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.
JANSEN-2, John
JANSEN-2, John. (1834--Dubuque, IA, 1915). The history of Jansen and the work he did in Dubuque remains unknown. It may be that he was involved with the construction of the first brick schools in the city.
What evidence we have of this man is a picture of him with his wife and several pictures of his secluded home along present day Roosevelt Street.
The picture of his home was taken from the hill which is now part of LINWOOD CEMETERY. Missing from the picture is the log cabin in which pioneers of the early 1800s would have first lived. The barn, shown to the right of the home, had two rooms on the second floor prepared as a residence. Built before the CIVIL WAR, the barn has had some remodeling. Barely visible behind the barn was a building used for processing honey from ninety hives.
Between the barn and the home are the remains of a road which was once used by a farmer who lived on the hill behind where SUNNYCREST MANOR exists today.
The house appears to have been constructed of odd-shaped stones possibly cast-offs from a quarry. Its massive walls are actually two walls with a gap between which helped keep the interior warm in the winter and cooler in the summer.
From some time in the past until 1973, the upper porch had been enclosed. The resulting space was too hot for any use, and the Neuwoehners removed the enclosure. In 2018 the Neuwoehners planned to repair the exterior woodwork of the home.