Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: John Roundtree’s Sword

John Rountree’s officer’s sword is thirty and three-quarters inches long from tip to pommel with a 26-inch blade of curved steel. When you hold it, it is eerie to know that this sword might have been used in actual battle by John…

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July 20, 2025

John Rountree's Sword / Grant County / 1787-1848 / Platteville / 1848-1877 / Mining Industry / Politics & Government / Region 6 - South West

John H. Rountree and the Founding of Platteville

By many measures, John H. Rountree fit the archetype of a successful 19th century American pioneer. Born in 1805 in Kentucky, he made his fortune staking a claim near the Platte River in the then lucrative lead mining region of southwestern Wisconsin,…

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July 20, 2025

Home Furnishings / Beetown / Grant County / Food & Cooking / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Pleasant Ridge / Everyday Life / 1900-1918 / Region 6 - South West

OBJECT HISTORY: Sanitary Metal Kitchen Cabinet

Kitchens form a central part of the American experience. The Sanitary Metal Kitchen Cabinet, also known as the Mound City Kitchen Safe (circa 1906), fits into the history of American cookery, American kitchens, and American consumerism. Originally owned by members of the…

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January 23, 2024

Broad History / Industry / Grant County / Education / Platteville / Related Stories / Mining Industry / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / Region 6 - South West / Ingersoll-Sergeant Pneumatic Rock Drill

Platteville’s Mining History

The Platteville lead boom spanned from 1827 to 1849, bringing diverse groups of people and the mining industry to what would later become southwest Wisconsin. In 1827, galena (lead ore) was discovered in Platteville by frontiersmen exploring the Northwest Territory, which included…

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December 21, 2022

Beetown / Grant County / Ethnicity & Identity / Iowa County / Related Stories / Pleasant Ridge / 1848-1877 / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / 1918-1945 / Society & Religion / Region 6 - South West / Ingersoll-Sergeant Pneumatic Rock Drill

Pleasant Ridge: Southwest Wisconsin’s Integrated Pioneer Community

Pleasant Ridge was a rural agricultural community located near present-day Beetown in central Grant County that was founded in 1850 by formerly enslaved African Americans. Pleasant Ridge is unique in that it was one of the first fully racially integrated communities in…

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December 21, 2022

Object Histories / Industry / Education / Grant County / Platteville / Mining Industry / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 6 - South West / Ingersoll-Sergeant Pneumatic Rock Drill

OBJECT HISTORY: Ingersoll-Sergeant Pneumatic Rock Drill

The Ingersoll-Sergeant pneumatic rock drill stands in front of the Rountree Hall Apartments in Platteville, serving as an important symbol of Platteville’s mining history. The drill was manufactured by the Ingersoll-Sergeant Rock Drill Co. sometime between 1888 and 1905. Continued improvements in…

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December 13, 2022