Blue Mounds Area Historical Society

Rounding up its Rich Past 02/21/2005 By Barry Adams

This is the article that garnered us much attention!

The reminders of the past are often missed by those who come to ski, hike, camp and swim at Blue Mound State Park.

Cindy Downs and a handful of others believe that should change.

They want visitors to know of the old fort, of Pokerville and of Ebenezer Brigham, the first white permanent settler of Dane County who came to the area in 1828 to mine for lead.

Downs and the others who will meet tonight to form the Blue Mounds Historical Society say the time has come for the village to tout its history, something that in the past has been left to their neighbors to the east in Mount Horeb.

"We don't want to encroach on Mount Horeb, but we want to preserve what is uniquely ours," she said. "There's so much here. It'd be nice to have it preserved here."

Organizers have started to fill a faded, green three-ring binder with newspaper clippings, biographies, stories and photos of the people and places of the Blue Mounds area. The dream is to have a collection of artifacts on permanent display.

That's why the historical society's founders hope the Village Board bids on the building that once housed Blue Mounds State Bank. Located on Main Street, it hasn't been used as a bank for decades. But the building is a piece of the village's history that could offer a perfect place to tell the village's story, they say. It goes up for auction at noon on March 4.

If the village buys the building, it could donate it to the historical society and a museum could be created there. The 20-foot by 30-foot brick building could also be moved and the land sold, said Village Board member Alan Downs, Cindy Downs' husband.

The building, which has no plumbing or central heating system and a dirt-floor basement, has an assessed value of just over $15,000. Auctioneer Richard Lust said there is no minimum bid. "We've had moderate interest in it," Lust said. "It's a beautiful, historic building."

The tin ceiling is rusted but natural light floods the structure thanks to four large windows, each about 8-feet wide and 6-feet high. And there are two vaults. One, built by the Victor Safe & Lock Company of Cincinnati, has its combination written on a folded piece of typing paper and stuffed into the safe's mechanisms last week when Downs toured the building.

"I'm just trying to imagine this in use," Downs said of the bank, which later served as a post office and as storage space. "I can see it would need a ton of work, but it would be very neat."

Artist Larry Welo, who has a studio across the street in the village's old opera house, would like to see the bank preserved.

"Everybody who comes here asks me about it," Welo said. "It catches people's eye. I'd hate to see it torn down."

Joan Schneeberger is teaming with Cindy Downs to get the Historical Society on its feet. Schneeberger was active in the Cross Plains/Berry Historical Society for about 30 years, but has lived in Blue Mounds since 1995. Gathering the past is the most daunting of the tasks facing the society. Members also must write for grant money and do other fundraising."I think once people realize we're serious about this issue, we may find that people will be a little more willing to give us things," Schneeberger said. Items that could be part of the historical society could include mining and farming equipment, items from local businesses, school pictures and family histories. University of Wisconsin basketball player Mike Wilkinson, a Blue Mounds native, would probably get a display.

There are also artifacts housed at other museums that may be more appropriate for Blue Mounds once a permanent facility is found.

For example, Downs said the Wisconsin Historical Society has artifacts recovered from Blue Mounds Fort, which was about a half-mile south of what is now Highway 151. The fort was built in May of 1832 by Brigham and other settlers because of the Black Hawk War, but was only used until September of that year.

Schneeberger and Downs envision the fort someday being rebuilt with a visitors center.

"We have such a rich history. It's amazing someone here in town didn't start something sooner," Schneeberger said.

\ If you go

* What: Blue Mounds Historical Society meeting

* When: 7 p.m. today

* Where: West Blue Mounds Lutheran Church

* Why: To elect officers and form the historical society

* For more information: Contact Cindy Downs at (608) 437-4688.