Mineral Point, Wisconsin

Episode 64 / 5 April 2018 / 155 min / full

Dark Past, Scarier Present

"James: 'We're going to Mineral Point, Wisconsin'; southwestern Wisconsin, about an hour from Madison, in Iowa County" about 0:06:33

The case: Murders of Hans, Sally and Perry Zimmer, and the later crimes of covered name Zimmer (Jovan Anton 'name withheld here' Collier) (May 1983; later stalking cases 2009 to 2015). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2018

Population

2,494

Median age

almost 44

Median household income

about $53,000

Median home value

$135,500

Two-bedroom rent

about $700

Cost of living

96

Religious

49%

Property crime

▼ slightly less than average

Violent crime

▼ just under the average

History, in brief

• The town's motto is 'Where Wisconsin begins'. It covers 1.89 square miles, area code 608. about 0:08:23
• Smithsonian Magazine named Mineral Point one of the 20 best small towns to visit, according to the town website. about 0:09:28
• First European settlement at Mineral Point began in 1827; Henry Dodge and his family were among the first settlers. The following year large quantities of galena (lead ore) were found. about 0:10:53
• Lead deposits ran across the area into Dubuque, Iowa and Galena, Illinois, but Mineral Point became the centre of the mining operations. about 0:13:40
• In 1829 Iowa County was created and Mineral Point was established as the county seat later that year. about 0:13:58
• In the Black Hawk War of 1832, militia opened fire on a delegation on May 14th, 1832; the residents of Mineral Point built Fort Jackson to protect the town. about 0:15:37
• In 1834 Mineral Point was selected as the site of one of two federal land offices distributing public land to settlers in Wisconsin. about 0:16:32
• In the 1840s, with surface deposits gone, Cornish miners were brought in; by 1845 roughly half the town's population was Cornish. about 0:18:01
• The town's furnaces were producing 43,800 pounds of lead a day by 1847. about 0:18:21
• Gold was discovered in California in 1848 and the town lost 700 people to the Gold Rush; an Asiatic cholera epidemic in 1849 and 1850 killed 100 more. about 0:19:09
• Lead continued into the 1860s, then declined; zinc mines followed and the Cornish built stone cottages and businesses in the late 1800s. The city hall, with a library and opera house, was built in 1914. about 0:20:17
• The Wonders of Wisconsin website voted it most beautiful town and best historic town in 2008, and the entire city was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. about 0:21:20
• Gallery owner Leslie Bolin says the town has no t-shirt or knick-knack shops, only the grocery store, Chamber of Commerce and Dime Store sell t-shirts. about 0:21:48
• Its sister city is Redruth in Cornwall. about 0:22:23
• Notable people from the town include politicians, Major League Baseball players and Alan Ludden, host of Password. about 0:22:34
• The town is the end point of the 47-mile Cheese Country Trail and has a Railroad Museum; historic preservation weekend runs May 3rd through 6th. about 0:30:18

The reviews read out

Open the episode file