History of Dubuque :

Dubuque is Iowa's oldest city and is among the oldest settlements west of the Mississippi River. The first permanent settler to the area was French-Canadian fur trader Julien Dubuque. When he arrived in 1785, the Mesquakie (Fox) Indians occupied the region which included an abundant amount of lead mines. Knowing lead's importance to Europeans, the Mesquakie kept the locations of the mines a secret. But Julien Dubuque developed close relationships with the Mesquakie while trading fur and the Mesquakie informed him of the region's wealth of lead deposits. Working together to mine the lead with the Mesquakie, Julien Dubuque was eventually given control of the mines, which he named the Mines of Spain ,and successfully operated until his death in 1810. On June 1, 1833, the land Julien Dubuque had worked so hard to develop was opened up for settlement by the United States Government under the Black Hawk Purchase Treaty and came to be known as the city of Dubuque when it was chartered in 1837.

Dubuque's location to the Mississippi and its abundant land and resources, attracted large numbers of immigrants, particularly Irish and Germans, from overcrowded cities on the east coast. The Black Hawk Purchase Treaty allowed miners the first opportunity to settle along the banks west of the Mississippi and those that moved westward referred to Dubuque as the "Key City" the place in which the door to their dreams of a better life was opened. Settlers to this vibrant river city were known for mining and fur-trading, but later flourished in the industries of button making, boat building, logging, mill working, meat packing, and other heavy industries. Since then, the community has had a long-standing manufacturing sector and a growing service sector. Dubuque is now the major retail, medical, education and employment center for the tri-state area.