"Lead was discovered in the fall of 1827 by Patrick O'Meara, familiarly known as 'the Dodgeville Peddler.' On the banks of Peddler's Creek, he accidentally stumbled across the first lead ever discovered in the township."

One year later in 1828, four miles to the east, lead was discovered in Mineral Point.  The discovery resulted in the settlement of this region by thousands of miners, mostly from Cornwall, England, who ultimately gave Mineral Point its quaint stone architecture, its food and customs.