Did You Know Dubuque Has A Connection To Sherlock Holmes?

Did you know Dubuque has a connection to Sherlock Holmes?

It's a roundabout connection so bear with me.

Our friend Aaron at Midwest Bus Trips told me he's been prepping a new local history tour that starts this June and he's been learning a lot about the history of Dubuque.

Most of us are familiar with the name Rhomberg. Sure, most of us have been up and down Rhomberg Avenue a time or two.

The elder Rhomberg, Joseph A. Rhomberg was a prominent businessman in Dubuque who at one time owned the Star Brewery. He helped start the Dubuque Railroad with Julius K. Graves (who originally built and owned the 4th Street Elevator).

He also purchased the Ham House in 1873.

When he died in 1897 he left his wife 95 acres of land which he asked her to not sell unless the land was being used for a public park.

In 1908, 87 acres of this land was sold by the estate to the city and later became Eagle Point Park.

Some pretty cool stuff, right?

So what's the Dubuque connection to Sherlock Holmes?

Joseph's oldest son, Alphons was educated in Dubuque and Europe where he was a classmate of Arthur Conan Doyle, later the author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.

So there you go. A cool little piece of Dubuque trivia you can impress your friends and family with.

If you'd like to do a little research of your own on Dubuque history, Aaron said he recommends checking out the Encyclopedia Dubuque Website, which has a ton of great stuff.

If you have friends or family visiting the city this summer, check out one of the cool local bus tours Aaron is featuring at the Midwest Bus Trips website.

~Chris Farber