DUBUQUE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ANNOUNNCES 2025 HISTORIC PRESERVATION AWARD WINNERS

DUBUQUE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ANNOUNNCES
2025 HISTORIC PRESERVATION AWARD WINNERS

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Since 1975, the Dubuque County Historical Society has honored individuals and organizations that preserve the architectural heritage of their properties through its Historic Preservation Awards, presented in conjunction with Dubuque Main Street's annual Architecture Days celebration. The awards committee works with the City of Dubuque's Historic Preservation Commission to discover, research and document these properties.

The 2025 Historic Preservation Awards were presented May 19 at the Carnegie-Stout Public Library. The event featured a public reception, a tour of the library, and an awards ceremony. Each recipient received a certificate recognizing their historic preservation efforts.

Nominations are collected the prior year through online submissions, and both property owners and community members may submit them. More information about the awards and the nomination process is available at https://www.rivermuseum.org/historic-preservation-awards. The properties recognized were chosen for their historic restoration and preservation efforts in Dubuque County and include:

Barbara and Calvin Gatch Farmstead
Barbara and Calvin Gatch
The Gatch property is a farmstead with history tracing back to an original Julien Dubuque land claim in 1788. It is one of the few remaining that represents the Luxembourgian settlement of the mid to late 1800s in this area. As agriculture and rural life changed, these limestone houses, barns, and well-houses became less practical and less frequently built. Since taking ownership in 1973, the Gatches have made additions to the main house, but they have done so with limited impact on the original stonework.
The main house has yielded some surprises, such as finding a rosary amid the stonework while tuckpointing, which the family has since framed in the room it was found. The discovery of the rosary is a hallmark to the strong religious ties Luxembourgians had with the Catholic Church.

Derby Grange
Ron and Mary Breitbach
Derby Grange, a quintessential English manor-style home built in 1856-1857 by Joseph Herod, stands as a remarkable example of mid-19th-century craftsmanship six miles west of Dubuque. Constructed of triple red brick, the house features eight-foot-tall windows fitted with interior wooden folding shutters, a hallmark of wealthy property owners of that era. It boasts eleven-foot-high ceilings on the first floor and nine-and-a-half-foot ceilings on the second floor. Its most celebrated interior element-the grand marble fireplace in the dining room-has served as the focal point for generations.

Over the past two decades, skilled craftsman and general contractor Joseph G. Mulgrew meticulously restored Derby Grange. His work exposed the original pine floors, modernized the kitchen while preserving historic character, and added custom marble and cabinetry in the dining room to complement the original fireplace.

The Maurice Brown House
Jim and Betty Coohey
The Maurice Brown House is one of the contributing structures of the Seminary Hill Historic District which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. It is a late Victorian, Second Empire-style, with a two-story pavilion with gable roof. It features a triple-dormer set with round flat-top hoods. The property was converted into four apartments in the 1920s and later owners additionally converted the garage into living spaces as well. It was in this state that Jim and Betty Coohey bought the home in 1977.

The Coohey family poured their efforts into preserving the Maurice Brown House, meticulously remodeling the interior, including all apartments, while honoring the home's rich history. Their commitment to retaining the original woodwork, moldings, hardware, and other key features helped maintain the house's unique character. They have restored the original Yankee gutters and brackets and did significant repairs in the last year including replacing the asphalt roof and updating the exterior staircases.

North Farm
Sisters of Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey
Originally, the property the Sisters of our Lady of the Mississippi now manage was settled by various individuals from the first Indigenous Peoples, the Meskwaki or Fox Nation, to the European settlers that pressed West of the Mississippi River. Among those were Joseph and Angelina Mannhart, Swiss immigrants, arrived in Iowa and made their first purchase of land in October 1853 in Mosalem Township. The 1860 census reveals they had 25 acres of tilled ground and another 135 of untilled acreage. This homestead is in a valley toward Masset Road in what is today part of the Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey property and commonly called the North Farm due to its location from the main house-monastery. The Sisters took ownership in 1964, including all buildings on the property like the log cabin.

The log cabin was story and a half high, but due to being abandoned, had logs that were rotted and unsalvageable. It was reconstructed at a new location by the Abbey farm pond between 1989-1990. This process involved chiseling mortars off the logs, moving it by flat-bed trailer, and placing them on a new foundation to be re-mortared. An over-hanging roof was added for protection.