“If Ordinary Walls Could Talk: Piecing Together the History of My House,” Wisconsin Magazine of History, 2008. In this article, historian Mark Speltz—a previous guest curator for Wisco Histo—uses tax and insurance records, newspapers, and interviews with former residents to trace the history of his Mineral Point home. via: Wisconsin Magazine of History, Wisconsin Historical Society
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“If Ordinary Walls Could Talk: Piecing Together the History of My House,” Wisconsin Magazine of History, 2008.

In this article, historian Mark Speltz—a previous guest curator for Wisco Histo—uses tax and insurance records, newspapers, and interviews with former residents to trace the history of his Mineral Point home.

via: Wisconsin Magazine of History, Wisconsin Historical Society

Source: content.wisconsinhistory.org

508 Church Street, Mineral Point, Wisconsin, as seen ca. 1900 and 1971.

This house, built in 1855 for Harvey Keyes, shows only a few modifications between these two photographs—the first a glass negative taken around the turn of the 20th century and the second a slide captured as part of a buildings survey by UW-Madison Landscape Architecture students in 1971. Shutters and a tree in the front yard have been removed, wood siding replaced with aluminum, and a small garage added.

via: Mineral Point Historical Society

Source: content.wisconsinhistory.org

Henry Alley at High Street, Mineral Point, Wisconsin, ca. 1900. Three women contend with Mineral Point’s impressively hilly landscape as they ascend a board sidewalk to High Street. The street’s name—High Street, not Main Street—reflects the influence of the Cornish settlers who came to the community in the 1830s and 40s. “The High Street” is the common term for the main business street in British towns. via: Glass Plate Negative Collection, Mineral Point Historical Society
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Henry Alley at High Street, Mineral Point, Wisconsin, ca. 1900.

Three women contend with Mineral Point’s impressively hilly landscape as they ascend a board sidewalk to High Street. The street’s name—High Street, not Main Street—reflects the influence of the Cornish settlers who came to the community in the 1830s and 40s. “The High Street” is the common term for the main business street in British towns.

via: Glass Plate Negative Collection, Mineral Point Historical Society

Source: content.wisconsinhistory.org

Two women stand in the ruins of a lead smelter, Mineral Point, 1880-1910. Smelting was an essential step in the process of getting valuable lead from mine to market. Lead-bearing ore was heated in log furnaces to melt the lead, which ran out into clay molds and re-solidified. This “pig lead” was shipped throughout the country and used to manufacture a variety of products including lead shot. By the time these women posed for a photo in the ruins of this stone smelting furnace, Mineral Point’s lead mining industry was long gone. However, mining operations—of zinc, not lead—continued in the community through the turn of the century. via: Glass Plate Negative Collection, Mineral Point Historical Society
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Two women stand in the ruins of a lead smelter, Mineral Point, 1880-1910.

Smelting was an essential step in the process of getting valuable lead from mine to market. Lead-bearing ore was heated in log furnaces to melt the lead, which ran out into clay molds and re-solidified. This “pig lead” was shipped throughout the country and used to manufacture a variety of products including lead shot.

By the time these women posed for a photo in the ruins of this stone smelting furnace, Mineral Point’s lead mining industry was long gone. However, mining operations—of zinc, not lead—continued in the community through the turn of the century.

via: Glass Plate Negative Collection, Mineral Point Historical Society

Source: content.wisconsinhistory.org

Bird’s eye view of Mineral Point, Wisconsin, 1872. This week we’re starting another series—taking a closer look at specific Wisconsin communities. We’ll start with Mineral Point, one of the state’s oldest cities. Mineral Point was formally established in 1827, named for the rich lead deposits—“mineral”—that attracted miners and speculators from far and wide. By 1872, as pictured here, Mineral Point was a thriving commercial center. via: Historical Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society
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Bird’s eye view of Mineral Point, Wisconsin, 1872.

This week we’re starting another series—taking a closer look at specific Wisconsin communities. We’ll start with Mineral Point, one of the state’s oldest cities. Mineral Point was formally established in 1827, named for the rich lead deposits—“mineral”—that attracted miners and speculators from far and wide. By 1872, as pictured here, Mineral Point was a thriving commercial center.

via: Historical Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society

Source: content.wisconsinhistory.org

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