National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form

NPS Form 10-900-D OM3 No. 7024-0018 (Ja". 1987) United States Department of the Interior RECEIVED National Park Service OCT 2 01988 National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form This form is for use in documenting multiple property groups relating to one or several historic contexts. See instructions in Guidelines for Completing National Register Forms (National Register Bulletin 16). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the requested information. For additional space, use continuation sheets (Form 10-900-a). Type all entries. A. Name of Multiple Property Listing__________________________________________ Mines of Spain Archaeological Property Group____________________________ B. Associated Historic Contexts_______________________________________________ _Prehistoric contextsj:______________________________________________ Eastern Archaic Tradition in the Mines of Spain (9000 B.C.^-450 B.C..)______ Mississippi Basin Woodland in the Mines of Spain (450 B.C.-A.D. 1250^______ (see continuation sheet) C. Geographical Data Mines of Spain State Recreation Area, Dubuque County, Iowa See continuation sheet D. Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this documentation form meets the National Register documentation standards and sets forth requirements for the listing of related properties consistent with the National Register criteria. This submission meets the procedural and professional ^requirements fefet forth|in 36 CFR Part 60 and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Planning and Evaluation. naturejpf edifying officia Date 4 State or Federal agency and bureau r, certify that this multiple property documentation form has been approved by the National Register as a basis >r AvaluaLing rented pr0per>*?s for>A listing in the National Register. iq/ature of the National Register Date L__J-_-l. NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number __JL_ Page___l_ CFN-259-1116 B. ASSOCIATED HISTORIC CONTEXTS Historic Contexts: Indian Contact, Conflict, Dispossession Along the Upper Mississippi and Lower Missouri River Valleys (1720-1860) Mining and Bulk Products: Lead Mining in the Mines of Spain (1830-191*0 Special Purpose Settlements: Lead Mining Communities in the Mines of Spain (1830-1860S) The Changing Iowa Farm: The Agricultural Rural Community in the Mines of Spain (1836-1925) General Manufacturing: Lumber Milling (1860-l890s) Boosterism in Iowa: A Celebration of Community Roots (ca. 1870-1940) NPS Form 10-900-a 0MB Approval No. 1024-0018 (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number __£__ Page 1 ________^_____________^________________CFN-259-1TI6 C. GEOGRAPHIC DATA The 1273 acre Mines of Spain State Recreation Area lies less than one-quarter of a mile south of the City limits of Dubuque: roughly south of the Illinois Central Railroad line, east of U.S. Highv/ay 52, north of an unnamed creek which empties into the Mississippi River at Massey Station, and west of the Mississippi River. Containing an irregular west boundary, the land management unit varies between 0.125 to 1.125 miles in width and is 3.375 miles in length. It is located in portions of sections 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10, T88N," R13E (Mosalem Township) and a small portion of the southeast corner of secton 1,. T88N, R2E (Table Mount Township). The Mines of Spain Recreation Area is located within the Paleozoic physiographic region (Prior 1976). The Paleolzoic Plateau is found in the northeastern most corner of Iowa and in adjacent regions of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. This area is generally described as the Quad-State Region of the Upper Mississippi River Valley which also falls within the driftless region (Pruszko 1983). The land surrounding the Paleozoic Plateau has been shaped primarily by Pleistocene age glacial deposits which have been subsequently eroded into the -gently rolling landscape so characterisitc of the Midwest. The Paleozoic Plateau is anomalous in that it has been only minimally influenced by glaciation. Its terrain is dominated by deeply dissected bedrock of Silurian, Ordovician, and Cambrian age. The uplands consist of both pre-Wisconsin and Wisconsin age landforms. The pre-Wisconsin landscape generally occurs above 700 feet in elevation and consists of gentle to moderately sloping, concave risers stepping up and away from valley floors. These risers are remnants of pre-Wisconsin plains, slopes, and valleys. Remnants of the Lancaster Plain occur above 800 feet with a prominent upper level at 870 feet and a lower level at 820 feet. Two major pre-Wisconsin benches occur below the Lancaster Plain at 750 and 700 feet in elevation. As the Wisconsin stage set in about 75,000 years ago with a cooler, moister climatic regime, the broadly meandering channels of pre-Wisconsin age underwent entrenchment. As a result, the Wisconsin landscape is comprised primarily of steep slopes and bluffs and various bench and terrace remnants. Talus slopes formed in many places and exposure of the underlying carbonate rock to perigl«cial phenomenon caused large blocks to detach, thus forming overhangs and creating rockshelters. Some rockshelters v/ere formed by stream undercutting. Bench-terrace remnants which are the record of a complex history of downcutting and stream capture in the region occur at 650, 640, NFS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number __9__ Page__JL_ ________________________________________________________________________________________________CFN-259-1116 630, 620, 610, and 605 feet above sea level. The Holocene landscape consists primarily of alluvial and fluvial land forms in the bottomlands. In some cases, they cover the Wisconsin landforms which are as much as 630 feet in elevation. The most extensive Holocene feature on the landscape is the loess-derived soil. This occurs on Holocene, Wisconsin, and pre-V/isconsin landforms in deposits up to 50 cm. to 70 cm. thick. It is the Holocene deposits which contain most of the cultural remains in the Mines of Spain Area. During late Pleistocene/early Holocene times (ca. 12,000 to 10,000 B.P.), the native vegetation was dominated' by spruce forests. Pine-birch forests emerged about 10,300 years ago as the climate warmed, to be replaced by essentially modern native vegetation communities about 9,500 years ago (Abbott 1983). In the uplands are found mesic deciduous forest dominated by oak, hickory and other species. Dry mesic and dry deciduous forests are found on valley slopes where soils are thin and runoff rapid. Oak and hickory are-predominate here also, but cedar glades may be found. Wet mesic forests are found in the bottomlands where soils are. deep and runoff is received from the slopes above. Maple and other species flourish in th*e lowlands. The variation in forest types is controlled primarily b_y soil depth and type,_ drainage characteristics, and slope steepness. Concomitant with the diversity in forest type is a diversity of small flora and fauna (Prior 1984). The same factors which control the forest types also serve to create many micro-ecological areas, including isolated and very limited patches of prairie which support grasses and flowering plants that are rare and in some cases endangered in this part of Iowa. The forests suport healthy populations of white-tailed deer, and woodlands in the floodplains provide important nesting habitats for migratory raptors. In human terms, the end results is a region with a wide variety of available resources. The Mississippi River, which borders the eastern edge of the Mines of Spain Area, constitutes a significant geographical feature of the area. It is this river which created the alluvial flats and terraces in the bottomlands. It also is a source of permanent water and supplies a" significant diversity and quantity of biotic resources. In addition, it represents a major conduit of transportation, communication, and trade in both prehistoric and historic times. While the geologic formations of the Mines of Spain Area are found throughout the Midwest, their exposure on the Paleozoic Plateau is significant in that geologic resources were made accessible for exploitation. Regional warping of the Paleozoic age created a pattern of fractures and joints in the carbonate rock which allowed for the hydrothermal emplacement of lead-zinc ore, NFS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number c Page 3 ________________________________________________________________ ______^__________________CFN-259-1116 including the mineral galena. It is the galena which was mined prehjstorically and historically,an activity which gave the Mines of Spain its name and early fame. Chert' 'deposits in the carbonate rock were available for prehistoric utilization, as was clay in the alluvial deposits of the bottomlands. Thus, the Mines of Spain Area represents a uniqe, highly diverse geographic region in the Upper Midwest. A highly varied set of geologic and biotic resources were available for exploitation both historically and

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