Here’s Henry Beaver Dodge, celebrating National Miners’ Day on the 6th of December. As we know, Henry Dodge was the first Governor of Wisconsin Territory. He was also a miner and he worked a large claim in “Dodge’s Camp,” or what we now call Dodgeville.
The abundance of lead, zinc, and iron ore brought thousands of miners into early Wisconsin. Indeed, we became known as the Badger State, because early miners often lived in “badger holes” they dug in hillsides near the mines. And one of our famous traditional Wisconsin foods (pasties) was the perfect “pocket” food for the miners from Cornwall who settled in and around Mineral Point.
Right here in Dodge County, iron ore was discovered near Mayville and was mined at nearby Iron Ridge until about 1915.
