Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
RAGUE, John Francis
RAGUE, John Francis. (Scotch Plains, NI, Mar. 24, 1799--Dubuque, IA, Sept. 24, 1877). Architect. Often considered the most significant architect in Dubuque history, Rague designed the OLD JAIL (1857); Central Market and DUBUQUE CITY HALL (1857-1859); the First, Third, and Fifth Ward schools; and private homes for Frederick Ezekiel BISSELL and Edward LANGWORTHY.
Rague studied architecture in New York City in the early 1800s. His move to Springfield, Illinois, in 1831, led to a commission to design the capitol building. While in Illinois, Rague planned Iowa's first capitol which stands today on the campus of the University of Iowa as "Old Capitol." Rague journeyed to Dubuque in 1854 when he was fifty-five at the request of Stephen HEMPSTEAD who had just completed his term as the Governor of Iowa.
In 1862 Rague began losing his eyesight, a fact that brought Rague's first wife to Dubuque to help his second wife care for him. In his last months, Rague wrote his own epitaph, designated the hymns to be sung for his funeral, and chose the singers and his pallbearers.