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.
IOWA IRON WORKS
IOWA IRON WORKS. Major participant in Dubuque's BOAT BUILDING. The firm of Rouse, Dean & Company, an iron foundry and machine shop, was established in March 1852 on the corner of Ninth and Washington STREETS. It later became known as Rouse & Dean. On April 15, 1880 the firm of Rouse and Dean was dissolved with the retirement of H. Rouse. C.B. Dean, William Hopkins, and J. McMurchy carried on business as Dean, Hopkins, & McMurchy.
The company employed sixty men in 1880 in the manufacture of movable and stationary engines, heavy steamboat work castings, and columns for buildings. The workforce earned about $3,000 per month and the sales of the company reached $75,000 annually. The company eventually became known as the DUBUQUE BOAT AND BOILER WORKS.