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Dubuque in Dubuque County, Iowa — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
 

Iowa's First Church

 
 
Iowa's First Church Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 8, 2013
1. Iowa's First Church Marker
Inscription.
St. Luke’s United Methodist Church is the outcome of the first church organized in what is now the State of Iowa.

Reverend Barton Randle was appointed to the Dubuque circuit and mission and preached his first sermon in the Bell tavern on November 6, 1833. Under his leadership a Methodist class was organized on May 18, 1834 and the first log church building was erected on the southeast corner of Washington Park in June 1834. He said of the work, “Well done, to collect money, to build a splendid log meeting house, to pay for it and receive twelve members, all in a few weeks. It was the Lord’s doing, let Him have the Glory.”
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Churches & Religion. A significant historical date for this entry is November 6, 1833.
 
Location. 42° 30.226′ N, 90° 40.136′ W. Marker is in Dubuque, Iowa, in Dubuque County. Marker is on Main Street south of West 12th Street, on the right when traveling south. Marker is located beside the sidewalk, near the southeast corner of the church, facing Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1199 Main Street, Dubuque IA 52001, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Abraham Lincoln (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Grand Opera House (approx. 0.2 miles away); John Francis Rague
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(approx. ¼ mile away); Old Dubuque County Jail (approx. ¼ mile away); Methodist Chapel (approx. 0.3 miles away); Five Flags Theater (approx. half a mile away); "Fourth Street Elevator" (approx. half a mile away); Site of Tim Fanning's Log Tavern (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dubuque.
 
More about this marker. Marker is a large metal tablet, mounted vertically on a waist-high stone pedestal, and positioned adjacent to the church building.
 
Regarding Iowa's First Church. National Register of Historic Places (1998), contributing property in the Upper Main Street Historic District (2005)
 
Also see . . .
1. St. Luke’s United Methodist Church History. Church website entry:
In the autumn of 1833, Iowa was part of the Black Hawk Territory and Dubuque was little more than a miner’s camp and trading post. The village consisted of log cabins, a few mud streets and not a single school or house of worship. The first mention of a church is in the minutes of the Illinois Conference on September 25, 1833, in Union Grove: “DuBuke Mission – Barton Randle.”
Iowa's First Church Marker (<i>wide view; marker & pedestal visible on left</i>) image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 8, 2013
2. Iowa's First Church Marker (wide view; marker & pedestal visible on left)
On November 6, 1833, Randle crossed the Mississippi and preached in the Bell Tavern where the Hotel Julien now stands. This was the first sermon preached on Iowa soil. (Submitted on January 21, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 

2. St. Luke's United Methodist Church (Dubuque, Iowa). Wikipedia entry:
The present church was built in 1896, and the congregation began worshiping in the building in 1897. The church is noted for the collection of Tiffany Stained glass windows. It has been called "one of the five finest Religious Tiffany collections in the world." The pipe organ in the church is also of historic interest. When the Farand and Votey organ was purchased, two train cars were required to bring the parts to Dubuque. Because the train could not get across the river, barges than were used to float the parts over so that they could be installed in the church. The organ has about 1,000 pipes. (Submitted on January 21, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 
 
St. Luke's Methodist Episcopal Church image. Click for more information.
Photographed By Larry Gertner
3. St. Luke's Methodist Episcopal Church
NPGallery: Digital Asset Management System website entry
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St. Luke's United Methodist Church Belltower image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 8, 2013
4. St. Luke's United Methodist Church Belltower
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on October 12, 2021. It was originally submitted on January 21, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 562 times since then and 63 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on January 21, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.   3. submitted on October 12, 2021, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.   4. submitted on January 21, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024