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.
ROSHEK, John J.
ROSHEK, John J. (Linn County, IA, Jan. 22, 1873--Dubuque, IA, Mar. 14, 1945). President, Roshek Brothers Company. Roshek and his brother, F. H. Roshek, came to Dubuque in 1884 and opened a small dry goods establishment between Sixth and Seventh STREETS on Main which became the highly successful ROSHEK'S DEPARTMENT STORE. With the growth of business, they moved their business to the southeast corner of Main and Eighth Streets where they temporarily occupied the first two floors of a building while they remodeled the rest.
Roshek inaugurated the "bargain basement" in Dubuque, a concept then sweeping the large cities of the United States. He served as president of the department store that carried his name, and as an influential member of the community helped organize political forces to obtain a hard surface road system in northeastern Iowa.
Roshek was president of the DUBUQUE CLUB in 1912 and served as a director of the Chamber of Commerce from 1918 to 1938.