Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
LYONS, Edwin B.
LYONS, Edwin B. (Centralia, IL-Dubuque, IA, Sept. 15, 1970). Owner, BAYLESS COMMERCIAL COLLEGE. Lyons purchased the college in 1909, one of five he eventually owned in Iowa. He operated it until it was sold in 1959. Lyons, remembered for the nature center bearing his name, established Dubuque's famous "peony trail" in 1947 in memory of his wife. Through a trust fund, he fulfilled his wife's dream with a trail of peony plants on the islands along two miles of Grandview Avenue and in city parks. For many years Lyons served as a director of the YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION (Y.M.C.A.) He was also treasurer and business manager for the UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE.
In 1972 trustees of the estate announced that a trust fund with $290,000 had been established to give funds to the Dubuque Park Board and the City of Dubuque. The money was for use within or outside the city limits to acquire or develop additional park and recreation areas.
