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.
THOMPSON, John
THOMPSON, John. (Chautauqua Co., NY, Aug. 1, 1821-Dubuque, IA, Sept. 25, 1901). MAYOR. L. D. Randall and Company, the partnership of Thompson and L.. D. Randall, grew to become the largest wholesale leather and saddlery hardware business west of the MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
Thompson served Dubuque as its mayor for three terms, being unanimously re-elected by both parties without opposition for his second term. As mayor of Dubuque during the CIVIL WAR, Thompson took an active role in raising volunteers for the Union Army and enjoyed the admiration of General U.S. Grant who often dined at Thompson's elegant Locust Street mansion. Thompson later sold this home to William A. RYAN who had the structure, known today as the Ryan House, moved thirteen feet south.