Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Shullsburg
This Tinytown with the inspirational street names of Charity, Friendship, Justice, Mercy,
Hope, and Judgment (and the inexplicable Cyclops) was founded by a trader and platted by
apriest.Thecitystillhasa19th-centuryfeel,withfourdozenorsomuseum-piece—mostly
Vernacular—buildings along its Water Street Commercial Historic District, built mostly
between 1840 and the turn of the 20th century. There are no despoiling tactless gentrifica-
tion and clapboard fakeries yet.
A walk-through museum of mining life known as the
Badger Mine
(279 W. Estey
St.,608/965-4860,noon-4pmWed.-Thurs.,11am-4pmFri.-Sun.summers,$5adults)show-
casestheerstwhileBadgerLotDiggings,datingfromthe1820s.Toursdescendthesame51
steps the miners took into the ore shafts, extending about a quarter-mile into the hillsides.
Other lead mines exist and are open to the public, but none this extensive. Among aging
artifacts, keep an eye open for Jefferson Davis's John Hancock on the old Brewster Hotel
register book.
Outside of town to the south is
Gravity Hill,
a supernaturally charged hill where cars
drift backward up a hill, or so it appears. Ask for directions in town.
A number of historic inns line downtown Water Street, including the most economical
(and historic)
Water Street Place
(202 W. Water St., 608/482-1438,
www.waterstreetplace.com
,
from $75), which was originally a bank.
The
Brewster Cafe
(208 W. Water St., 608/965-4485, $3 and up), in a renovated 1880s
creamery, is a gem and also has a sister-operation cheese store. Pasties, served Thursdays,
supplement the café fare.
Benton
In this former mining hub once named Cottonwood Hill, all that's left are the tailing piles.
Benton is the final resting spot of Friar Samuel Mazzuchelli, the intrepid priest and archi-
tectural maven who designed two dozen of the regional buildings and communities (and
gave Shullsburg its sweet street names), who's buried in St. Patrick Church cemetery. The
church itself was the first stone structure in the area, and Mazzuchelli's restored home is
on the church grounds; ask at the new rectory for tour details. Mazzuchelli's 1844 mas-
terpiece, the church of St. Augustine, is in New Diggings, about five miles southeast, the
priest's last still-intact wood structure, though a half-million-dollar restoration has given it
anewsheen.OnlyoneMassayearisheldhere,at2:30pmonthelastSundayofSeptember.
Otherwise, it's open 1pm-4pm Sunday, late May-late September. If religious peregrination
doesn't compel you, local taverns offer other entertainment.
