Dubuque County Historical Society Receives DRA Core Grant for Mathias Ham House Restoration

The Dubuque County Historical Society (DCHS) has been awarded $25,000 in funding support from the DRA Core Grant Program. Funding will support the restoration of the Mathias Ham House, a National Register of Historic Places, located at 2241 Lincoln Avenue in Dubuque. The Mathias Ham Historic Site is operated by DCHS as a museum providing visitors with key informal learning through programs, tours, and events. DCHS is currently engaged in a multi-year restoration of the Mathias Ham House, built in 1857. Guided by the House's Historic Structure Report, the project will address windows, doors, masonry, plaster, finishes, floors, decoratives, painting, and more. The project will result in the long-term preservation of this historic structure and city landmark.

DCHS is among the 52 organizations across the tri-state area to receive DRA Core Grant funding in 2025. The DRA, a leading gaming and entertainment organization in Dubuque, awarded more than $1 million in grant funding in July. Since 1985, the DRA has awarded $60 million to local charities.

"While many homeowners understand the importance of a healthy roof or steady foundation the preservation work at the Historic Ham House goes beyond the physical structure," said Emma Sundberg, DCHS Director of Curatorial Services. "Preserving the form helps our interpreters continue to weave stories of local resources from its limestone, observe hallmarks of social class found in the decorative finishings and narrate the development of Dubuque from a perspective of Mathias Ham to now, more than 180 years later."