Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
FARLEY, Jesse P.
FARLEY, Jesse P. (Tennessee, Apr. 2, 1813--Dubuque, IA, May 8,1894). MAYOR. Farley came to Dubuque in 1832, but did not permanently settle here until 1833 after making a contract to build a house and store. He opened a store in September of 1833, bringing his family to their new home in 1837. In 1840 the Jesse P. Farley and Company store was Dubuque's only brick commercial building. In 1850 he helped organize the first Dubuque steamboat line. Farley continued in the mercantile business until 1858. One year earlier he was ranked as one of Dubuque's thirteen wealthiest men.
In 1879 Dubuque architect F. D. Hyde designed a home for Farley near WASHINGTON PARK. Costing $20,000, the house was considered one of the city's finest, boasting twelve rooms, expensive plate glass windows, and five ornate fireplaces.
Farley's business interests were wide-ranging. He served Dubuque as its mayor three times and helped organize the Dubuque Insurance Company and Central Improvement Company. His name is generally linked to the FARLEY AND LOETSCHER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, an investment made in 1876. RAILROADS were one of his major business ventures. In 1853 along with Lucius Hart LANGWORTHY, Farley helped organize the Dubuque and Pacific Railroad. The city of Farley, along its tracks, is named in his honor.
Farley was appointed the reorganization manager of the Saint Paul and Pacific Railway when it entered receivership in 1873. Devoting seven years to the embattled railroad, Farley fought a lawsuit in the early 1890s against the Great Northern Railway over routes for the two lines. Refusing an offer of James J. Hill to settle for one million dollars, Farley carried the case to the United States Supreme Court. To pay court costs including as much as $1,000 per hour to George Edmonds, an attorney, Farley mortgaged his factory and six hundred acres of land. The court ruled against him and Farley had to sell his home to the Sisters of Saint Francis for $15,000 to help pay his bills. This building, with many additions, became MARY OF THE ANGELS HOME. Farley died two years later.