Julien Dubuque Monument, Mines of Spain

Dubuque, Iowa — The Julien Dubuque Monument stands above the Mississippi River at the Mines of Spain Recreation Area. The monument, built in 1897, marks the site where Dubuque was buried by the Meskwaki (or Mesquakie) with tribal honors following his death on March 24, 1810.

The second monument, to the right, marks the grave of Dubuque’s friend, Meskwaki Chief Peosta. Beyond it, down the bluff to the right, is the mouth of Catfish Creek, where the Mesquakie village was located.

A French Canadian from the area of Champlain, Quebec, Julien Dubuque settled on what is now Iowa soil in 1788, the first white man to do so. Given permission to mine lead by the Meskwaki and a land grant from the Governor of Spain, Dubuque eventually married Chief Peosta’s daughter, Potosa.