Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
ALLISON-HENDERSON PARK
ALLISON-HENDERSON PARK. (This entry is being edited.) Bounded by Loras Boulevard, University Avenue, Nowata Street and Grandview Avenue, the park honors William B. ALLISON and David B. HENDERSON, two of Dubuque's most illustrious citizens.
Some residents expressed their opinion that a statue was sufficient. An organized effort to honor these men began in 1908 with an association formed to collect funds to purchase land along the river for a park. The subscription goal was $10,000. A large thermometer was erected on 8th and Main to record the donations made. Records of the contributions kept by the Association's treasurer showed that much of the money came from outside of Dubuque. By 1913 the goal of $10,000 was reached.
An investigation committee of the Memorial Association reported favorably on a parcel of land owned by M. H. McCarthy that was once occupied by the STANDARD LUMBER COMPANY. The site lay on the river front north of the Illinois Central bridge. The Association upon receipt of the report offered to pay an initial $8,000 for the land.
What was originally considered a long-over-due honor for the two politicians became a bitter local campaign issue. By 1937 only two of the original Memorial Association members were still living--John Ryder WALLIS and Frederick E. BISSELL.
The memorial association transferred the deed to land surrounding the SHOT TOWER to the city on August 26, 1916. Under the agreement, the council had the option of using this property for other than municipal purposes if four-fifths of the land's appraised value was devoted to the purchase of another site for a memorial park. In 1940 the city exercised its option on the riverfront site. Four-fifths of the value of the land was used to purchase the Bush property where Allison-Henderson Park is now located.
