Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
CHANEY, R. O.
CHANEY, R. O. (Pike Co., Missouri, 1825--Cedar Rapids, IA, May 28, 1908). Richard O. Chaney arrived in Dubuque on April 5, 1845. He began MINING in 1854 and remained in that business over twenty-six years. (1)
With Caleb H. BOOTH and William CARTER, he established the DUBUQUE SHOT MANUFACTURING COMPANY. In 1866 the men reported they were mining about 15,000 pounds of LEAD daily and had recently sold a large amount at $70 per 1,000 pounds. (2) Later they constructed, for mining purposes, the tunnel (under the much later constructed BUNKER HILL GOLF COURSE) that supplied the city of Dubuque with water. (3)
Chaney did a great deal of surveying after 1849 and held the offices of town trustee and school director. He was also a deacon of the Church of Christ.
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Source:
1. Oldt, Franklin. History of Dubuque County, Iowa. Chicago: Western History Company, 1880, p. 775
2. "Successful Mining," Dubuque Herald, September 14, 1866, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18660914&printsec=frontpage&hl=en