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.
YORK (THE)
YORK (THE). Mary Ellen Cooper, the daughter of Augustin A. COOPER, married John Robert WALLER on January 24, 1878. Officiating at the ceremony in ST. RAPHAEL'S CATHEDRAL was Bishop John HENNESSY. As a wedding gift, A. A. Cooper offered the couple one of the prime lots in a block he owned south of WASHINGTON PARK. (1)
The Wallers constructed the home they called the "York" as an English estate complete with tennis courts, fishpond, orchard and conservatory. The residence was a popular site for teas and parties hosted for the English families of Dubuque. (2)
With the death of her husband, Mary Ellen sold the property to move closer to her sister in Maryland. Russell Mulgrew sold the York to Joseph J. NAGLE who sold the estate to the United States Treasury as the site for the new post office. (3)
It was as the York was being demolished that Anton A. "Tony" FREUND happened to walk past a wagon loaded with debris. Finding two undamaged doors, Freund purchased them for five dollars. These were carried to the rectory of the cathedral where they were installed. (4)
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Source:
1. Friedman, Larry and Fischer, Katherine. A. A. Cooper: Reinvesting the Wheel, River City Press, 2016, p. 91
2. Ibid., p. 92
3. Ibid. p. 93
4. Interview with George Freund