AN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL STUDY OF THE LEAD 

 REGION IN IOWA, ILLINOIS, AND WISCONSIN. 



BY O. G. LIBEY, PH. D., 

 Instructor in History, University of Wisconsin. 



F. BELI.E STANTOX, B. L., BERNARD H. PALMER, B. E., AXD 



ALLARD J. SMITH, B. L. 



i:N^TKODUCTIO:Nr. 



In the summer of 1898 the Wisconsin Historical Society held 

 a meeting on one of the days dnring which Avas celebrated the 

 semi-centennial of the state, and at this meeting several papers 

 were read, representing in a certain local fashion the different 

 sections of our state. It was my good fortune to be assigned to 

 the section of the south-west, and the new material discovered 

 during the preparatory investigation was sufficiently valuable 

 to arouse curiosity and stimulate further and more exhaustive 

 treatment. Some of the results of this study of local conditions 

 in the lead region of the states of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin 

 are herewith presented. The region chosen is one peculiarly 

 fitted for study of this kind. Several important social and eco- 

 nomic transformations have taken place during its history, 

 transformations that overlaid rather than obliterated the older 

 conditions of population, industry and wealth, so that each 

 epoch can be studied just as certainly as can the geological 

 periods for the same area. 



The ultimate purpose of this species of investigation is first to 

 arrive at a completer knowledge of the history of the towns and 

 counties in the state than is now possible from the perusal of 

 the trash that has been printed under the title of county his- 

 tories. Secondlv, the aim is to examine the available census 



