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.
WASHINGTON PARK
WASHINGTON PARK. Dubuque's oldest platted park. Oroginally called "Washington Square," the site was the loation of the first church and the first jail in Dubuque. Washington Park was surveyed during the summer of 1833 by G.W. Harrison. In 1834 a Methodist meeting house buuilt of logs was constructed in the southeast corner of the square. The building also served as a court and a schoolhouse. John Bush constructed a house on the northern side of he square in 1836. Philip Morhiser later took possessiion of the home and lived there for two years. The entire area, given the name Washington Square in 1857 had been called the "public square."
Over the years, the land was suggested as a downtown mall extension or the site of a courthouse, post office, city hall, or parking lot. Wagons were occasionally parked on the grounds. The city fenced the square in 1848 and leveled the ground. Nothing again was done until 1877 when flower beds, trees, and shrubbery were planted along with the construction of a 40-foot high oriental gazebo and various benches and chairs.
On June 1, 1878, a petition was received by the City Council for the erection of a drinking fountain in the park. The council proposed that it would pay one-half of the cost with the other half coming from private donations. The resulting fountain was topped by a statue of Dr. Henry COGSWELL.