View source for Mathias Ham House

{{short description|Historic house in Iowa, United States}}
{{for|the 17th-century mansion in the United Kingdom|Ham House}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name         = Mathias Ham House
| nrhp_type    =
| image        = Mathias_Ham_House_01.jpg
| caption      = Mathias Ham House January 2012
| location     = 2241 Lincoln Ave.<br>[[Dubuque, Iowa]]
| coordinates  = {{coord|42|31|53|N|90|39|2|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin     = Iowa#USA
| area         =
| built        = 1856
| architect    = [[John F. Rague]]<ref name="Mathias Ham House">{{cite web|website=City of Dubuque|url=http://www.cityofdubuque.org/708/Mathias-Ham-House|title=Mathias Ham House}}</ref>
| architecture = Late Victorian
| added        = July 19, 1976
| refnum       = 76000764
<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>
}}

The '''Mathias Ham House''' is a 19th-century house in [[Dubuque, Iowa]], that is on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].  It is located at the intersection of Shiras and Lincoln Avenues,<ref name="Mathias Ham House"/> near the entrances to [[Eagle Point Park]] and Riverview Park.<ref name="Mathias Ham House, Dubuque, Iowa">{{cite web|website=Iowa Beautiful|url=http://www.iowabeautiful.com/east-iowa-tourism/424-mathias-ham-house-dubuque-iowa.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060404221918/http://www.iowabeautiful.com/east-iowa-tourism/424-mathias-ham-house-dubuque-iowa.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=April 4, 2006|title=Mathias Ham House, Dubuque, Iowa}}</ref>

==Description==
The house was designed by [[John F. Rague]] and built for local businessman and [[lead]] miner [[Mathias Ham]] in 1857.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}<!--Dubuque County Historical Society?--> Ham had owned an island in the [[Mississippi River]] at Dubuque, called [[Ham's Island]] (which has since renamed City Island and then Chaplain Schmitt Memorial Island, after Father [[Aloysius Schmitt]]).<ref>{{cite web|website=Encyclopedia Dubuque|url=http://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php?title=CITY_ISLAND|title=City Island}}</ref>  The architect, John F. Rague, who had designed the original state capitol buildings at [[Springfield, Illinois]] and at [[Iowa City, Iowa]], designed the house in the [[Italian Villa style]].<ref name="Mathias Ham House"/>

The Mathias Ham House has been restored and transformed into a museum showcasing life during the [[Antebellum era]]; it contains American and European furnishings from that period. The property also features the Louis Arriandeaux Log House, a double log cabin<ref name="Mathias Ham House, Dubuque, Iowa"/> in the [[Dogtrot house|dogtrot style]], which is considered the oldest building in Iowa. The cabin was built in 1833 at 2nd and Locust Streets in Dubuque, then moved to [[Eagle Point Park]] in Dubuque before being moved to the Mathias Ham House Historic Site.<ref name="Mathias Ham House"/>

Additionally, a one-room schoolhouse (the former Humke School) was relocated to the property. A replica [[mine shaft]] and "badger hole" or "badger hut" were constructed on the property to educate the public about Dubuque's lead mining history.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

==Museum==
The museum is operated by the Dubuque County Historical Society, which also operates the [[National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium]].<ref name="Mathias Ham House"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Mathias Ham House}}
* [http://www.mississippirivermuseum.com/features_historicsites_ham.cfm Ham House Museum Information Page]

{{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{NRHP in Dubuque, Iowa}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ham, Mathias House}}
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Dubuque, Iowa]]
[[Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa]]
[[Category:Historic house museums in Iowa]]
[[Category:Museums in Dubuque, Iowa]]
[[Category:Houses in Dubuque, Iowa]]