Iowa All Over: The last lockmaster’s house on the Mississippi

GUTTENBERG - Founded in 1837, Guttenberg in Clayton County is home to the Lockmaster's House Heritage Museum, the sole remaining lockmaster house on the Upper Mississippi River.

The house was built in 1937. The lockmaster and assistant lockmaster of the Army Corps of Engineers's lock and dam system were previously required to live in the house.

A lockmaster, explained Joe Ihm, chairman of the Guttenberg Heritage Society, 'will schedule maintenance, supervise things, he should be really knowledgeable about lock and dam operation in case they have to troubleshoot something. He is the boss.”

During navigation season, the lockmaster would supervise workers and help them with operation of the lock and dam, Ihm said. In the summer, the lockmaster would supervise five people.

Lock and Dam number 10 in Guttenberg was built in 1935. When it was built, there were two identical homes on each lock and dam property, one for the lockmaster and one for the assistance lockmaster, Ihm said.

There originally were 26 lock and dams along the Mississippi, stretching from St. Paul, Minn., to St. Louis, Ihm said, with one house for each the lockmaster and assistant lockmaster - each built using the same blueprint. Today, there are 29 lock and dams along the same stretch. All but one still are operational.

'In the 1970s they said, ‘If either the lockmaster or assistant chose not to live here, they could,' Ihm said. 'As soon as the assistant lockmaster vacated the other house that was on this property, it was sold and moved.

'Gradually through the years, this is the last lockmaster's house left on the Mississippi River.”

The house was occupied until 1990. In 1991, a group of community members formed the Guttenberg Heritage Society to operate the house as a museum and leased the house from the Army Corps of Engineers.

The Heritage Society maintains the interior and the Army Corps takes care of the grounds and exterior.

In 1993, Guttenberg Heritage members started collecting articles to furnish the house to look as it did when it was first constructed in 1937.

Today, visitors to the museum can walk from room to room. In the basement, there is a photo display of construction of the lock and dam and the lockmaster's house. The museum also contains photos and information about Guttenberg's history.

The museum is a popular attraction in Clayton County, Ihm said, with some 2,500 people coming through the museum a year. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

'The Mississippi is attractive to people worldwide,” he said. 'We have people come here from Australia, from Germany, from Mexico, from Norway. The Mississippi River is a destination, and with the lock and dam right in the center of town, all these people come into town, they walk the streets, they shop, they eat.

'The lock and dam is important to the town.”

If you go

' What: Lockmaster's House Heritage Museum

' Where: Lock and Dam Lane, Guttenberg

' Hours: Noon to 4 p.m., Memorial Day through Labor Day, occasional weekends and weekdays in September, year-round by appointment

' Admission: Free, though donations accepted

' For more information, call (563) 252-1531