Dubuque: Masterpiece on the Mississippi

People have lived in - and frequently contested - the area now known as northeast Iowa since the retreat of glaciers some 11,000 years ago. When in 1785 French-Canadian fur trader Julien Dubuque established the region's first permanent European settlement, it was on the land of the Mesquakie people. In 1837, the US government chartered the city that bears Dubuque's name.
Initially based on fur trapping and mining, the city rapidly developed new pursuits, including button making, boat building, logging, mill working, meat packing, all benefiting from its location on the Mississippi River. Its population grew more than tenfold from just over 3,000 in 1850 to 33,000 by the beginning of the twentieth century, peaking at about 62,000 in 1980 and declining, along with the city's economy and urban infrastructure, in subsequent years.
In the 1990s, a major project was launched to revitalize Dubuque's declining downtown and riverfront area, developing among other features a riverwalk along the levees on the river. This video shows some of the results of this revitalization effort.
The City of Dubuque's official website notes that the city takes great pride in its slogan, "Masterpiece on the Mississippi."
For more information, see
- The City of Dubuque's webpage, 'History.' www.cityofdubu...
- 'The People, The Place: Native Americans in Iowa' from the University of Iowa Libraries www.lib.uiowa....
MUSIC
When the Wind Blows by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommon...

[@NomiSyed1]

What a quant little place. Love the architecture. Such a great video, thanks for sharing. Greetings from Oakville, Canada.

[@DonaldRallis]

It is a lovely city! I'm glad you enjoyed the video.