198 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, 



pour into nortliern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. So rapid 

 was the growth that Wisconsin became an independent territory 

 in 1836. ^ From this time on down to the middle of the century, 

 there continued to be great activity in the mines. The maxi- 

 mum production was reached between the years 1845-47. The 

 falling off in activity, commencing after 1848, was very prob- 

 ably due to the discovery of gold in California. About this time 

 the miners beo-an to leave and the activitv in the lead retrion has 

 never been so great as in former days." 



At first only the lead ores were utilized, but by 1860 the zinc 

 came to be mined as well.- In recent years there has been a re- 

 vival in interest, and the future may see even greater operations 

 when it becomes possible to make use of improved machinery. ^ 



A region such as this, distinct from the rest of the state in its 

 resources, and presenting such an interesting chapter in Wiscon- 

 sin history, naturally creates a desirable field for study both for 

 the geologist and for the historian. On its geological side the 

 region has been very thoroughly studied, but from the historical 

 and especiall}' from the economic side, the study is far from com- 

 plete. It is this latter phase which is the subject of the pres- 

 ent paper. A small but well defined section in*the lead region 

 has been chosen with a view of studyins: its economic life and 

 of trying to understand the conditions in a region with either 

 a declining or stationary population. The study being a very 

 limited one, few definite conclusions can yet be drawm, but it is 

 proposed to state some of the problems and suggest a possible 

 solution. 



The region chosen for special study consists of nineteen town- 

 ships in the counties of Grant and Lafayette. This group of 

 townships is the oldest and at one time was the most active of 

 all the lead regions. The seven towns of Grant county are 

 Jamesto^vn, Hazel Green, Potosi, Smelzer, Harrison, Platteville 



1 Material for the history of the lead region may be found in Thwaites, Story of Wis- 

 consin, and in the histories of Grant and Lafayette Counties ; also, Thwaites, Early Lead 

 Mining in Illinois and Wisconsin, American Historical Association, 1893, pp. 191-6. 



2 For a fuller discussion of these points see Libby, Significance of the Lead and Shot 

 Trade in Early Wisconsin History, Wisconsin Historical Collections, XIII. 



^ See Milwaukee Sentinel, Nov. 5, 1899, for an excellent presentation of this phase of 

 the matter. 



