Rockdale, Iowa

Rockdale, Iowa was a small unincorporated village formerly located just south of Dubuque, Iowa between Dubuque and Key West, Iowa. The village was situated on the Catfish Creek in Dubuque County, Iowa, and was the site of one of the first mills in the state of Iowa.

History

In 1834 or 1835 David Hutton and his son built a mill built of logs. Initially the mill was known as "The Catfish Mills." In 1839 the mill was sold. James Pratt and Walter Manson purchased the mill in 1840, and they renamed the mill "Rockford Mill." They replaced the original log building with a fram building four stories high. This mill could produce 90,000 bushels of wheat annually, and the flour produced was equal in quality to the flour produced in St. Louis, Missouri. As a result, the mill enjoyed a monolopy in the upper midwest until the establishment of other mills. Pratt and Munson would operate this mill for the next 25 years. During this time Rockdale was a crossroads for farmers in the area.

Operations at the Rockdale Mill were temporarily halted due to the Rockdale Flood. The mill would eventually start producing flour once again. In 1878 the mill burned to the ground. Thomas Watters Jr. rebuilt the mill as a stone structure. He changed the name to the South Dubuque Mill. J.F. Gondolfo would purchase the mill in 1885. He made repairs, and the mill continued to produce flour for a number of years. In 1901 the mill would be leased out to a company that ran the mill for the next 14 years. In 1915 the mill was finally shut down. For a time it was used as a dairy barn until it was destroyed by fire in 1927.

The village would eventually grow to include a saloon, hotel, stores, blacksmith shop, several homes, and a post office. The villagers built a Methodist church built out of logs in the 1830's. In 1874 the present structure was built at 1500 Old Mill Road.

The Rockdale Flood

On July 4, 1876, Rockdale would be the site of one of the worst flooding disasters in the history of the area. For most of the day those living in the area celebrated the 100th anniversary of the nation. As night approached the celebrations wrapped up. Around 10 p.m. a light drizzle began falling. Soon this drizzle turned into a downpour of rain. The Catfish Creek soon jumped out of its bank and broke the mill dam which was upstream of the village.

The resulting wall of water - which was estimated to be 20 feet deep and hundreds of feet wide - swept through the village. By the time the flood was over the mill and one house would be the only buildings still standing. In Rockdale forty-two people died in the flood, while in Dubuque only one person died. Survivors were found in the tree tops where the flood waters had swept them. Charles Thimmesch - a local barkeeper - survived with an incredible tale of escape. He had climbed on the roof of the post office after warning others of the flood. Thimmesch escaped by swimming naked to higher ground with his money in his mouth. As a result of the destruction, the village was never the same. Most of the people living in the village had died during the floods.

Aftermath

Along with the floods, the shutting down of the mill and eventual construction of highways for automobile traffic would mean the end of Rockdale as a crossroads. The highways built all bypassed the Rockdale area. The Rockdale area was annexed by the city of Dubuque, and is now entirely within the city. While some local commuter traffic passes through the area due to Kelly Lane being nearby, most traffic uses U.S. Highway 151 and 61 and completely bypasses the area.