips to Europe, he came up with this elevator system between home and work to shorten the trip. It became the method for many others to make the same trip up the hill. The venture had several fires and each time Mr. Graves rebuilt until 1893 when a bad recession made it impossible for Mr. Graves to again rebuild. This time ten neighbors got together and formed "Fenelon Place Elevator Company" and took it over. So, let's see, that was 116 years ago and it is still in operation today. $2.00 per adult buys you a round trip ticket to the top and back. At the top you are blessed with a beautiful view of the city of Dubuque and views of Illinois and Wisconsin. Visit it online at www.dbq.com/fenplco/. This wonderfully restored area of Dubuque is filled with the beautiful architecture of years gone by. Many of the old homes have been converted into galleries and boutiques. Just up the street is The Redstone Inn. Margie, this place is so pretty to see on the outside, we just have to find a time to stay there. http://www.theredstoneinn.com/history.htm
We also wanted to see the Mathias Ham House off of Lincoln Street. This 1856 mansion shares the grounds with several other historic "saves" from around the Dubuque area and is located very near Eagle Point State Park. Unlike the Montauk mansion this home was not preserved by the family that built it. The story of Mr. Ham is kind of sad and filled with loss and disappointment but then life is kind of like that sometimes.
On the same location is an example of a "dog trot" log home that has been moved twice and now is owned by the Dubuque Historical Society. It was discovered some years back when a group of men were preparing to side a house in town. When they were removing the old siding they discovered the log home beneath. Calls were made and history dug into and the home was acquired and moved to Eagle Point Park and rented out for events and gatherings. As often happens when a building becomes "public in use" it was abused and that is what was happening to this very old log cabin. The Dubuque Historical group took it over and had it moved to it's present location where it is lovingly cared for and still the public can enjoy looking and learning with one of the docents from the mansion.
The sight also offers a recovered one room school house from the area.
Our "period dressed" docent was Bob Welch. His knowledge of the house and era were extensive. For a $5.00 charge each, a visitor can take a step back in time. As I said before, the Mathias Ham home is not furnished with the furnishings of the Ham family but everything in the home is of the period. Built of quarried limestone, the Italianate villa style home is wonderfully well preserved and deserves a visit. Open 11AM-4PM daily.
As I have said near by is Eagle Point State Park, a beautiful place and every time that we have been there, it is filled to the brim with people and activity. It is one of the hot spots for company picnics, weddings and other get togethers. We had brought our picnic lunch of my own dilled potato salad and tequila lime chicken breast sandwiches. Some cold lemonade topped it off nicely. Many picnic tables and benches come complete with a fantastic view of the Mississippi River below.
We enjoyed our days adventure and met some really nice people from places like Keokuk and across the river in Illinois. You just never know what surprises are out there for you. Hope to see you out and exploring "Across Iowa and Maybe a Bit Beyond".
God Bless,
Linda
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