HOG POUND

HOG POUND. A hog pound was in operation in Dubuque as early as 1861. An article in the Express and Herald stated:

                Hogs are not as plenty about the city rooting up gardens,
                unhinging gates, spoiling tubs of rain waters, etc. as
                they have been, thanks to the marshal, hog pound and
                swine gatherers. (1)

On July 25, 1872 an announcement in The Daily Herald announced the sale that day of forty hogs from the pound. "Monied proprietors and purchasers" were requested to be on hand.

In 1877 hogs found roaming loose in the streets were captured and taken to an enclosure called a "hog pound." In August of 1877, the "pound master" was accused of encouraging pigs to leave their "snug styes and comfortable pasture lots" so that he could catch and impound them. (2)

In September, 1877 the problem of wild pigs had remained such a concern that the Dubuque Herald called for shooting all pigs not in confinement. (3)

The Dubuque Herald carried the following news item on October 6, 1877: (4)

                No less than one dozen hogs were enjoying themselves
                in WASHINGTON PARK this morning yesterday
                morning, and a large white Berkshire was making him-
                self conspicuous on the corner of 8th and Main streets,
                while a Poland-China was stretched in a puddle at the
                corner of Main and 7th STREETS.  If the city is
                powerless to enforce its laws, it had better discharge
                the marshal and all hands and let the city be run by a
                vigilance committee.

The elected officials seemed unwilling to pass an ordinance against the wandering animals. The Dubuque Herald reported in October that the council "without censuring the marshal for his lack of stamina" referred the matter to the market committee. (5)

By November 1877, Alderman Bush and two policemen had arrived at a plan. They used the prisoner van to transport the animals they collected to the POOR FARM. The Dubuque Herald reported that 150 geese and fourteen loads of hogs had been collected with many more to catch. (6)

In September, 1878 the Dubuque Herald reported that eight hogs in the pound would be sold at auction unless "redeemed" by their owners at fifty cents a head. (7) On October 13, 1878 the pound was attacked..."by an irate woman with an ax" and her eight hogs were freed. (8)

In December 1879 the city marshal reported to the city council that he had sold two hogs from the pound for for $11.25. He listed his costs including feed for operating the pound at $3.25 leaving $8.00 that had been paid to the city treasury. (9)

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Source:

1. "To-Days' Advertisements," Express and Herald, October 2, 1861, p. 3

2. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, August 10, 1877, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18770810&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

3. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, September 27, 1877, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18770927&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

4. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, October 6, 1877, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18771006&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

5. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, October 14, 1877. p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18771014&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

6. "Caught on the Fly" Dubuque Herald, November 3, 1877, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18771103&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

7. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, September 14, 1878. p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18780914&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

8. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, October 15, 1878, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18781015&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

9. "Municipal Mush," The Daily Herald, December 3, 1879, p. 4