Dubuque County

Dubuque County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa.  The county seat is the city of Dubuque. Dubuque County is coterminous with the Dubuque, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the seventh largest county by population in the state.

Dubuque County is named for Julien Dubuque, the first European settler of Iowa, and an early lead mining pioneer in what is now Dubuque County. Dubuque was French Canadian, and had (by most accounts) a friendly relationship with the local Fox tribe of Native Americans. He and other early pioneers established a lucrative mining and trading industry in the area. When lead deposits began becoming exhausted, the pioneers developed boat building, lumber yards, milling, brewing, and machinery manufacturing to take its place.

The establishment of the City of Dubuque in 1833 led to large-scale settlement of the surrounding area. This was greatly encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which sent priests, bishops, and nuns to establish churches in the unpopulated countryside. Primarily, Irish and German (many of whom were Catholic) immigrants came to the region. In 1858, Saint Francis Catholic Church was established in Dubuque County.

It is one of Iowa's two original counties along with Des Moines County; both were organized by the Michigan Territorial legislature in 1834.

The city of Dubuque was chartered in 1833 as the first city in Iowa.

This is a picture of the upper stories of the Dubuque County Courthouse - Photo by Curt L. Sytsma

Susie Williams took this photo in Balltown, Iowa.

Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, in Dyersville

Photos by Bob Kelly

This large stone house is a bed and breakfast, and I believe it is located in Balltown on the south edge of the village,

Photo by Bob Kelly

This photo was shot near a landing on the Mississippi just to the east of Balltown. That is Wisconsin on the opposite shore.

Photo by Bob Kelly

Views from the Balltown Ridge ~ Photos by Bob Kelly

This is a 13 frame panoramic stitched together that shows the entire area. Please do enlarge it if you can for there is endless detail in this photo.