Chaplain Schmitt Island

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Chaplain Schmitt Island
US-61&151 bridge in to Dubuque.jpg
Chaplain Schmitt Island is visible to the right of the image
Chaplain Schmitt Island
Geography
Location Mississippi River
Coordinates 42°30′54″N90°38′42″W / 42.515°N 90.645°W / 42.515; -90.645

Chaplain Schmitt Island, also known as City Island or Ham Island, is a river island of the Mississippi River in Dubuque, Iowa. It is separated from mainland Iowa by Lake Peosta Channel. [1] The Q Casino and Dubuque Yacht Basin are located on the island. [2] [3] A memorial in the shape of a spiral with a pond containing a replica of the battleship USS Oklahoma is found on the island. [4]

Contents

Name

Chaplain Schmitt Island was named after Aloysius Schmitt, who died during the attack on Pearl Harbor. [4] Ham Island (among variants) comes from Mathias Ham's ownership of the island. [3]

History

In 1875, the island was two spits of land in the Mississippi. [3] Mathias Ham would come to own most of the island, becoming known as Ham Island. [3]

The island hosted an airport on it built and opened in 1934. [3] [5] The airport would be abandoned due to flooding issues [6] and Dubuque Regional Airport would be built to the south of Dubuque in 1948. [3] The island subsequently hosted a dump on it for two decades before being closed in August 1976. [3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gray, Chris (December 6, 2024). "City of Dubuque works with marinas while attempting to keep Peosta Channel clear". Telegraph Herald . Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  2. ↑ Whitlatch, Kaelei (November 26, 2024). "Dubuque's Schmitt Island to get new amphitheater, driving range in $100+ million plan". KGAN. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Good, Stephan (August 29, 1976). "Many development options for vacated landfill". Telegraph Herald . p. 52 – via NewspaperArchive.
  4. 1 2 "Dubuque OKs plans to overhaul island veterans memorial". AP News. July 17, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Mayor Kane Passenger In First Plane To Make Landing at City Island". Dubuque Telegraph Herald and Times Journal . February 18, 1934. p. 13. Retrieved August 5, 2025– via NewspaperArchive.
  6. ↑ Johnson, Ashley. "Expanding the boundaries of Dubuque Regional Airport in Iowa". Masonry Magazine. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
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