The first European settlement at Mineral Point began in 1827. One of the first settlers to the area was
Henry Dodge and his family who settled a few miles away from Mineral Point. During the following year, large quantities of
galena, or
lead ore, were discovered around the settlement in shallow deposits. Lead had many uses at the time, and settlers began to flock to the region hoping to make a living by extracting the easily accessible mineral. Lead deposits extended throughout an area that also included
Dubuque, Iowa and
Galena, Illinois, but Mineral Point became the center of lead mining operations within the bounds of present-day Wisconsin (then part of
Michigan Territory). By 1829, the region's growing population led to the creation of
Iowa County, which included all of the lead mining lands within the territory. Mineral Point was established as the
county seat later that year. During the
Black Hawk War of 1832, residents of Mineral Point built
Fort Jackson to protect the town from a possible attack. The young settlement's importance was further confirmed in 1834 when it was selected as the site of one of two federal land offices responsible for distributing
public land to settlers within the area that now encompasses Wisconsin. When the
Wisconsin Territory was created in 1836, Mineral Point hosted the
inauguration of the first territorial governor,
Henry Dodge, and the territorial secretary,
John S. Horner. During the ceremony, a design by Horner was officially recognized as the Great Seal of Wisconsin Territory. It displayed an arm holding a
pickaxe over a pile of lead ore, demonstrating the importance of Mineral Point's early mining economy to the new territory. A census conducted in the months after the inauguration showed that Iowa County had 5,234 inhabitants, making it the most populous county in the Wisconsin Territory east of the Mississippi River. Mineral Point remained an important lead mining center during the 1840s. Although the most easily accessible lead deposits on the surface were being exhausted by this time, new immigrants began to arrive with more refined techniques for extracting ore. The largest group came from
Cornwall, which had been a mining center for centuries. Experienced
Cornish miners were attracted to the lead mining opportunities in Mineral Point, and by 1845 roughly half of the town's population had
Cornish ancestry. The original dwellings of some of these early
Cornish immigrants have been restored at the
Pendarvis Historic Site in Mineral Point. Lead continued to be produced in abundant quantities by the
Cornish miners, and in 1847, the
Mineral Point Tribune reported that the town's furnaces were producing 43,800 pounds (19,900 kg) of lead each day. Mining activity in Mineral Point began to decline in the following years. In 1848, the same year that Wisconsin achieved statehood,
gold was discovered in
California. Many experienced miners left Mineral Point to look for gold, and in all, the town lost 700 people during the
California Gold Rush. While the lead industry in Mineral Point continued into the 1860s, the town never recovered its former importance. In November 1858, the residents of Iowa County voted to move the county seat to nearby
Dodgeville by a majority of 350. Mineral Point contested this election, accusing some residents of Dodgeville of corruption, and asserting that the law enabling the election was not sufficiently publicised. The case was elevated to the
Wisconsin Supreme Court, and Judge
Byron Paine delivered the proceeding opinion in favour of Mineral Point on July 11, 1859, following which the residents of Mineral Point fired a cannon towards Dodgeville in celebration. An intense rivalry was harbored between the two towns, and a renewed election took place on April 2, 1861, during which a majority again voted to move the county seat to Dodgeville, where it remains today. Zinc mining and processing continued on a large scale until the 1920s. In 1897,
Robert M. La Follette gave his "The danger threatening representative government" speech in Mineral Point. In the 1930s, resident Robert Neal, together with his partner Edgar Hellum, aimed to preserve some of the history of the Cornish miners' and settlers' stone structures. Over the next decades, they bought and restored buildings, and turned one into a popular Cornish restaurant attracting tourists. They had both studied art and worked to attract other artists to move to the area. These buildings are now the
Pendarvis Historic Site. ==Geography==