Dubuque

Formed September 6, 1834 (2^nd county)

Dubuque County (99,264), Dubuque (59,669)

An outstanding tower courthouse was built in 1891 for Dubuque County.  The courthouse is at 7^th and Central streets.  United States Highway 52 is Central Street.  This red brick and limestone Early Victorian, Renaissance, Romanesque, and Beaux Arts structure was designed by Fridolin Heer & Son.  The building was renovated in 1975 and 1983.  The county was founded on September 6, 1834 as one of the original Iowa counties (2^nd county) with Dubuque as the only county seat.  The county and county seat are named for the first European settler in Iowa Julien Dubuque.  Dubuque County is in the east on the Mississippi River border with both Wisconsin and Illinois. 

Dubuque County government consists of a sheriff, a recorder, an attorney, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 3 Supervisors (legislative.)  Twenty-seven District Court Judges and Sixteen Magistrates serve Dubuque, Allamakee, Black Hawk, Buchanan, Chickasaw, Clayton, Delaware, Fayette, Grundy, Howard, and Winneshiek counties (judicial.) Davenport, Iowa is south and Cedar Rapids, Iowa is southwest of the county.  The county center is 9.9 miles West-Southwest of Dubuque nearer Centralia.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Wisconsin and Illinois and Jackson, Jones, Delaware, and Clayton counties. 

The county has an area of 608 square miles.  It is 21 of 99 in the state.  It ranks 8 out of 99 in population in the state.  It has a density of 163.3 persons per square mile making it 8 out of 99 in the state.  Dubuque County has 80.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 20 crosses the county east to west from Illinois to Delaware County.  United States Highway 52 goes north to south from Clayton County to Jackson County.  United States Highway 61 travels north to south from Wisconsin to Jackson County.  United States Highway 151 enters joined with United States Highway 61 from Wisconsin, splits and goes southwest into Jones County.  The county looks like a bird’s head.  The City of Dubuque is on the central eastern border on the Mississippi River.  Dubuque is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 60.1% of the county population.  This county is in the Dubuque Metropolitan Statistical Area.