Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
You may as well take a side trip on your way from Cassville, since you won't see the river
anyway. Lancaster, known as the “City of the Dome,” is a 15-mile jump up the road. Once
you see the glass-and-copper-topped dome of the courthouse, modeled after St. Peter's Ba-
silica,you'llknowwhy.OrgetaganderattheCivilWarMonumentandGAR(GrandArmy
of the Republic) display on the grounds, the first such memorial in the United States.
From Lancaster, take the scenic country route along Highways N and U to Potosi.
The state's self-proclaimed “Catfish Capital,” the town proudly boasts the longest main
streetintheworldwithoutanintersection.That'sthreemileswithoutastoporacrossstreet.
Potosi was the earliest in the state to open a mine, and the last to close one; the town name
even means “mineral wealth.” “Badger huts,” the hastily constructed sleeping quarters that
lead miners burrowed into hillsides, inspiring the state's nickname, can still be seen in the
bluffs above the town. The largest port on the upper Mississippi, predating statehood, and
the lead mines supplying Union forces (as well as, some say, the Confederates) solidified
the local economy to the extent that Potosi real estate was the most valuable in the state by
1850.
Potosi even has the
National Brewery Museum
(209 S. Main St., 608/763-4002, $5).
Little Potosi beat out St. Louis and Milwaukee for this baby due to the history of the town
but also the extraordinary passion of the citizenry. It's actually within the old complex of
the Potosi Brewing Co., which started in 1852 and brewed possibly millions of gallons of
beeruntilhardtimeskilleditoffin1972.Itwasthisclosetodestruction,butthecommunity
rallied,raisedsome$7million,andtransformeditintoanamazingcomplex,whichalsohas
a free transportation museum and, if that weren't enough, a Great River Road interpretive
center and a restaurant/pub. You absolutely cannot miss this giant oasis. Many travelers on
the Great River Road stop here for a breather (or a burger). All of this is open 10am-9pm
daily.
