Mathias Ham House | |
 Mathias Ham House January 2012 | |
   | |
| Location | 2241 Lincoln Ave. Dubuque, Iowa |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°31′53″N90°39′2″W / 42.53139°N 90.65056°W /42.53139; -90.65056 |
| Built | 1856 |
| Architect | John F. Rague[2] |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 76000764[1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 19, 1976 |
TheMathias Ham House is a 19th-century house inDubuque, Iowa, that is on theNational Register of Historic Places. It is located at the intersection of Shiras and Lincoln Avenues,[2] near the entrances toEagle Point Park and Riverview Park.[3]
The house was designed byJohn F. Rague and built for local businessman andlead miner Mathias Ham in 1857.[citation needed] Ham had owned an island in theMississippi River at Dubuque, called Ham's Island (which has since renamed City Island and then Chaplain Schmitt Memorial Island, after FatherAloysius Schmitt).[4] The architect,John F. Rague, who had designed the original state capitol buildings atSpringfield, Illinois and atIowa City, Iowa, designed the house in theItalian Villa style.[2]
The Mathias Ham House has been restored and transformed into a museum showcasing life during theAntebellum era; it contains American and European furnishings from that period. The property also features the Louis Arriandeaux Log House, a double log cabin[3] in thedogtrot style, which is considered the oldest building in Iowa. The cabin was built in 1833 at 2nd and Locust Streets in Dubuque, then moved toEagle Point Park in Dubuque before being moved to the Mathias Ham House Historic Site.[2]
Additionally, a one-room schoolhouse (the former Humke School) was relocated to the property. A replicamine shaft and "badger hole" or "badger hut" were constructed on the property to educate the public about Dubuque's lead mining history.[citation needed]
The museum is operated by the Dubuque County Historical Society, which also operates theNational Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.[2]
