The Dodge Mining Camp Cabin is a great glimpse into the minds, daily lives and building practices of the people who settled in the lead region of Southwest Wisconsin. “The cabin, built in 1827, has been designated Iowa County’s oldest building. The interpretive center documents the story of Governor Henry Dodge, the Black Hawk War, the crude beginnings of lead mining in Iowa County, and the actual construction handiwork of lead miners more than 170 years ago”*.
Location: 205 E Fountain St., Dodgeville, WI 53533
Open by appointment only.
Call (608) 935-7694 to arrange your visit
or email ichistory@mhtc.net
Imagine yourself in 1827 …
Winter approaches
You are cold and hungry in a strange land…
Your priorities: food shelter and smelting lead for income to stay alive
Never… would you believe all the changes in your little log cabin,
nor the changes in the world at the dawn of the twenty-first century.
Join us in a visit to a way of life in the American past which seems so far removed as to stagger belief.
1832: Cabin abandoned; Black Hawk War
1833-1844: Cabin moved; rebuilt with logs from abandoned nearby cabins
1840s: Siding and Greek Revival trim added 1833-1850: Accordion lath, plaster added
1860s: Civil War rages; kerosene lamps re¬placed candles
1920: Parents and seven children lived in cabin which included a small frame addition
1930s: Electricity installed for lighting only
1940s: World War II; composition siding covers pine clapboards and logs
1960: Last use as a home
1960–1980s: Used for early morning newspaper assembly — “The paper shack”
1987: Ken Palzkill Family donates cabin
1990s: Cabin evaluated by consultants
1998-2000: Cabin stabilized, moved, restored by generous efforts of many citizens