This photo of Dubuque’s City Hall building from circa 1890-1910 shows just how little it has changed over the years and reminds us that the Farmers’ Market has a very long history here. Shown in the photo is the Iowa Street (west) side of City Hall and appears to have people gathered for the Farmers’ Market, which has been located in the outdoor area surrounding City Hall since 1879. Originally established in the 1840s at Flat Iron Park, Dubuque’s market is the oldest farmers’ market in Iowa.

Elk Chocolates were a signature product of the M. M. Johannsen Candy Company, established in Dubuque around 1907. The business originally took up two floors of its building at 260 Main Street, but in less than a year, its footprint had doubled as its reputation for delicious treats grew. The company even sent traveling salesmen out to neighboring states to grow the business further.

Johannsen featured high-end chocolates and hard candies. They sold “satin finish” candies that were shiny and glossy, making them more lavish than their competitors.

February’s featured artifact commemorates a group of friends’ night out at a popular local venue.

For 30 years, Melody Mill was the place to be on Friday and Saturday nights. Whether for a fun evening with friends or a romantic date with someone special, young people flocked there to hear music and dance the night away.

Within our collection is a small piece of petrified wood with a nail sticking through it. Written in black on the plaque it’s connected to is, "UNION GUNBOAT CAIRO Sunk by Floating Torpedo on Yazoo River, Mississippi December 12, 1862."

Built in January of 1862, the USS Cairo had a short-lived career as a Union gunboat. It patrolled the Mississippi and its connecting waterways, searching for Confederate supply lines, guns on the shore, and clearing the river of underwater mines, known at the time as torpedoes.

Almost as soon as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was identified in December of 2019, scientists raced to develop a vaccine to combat it. Pfizer’s vaccine was fully approved by the FDA in August 2021 after initially receiving Emergency Use Authorization in December 2020 – just one short year after the emergence of the deadly virus.

With Dubuque’s rich millwork history, it’s no surprise that this scrolls saw, dating to circa 1890,  is in the DCHS collection. Scroll saws can be used to cut intricate curves and joints, including dove tail joints.

Dating to around 1920, this root beer bottle from the Christian E. Kleis’ bottling company of Dubuque is made of transparent green glass and embossed with "CHR. E. KLEIS CO. DUBUQUE IA. CONTENTS 24 - FLUID OZS. M 2714 ROOT 20."

This flag, or wall hanging, is a memorial to Dubuque’s Carl B. Heller, who served as a private in World War I. Born on October 5, 1898, Carl was the only child of Frederick and Elizabeth (Kirch) Heller. He enlisted one month before the United States officially entered World War I and joined the 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th Division, with other newly minted soldiers from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. The unit completed basic training at Camp Cody in New Mexico, where 18-year-old Carl received the nickname “Baby Private.”

his five-foot-tall statue of Greek goddess Artemis once stood in Dubuque’s Madison Park. Artemis is depicted here with her hunting dog, which is fitting since she was the Greek goddess of hunting, wilderness, and wild animals.Photo of Artemis Statue from Madison Park

Madison Park was once the site of an estate owned by John Vincent Rider, a successful Dubuque banker. His mansion was opened to the public in 1915. The home was expensive to maintain, however, and was soon demolished. By 1919, a pavilion was constructed in its place and the site was named Madison Park.

It may not look like it has anything to do with railroad history, but this straightedge was one of many surveying tools used by Benjamin Provoost, who was a civil engineer and served as division engineer of the Illinois Central in the 1850s in and around Dubuque.

Provoost helped build the Illinois Central Railroad and oversaw the route that ran from Eldena, Ill. to Dubuque, Iowa. In 1954, he was promoted to chief engineer of Dubuque & Pacific railroad. Provoost later became the director of the Second National Bank in Dubuque.