TH file photo

Cows graze lazily in front of vibrant colors near Hazel Green on a pleasant autumn day.

Area Attractions

Boscobel, WI

French explorers Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette made their way down the Wisconsin River in 1673. They were the first white men to make the trip. And on the way they noted the wooded hills and hollows.

"Bosque belle," they said. This is a place of "beautiful woods."

The name, as it turned out, stuck to a river town.

Today's Boscobel, population 2,706,"Wisconsin's Wild Turkey Hunting Capital," is a good place to rent a canoe or stop by the A&W; for a root beer float.

After your float - the river kind or the root beer kind - follow the signs through Boscobel until you find Wisconsin Avenue. You'll be on your way to Boscobel's historic downtown.

There you'll find stone buildings built at the turn-of-the-century. You'll find all the businesses that make any small town go, plus the historic Hotel Boscobel.

At the hotel, according to the roadside historical marker, two salesmen met by chance in September 1898 and then met few more times the following summer. John H. Nicholson and Samuel E. Hill, with the help of William J. Knights, had established the Gideon Commercial Travelers Association. The Gideons have since distributed some 15million Bibles to hotels, the armed forces and young people.

Head a few blocks north and you'll find the newly restored Boscobel Depot. It was the Milwaukee-Prairie du Chien Railroad, established in 1854, which helped supply and populate the Wisconsin River Valley.

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Cassville, WI

Stonefield Historic Site: Adjacent to Nelson Dewey State Park, the State Historical Society presents the story of early rural Wisconsin. The Society operates not only the Nelson Dewey homesite, which was the plantation of Wisconsin's first state governor, but also a re-created village of the 1890s and the State Agricultural Museum.

Stonefield was the name Dewey gave to the rock-studded 2,000-acre farm he established along the bluffs of the Mississippi, upriver from Cassville. He built Gothic revival stone barns and farm buildings and a large brick home. He practiced law and raised a variety of crops and livestock, at times employing as many as 50 people, who did everything from building stone fences to making furniture, wine and dairy products.

Dewey's lifestyle and wealth declined after 1873 with a national financial panic and a fire that destroyed his home. The home was rebuilt in the 1890s as a more modest summer residence. In 1936, the state acquired 700 acres of the property for a state park and a portion of the Dewey homestead was restored and refurbished. The Dewey buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The State Agricultural Museum portrays the history of agriculture in Wisconsin from 1840-1930, along with dioramas and a slide tape show. The museum features H diorama and exhibits displaying an outstanding collection of early farm machinery, models and related dairy and food processing items.

Stonefield Village, a re-created hamlet, depicts rural Midwestern life at the turn of the century. Its school, church, trade shops, cheese factory, railroad station and business places show the life and economy of a rural community of that day. Visitors walk or ride a horse-drawn carriage through a covered bridge to the village square. Here, they can stroll the village green, visit with a costumed guide, discover the many historic artifacts exhibited in village buildings, shop in the museum store, and enjoy an ice cream treat in the old-fashioned confectionery. Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily, May, June and Sept.; and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, July and August; and weekends through October.

 

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Cuba City, WI

Cole Acres Golf Course and Country Club: On east edge of town. Nine-hole public course includes driving range, putting green and pro shop with club rental. Call 608/744-2476 for golf information.

Parade of Presidents: See images of past United States Presidents along Main Street.

Splinter Park: Site includes ballfields, sand volleyball nets, pavilion, rest room facilities, picnicking areas and playground equipment.

Shopping: Gile Cheese and Weber's Processing offer fresh products with that homemade touch. Other business include Cuba City Greenhouse; Treasurers In Time; and Holt's General Store.

Tin Lantern Antique Mall: 118 South Main St. Many antiques and collectibles. For information, call 608/744-3634.

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Dickeyville, WI

The Dickeyville Grotto and Shrines erected in the village of Dickeyville on Holy Ghost Parish grounds are the works of Father Matthias Wernerus.

Wernerus was pastor of the parish from 1918-1931. His handiwork in stone, built from 1925-1930, is dedicated to the unity of two American ideals - love of God and love of country

It is a creation in stone, mortar and bright colored objects - collected materials from all over the world.

These include colored glass, gems, antique heirlooms of pottery or porcelain, stalagmites and stalactites, sea shells, star fish, petrified sea urchins and fossils and a variety of corals plus amber glass, agate, quartz and ores.

There are several shrines in the Grotto garden. Besides the main shrine, which houses the grotto of the Blessed Virgin, there is a patriotic shrine, the sacramental shrine of the Holy Eucharist, the Sacred Heart Shrine, Christ the King shrine and the Stations of the Cross.

These are located in the floral garden areas surrounding the Holy Ghost Church.

A gift shop is open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. seven days a week, from April 1-Oct. 31.

Guided tours are available June 1-Aug. 31, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. seven days a week; and May, September and October, weekends only. Earlier if requested by phone.

For more information, call 608/568-3119 or write: The Grotto, P.O. Box 429, Dickeyville, WI 52808.

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Fennimore, WI

Fennimore Doll & Toy Museum and Gift Shop: 1140 Lincoln Ave. The museum features dolls from 1810-present, doll furniture, paper dolls and more. Featured in the toy room this season will be a unique collection of toys including Disney's Pixar from "A Bug's Life," robots from a unique collection featuring those from TV shows such as "Lost in Space" and "Buck Rogers," as well as "Star Wars" and "Robo Cop."

Also in the toy room - Smerfs, Beanie Babies, G.I. Joe, Lone Ranger, Sesame Street, Fisher Price toys from the 1930s and 1940s.

There are more than 80 display cases and visiting exhibits.

Visitors can choose from a large selection of collectible dolls, toys and miniatures in the museum gift shop. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 1-Dec. 15. Admission is $3.50 for adults, $1.50 for ages 6-18 and younger than 5, free; $6 season pass. Call 608/822-4100 or 888/867-7935 to arrange special group tours.

The Fennimore Railroad Museum: 610 Lincoln Ave., features memorabilia from Fennimore's railroad past and the unique Dinky narrow gauge trains.

A replica water tower, built to the original C&NW railroad specifications which guided builders of the original tower, stands in portly splendor near the 1907 2-6-0 Davenport locomotive and a state historical marker detailing Dinky's life and times.

There is an operational miniature train on a 15-inch gauge track where children can take rides (call for operating schedule). The museum also houses tourist information of area attractions and sells souvenirs. The museum is open daily, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Memorial Day-Labor Day and weekends only in September and October. Free admission, donations accepted. For information, call 608/822-6319 or 822-6144. Group tours are welcome.

Arborvitae Park: Corner of 10th and Wisconsin streets. Site includes playground, picnic areas, shelter and rest rooms.

Dwight T. Parker Public Library: 925 Lincoln Ave. In 1922, Fennimore banker, Dwight T. Parker, donated $35,000 for the construction of a library on an "adequate site" for "focus as one of the beautiful points of interest in the City of Fennimore." The red brick two-story rectangular building with wide overhanging eaves features a hipped red clay tile roof with a single brick chimney rising through the southeast slope of the rood in the rear of the building. Call 608/822-6294

Marsden Park: Marsden Park Road. It has tennis courts, picnic area, sand-volleyball court and shelters. Arbor Vitae offers picnic areas and physical fitness course. To reserve picnic sites, call 815/822-3177.

Oakwood Park: Bronson Boulevard and County Q. A 45-acre nature park, it offers visitors a glimpse of native trees and flowers, with many species of birds to view. It offers more than three miles of hiking and cross-country ski trails. RV camping available and new shelter and rest rooms in the future. No bicycles or motorized vehicles allowed; open 6 a.m.-11 p.m. daily. Call 608/822-6119.

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Lancaster, WI

In Lancaster, visit the Grant County Courthouse, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. It features a glass-and-copper dome patterned after the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

It also has Civil War artifacts on display, such as weapons and shrapnel and bullets from Gettysburg. Outside the courthouse is a monument to Grant County soldiers who died in battle or by diseases. Dedicated in 1867, it's thought to be the first Civil War monument by public subscription in the country.

History buffs will find a lot more to do in Lancaster. There's the small Episcopal Cemetery one block south of the square, on Jefferson Street. There are grave markers from the 1840s and 1850s. And a state historical marker shows the gravesite of Nelson Dewey, Wisconsin's first governor.

At the Cunningham Museum, operated by the Grant County Historical Society, you'll see a medical display of instruments of Dr. Wilson Cunningham, a benefactor of the museum. There are examples of the ox-bone splints that he invented for repairing and healing fractures. The bone plates contained holes for bone screws to be inserted.

Upstairs is a collection of uniforms and weapons from the major wars. From the Civil War, there's a soldier's diary and a ball and chain used at the infamous Andersonville prison

. When grade school children visit, they use the word "awesome" to describe some of the things they see, said Al Weber, local historian. They enjoy the mounted owls and the passenger pigeon, the arrowhead collection and the almost three-dimensional effect of pictures viewed through an old-fashioned stereoscope.

The museum also has a room devoted to the early black settlers of Pleasant Ridge, a few miles west of Lancaster. Now, only the cemeteries remain.

For appointments or hours of operation at the museum, call (608)723-2287 or 723-4925.

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Platteville, WI

Mining Museum, Rollo Jamison Museum: 405 E. Main St. The mining museum traces the development of lead and zinc mining in the Upper Mississippi Valley through models, dioramas, artifacts and photographs. A self-guided tour includes a walk down into the Bevans Lead, an 1845 lead mine which produced more than 2 million pounds of lead ore in one year, a visit to a head-frame where you can see how zinc ore was hoisted from a mine and hand sorted, and a train ride around the museum grounds in ore cars pulled by a 1931 mine locomotive.

The self-guided tour of the Rollo Mansion Museum will take you back to the turn of the century with exhibits of carriages, farm implements, tools, a tavern/general store, a kitchen and parlor, musical instruments, mechanical music boxes and more.

On the second floor of the Mining Museum Building is the Rountree Gallery. It features works of area artists.

Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. May-October; Changing galleries open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. November-April. Call 608/348-3301. Group tours by appointment. Visit our website at http://mining.jamison.museum

Mitchell-Rountree Stone Cottage: U.S. 51 and West Madison. Built in 1837 by the Rev. Samuel Mitchell, it stands today as it did 150 years ago. Much of the interior contains original furnishings of the home. Mitchell was a soldier during the American Revolutionary War. Call the chamber for visiting information, 608/348-8888.

The "M": Platte Mound, County Trunk B, on Hiawatha Pioneer Trail. The historic monument to the Engineering Department of UW-Platteville has its beginnings in 1836. It is reportedly the largest ?M? in the world. Platteville students in 1937 created the current one, building it 241 feet high, 214 feet wide with legs 25 feet in width. It contains more than 400 tons of whitewashed stone. There is parking at the site.

Parks: City parks offer picnic facilities, lighted ball diamonds, lighted tennis courts, basketball courts, lighted horseshoe courts, playground equipment, swimming pool and concert band stage.

Restaurants: A variety of choices, from Chinese to pizza to fast-food to sit down dinners. There are more than 25 choices in the city.

University of Wisconsin-Platteville: The college is home to many athletic and cultural events. It was founded in 1866 and became part of the University System in 1971. For more information, call 608/342-1125.

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Mining Museum, Rollo Jamison Museum: 405 E. Main St. The mining museum traces the development of lead and zinc mining in the Upper Mississippi Valley through models, dioramas, artifacts and photographs. A self-guided tour includes a walk down into the Bevans Lead, an 1845 lead mine which produced more than 2 million pounds of lead ore in one year, a visit to a head-frame where you can see how zinc ore was hoisted from a mine and hand sorted, and a train ride around the museum grounds in ore cars pulled by a 1931 mine locomotive.

The self-guided tour of the Rollo Mansion Museum will take you back to the turn of the century with exhibits of carriages, farm implements, tools, a tavern/general store, a kitchen and parlor, musical instruments, mechanical music boxes and more.

On the second floor of the Mining Museum Building is the Rountree Gallery. It features works of area artists.

Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. May-October; Changing galleries open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. November-April. Call 608/348-3301. Group tours by appointment. Visit our website at http://mining.jamison.museum

Mitchell-Rountree Stone Cottage: U.S. 51 and West Madison. Built in 1837 by the Rev. Samuel Mitchell, it stands today as it did 150 years ago. Much of the interior contains original furnishings of the home. Mitchell was a soldier during the American Revolutionary War. Call the chamber for visiting information, 608/348-8888.

The "M": Platte Mound, County Trunk B, on Hiawatha Pioneer Trail. The historic monument to the Engineering Department of UW-Platteville has its beginnings in 1836. It is reportedly the largest ?M? in the world. Platteville students in 1937 created the current one, building it 241 feet high, 214 feet wide with legs 25 feet in width. It contains more than 400 tons of whitewashed stone. There is parking at the site.

Parks: City parks offer picnic facilities, lighted ball diamonds, lighted tennis courts, basketball courts, lighted horseshoe courts, playground equipment, swimming pool and concert band stage.

Restaurants: A variety of choices, from Chinese to pizza to fast-food to sit down dinners. There are more than 25 choices in the city.

University of Wisconsin-Platteville: The college is home to many athletic and cultural events. It was founded in 1866 and became part of the University System in 1971. For more information, call 608/342-1125.

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Potosi-Tennyson, WI

St. John's Mine (608/763-2121) 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily

Passage Thru Time Museum, noon-4 p.m. .Tuesday-Saturday.

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Special Events

Dec. 5: Hazel Green United Methodist Church Christmas Bazaar, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sweet Street Stroll includes homemade candies and cookies, craft items, fruitcakes and bake sale. Cinnamon rolls for breakfast and homeamde vegetable soup for lunch.

Dec. 5: Church Christmas Bazaar, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., United Methodist Church, 1610 19th St. Annual Holiday Bazaar-Sweet Street Stroll includes many homemade candies and cookies, crafts items, fruitcakes, and bake sale, serving homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast and homemade vegetable soup for lunch, used but good Christmas items. For more information, call 608-854-2517.

Dec. 6: 25th Annual Hazel Green Christmas Walk-Craft Fair, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m, Santa's Workshop at the Southwestern High School Gym (1105 Maple Street). Food vendors, and parade down main street at 1 p.m. Knights of Columbus breakfast at the St. Francis de Sales hall serving from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more information, call 608-854-2360.

Dec. 6: 25th Annual Hazel Green Christmas Walk, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Craft Fair, food vendors and Santa's Workshop at Southwestern High School, 1105 Maple Street. parade down main street at 1 p.m. For more information, call 608-854-2984.

Area Parks

Bagley, WI

* Wyalusing State Park, 10 miles from Prairie du Chien. The Wisconsin River was the pathway for early explorers and fur traders. Park has campgrounds, picnic facilities, hiking and nature trails.

Boscobel, WI

* Kronsage Park, rest rooms, playground facilities, softball diamonds, tennis courts, three shelters, volleyball, basketball and horseshoe courts. Swimming pool and school athletic area nearby.

* West Side Park has rest rooms, shelter, playground area, basketball court and a softball diamond.

* Memorial Park features playground facilities and a monument dated 1907 for the Unknown Soldier, honoring the Civil War veterans and all unknown dead veterans.

* Boy Scouts Park, playground area, fishing and basketball.

* Fireman Park, rest rooms, softball diamond and playground area.

* Moran-Daugherty Park, playground area.

* Boscobel - Kronsage Park features rest rooms, playground facilities, three shelters and volleyball, basketball and horseshoe courts. Swimming pool and school athletic area nearby.

* West Side Park has rest rooms, shelter, playground area, basketball court and a softball diamond.

* Memorial Park features playground facilities and a monument dated to 1907 for the Unknown Soldier, honoring the Civil War veterans and all unknown dead veterans.

* Boy Scout Park features playground area, fishing and basketball.

* Fireman Park features rest rooms, softball diamond and playground area.

* Moran-Daugherty Park features a playground area.

Cassville, WI

* Riverside Park has four shelter houses with electricity available, picnic tables and barbecue grills, rest rooms, playground area and 12 free boat slips on main channel. Wildlife observation deck and viewing scope.

* Nelson Dewey State Park, one mile north of Cassville, includes campsites, rest rooms, showers, playground, overlook, large shelter house with fireplaces and water, three miles of hiking trails, quarter-mile self-guided nature trail, picnic areas with water, grills, tables and facilities for handicapped. Open all year. Open house June 2, free admission 6 a.m.-11 p.m.

Fennimore, WI

* Marsden Park has picnic area, swimming, playground, rest rooms, volleyball, basketball and tennis courts.

* Oakwood Park, a 45-acre nature park, offers visitors a glimpse of native trees and flowers, with a wide variety of birds available for bird lovers to view. The park offers more than three miles of hiking and cross-country ski trails. RV camping is available with a shelter and rest rooms. For reservations and more information, call 608/822-6119.

Platteville, WI

* Twelve city parks offer picnic facilities, lighted ball diamonds, lighted tennis courts, basketball courts, lighted horseshoe courts, playground equipment, swimming pool and concert band stage.

Potosi-Tennyson, WI

* Grant River Public Use Area, built by the U.S. Corps of Engineers for picnicking, boating, camping and other recreation. It is two-and-a-half miles south of Potosi on the Mississippi River and near the recently discovered Indian mounds at Osceola.

Area Camping

Bagley, WI

* River of Lakes Resort and Campground, one-and-a-half miles south of Bagley, has 150 50-foot campsites, three modern rest rooms, 10 showers, electricity, water and sewer hookups, dumping station, boats, motors, canoes, paddle boats, bicycles, recreation hall, RV rentals, cabins and seasonal sites.

* Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Campground, 15 miles south of Prairie du Chien on County X, has 200 campsites, cabin rental, heated pool, 18-hole miniature golf, snack shop, rest rooms, general store, laundry facilities, playground, cartoons in Yogi's Theater, wagon rides with Yogi, hiking and trails. 608/996-2201.

Cassville, WI

* Campgrounds in Nelson Dewey State Park, one mile north of Cassville, with picnic, showers and rest room facilities. For reservations call 888/947-2757.

* Big H campground, located on County N. Call 608/725-5921.

* K-7 Korral campground, located on Jack Oak Road. Call 608/723-6167.

Dickeyville, WI

* Kieler - Rustic Barn Campground, five miles north of Dubuque at 3854 Dry Hollow Road, just south of Dickeyville, Wis. 608/568-7797. Features back-ins, pull-throughs, tent sites, dump station, flush toilets, showers, laundry, groceries, RV supplies, cable television and firewood.

Kieler, WI

* Rustic Barn Campground, five miles north of Dubuque at 3854 Dry Hollow Road. 608/568-7797. Features back-ins, pull-throughs, tent sites, dump station, flush toilets, showers, laundry, groceries, RV supplies, cable television and firewood.

Lancaster, WI

* Klondyke Secluded Acres, is a camping and recreational area three miles north of Lancaster. Enjoy swimming in a private, spring-fed lake. It also offers 37 campsites in a 160-acre setting overlooking the lake, with water and electrical hookups, showers and a variety of tent sites. Activities include fun at the beach, volleyball, canoeing, paddleboats, hiking and visiting the farm petting zoo. Also on site are four shelters, a convenience store, picnic area and game rooms.

Hayrides are on the weekends. Catch-and-release fishing has been added in a special area of the lake. Throughout the summer, mud bogs are a popular activity.

Platteville, WI

* Mound View Park has trailer camping court (12 sites), rest room and shower facilities, picnic area, shelter, playground equipment and natural area. For reservations, call 608/348-2313.

Potosi-Tennyson, WI

* Grant River Public Use Area, two-and-a-half miles south of Potosi, with camping, boating and picnic grounds.