The Buildings
Brewery Creek
Mineral Point Wisconsin
This is the Brewery Creek Inn building which brought us to Mineral Point. We were looking around to do something "completely different" from our past lives beginning with renovation the structure and building a business.
There was no heating, no plumbing, no wiring, no interior walls or stairways, no doors or windows and a dirt floor when we purchased it. When George Cobb built his warehouse business headquarters in 1854 it was an object of civic pride. Described in the newspaper as “…the most prominent building in the Village” it was emblematic of the boom days of early Statehood. Later it had other uses, including a cold storage facility, an insulation factory and for many years Doc Shimming’s veterinary stable.
The lead and zinc mines came and went, as did the
railroad and the massive zinc works that used to be down stream on Brewery Creek. By the 1970’s this “most prominent
building” was a ruin. The roof and third floor timbers rotted away,
the massive beams collapsed and the north wall began to give
way. Several different owners over the years worked bit by bit to piece
the building's framework back together.
We began construction on Brewery Creek in July of 1997 and opened for business in June of 1998.
Springside Cottage

We bought this cottage on
This Shake Rag neighborhood became filled with little "rock"
cottages like this. By the 1930s many of them were in disrepair and
falling down or being mined for stones to build WPA projects. Enter Bob
Neal and Edgar Hallum. They were crazy enough to love the old buildings,
to save a few, and create Pendarvis, which they eventually donated to the State
of
At some point, Bob acquired what we call "The Springside Cottage". He and Edgar set about renovating it and made it their guest house. This piece of Mineral Point history is now under our care. There is no other way to describe the feeling this house creates except "magic".

A picture from the 1930s. Rate $25 per couple per weekend. Telephone # 4.
The historic Federal Springs( see above) surfaces in Shake Rag Alley and makes its way
under
The Miners' Cottage, Shakerag Street

This cottage was donated to the State Historical Society about 1972. It has been lived in continuously since then. Brewery Creek began leasing it from the State and now you too can stay in this bit of history. Above you can see two views of the Cottage. The first is modern, the second was taken some time in the 1920's. People have been living here since 1836 when miners fresh from Cornwall arrived in Mineral Point in pursuit of happiness. That year, 1836: Former President James Madison died; "Mr. $20 Bill", Andrew Jackson was our President; Texas declared independence; Spain recognized the independence of Mexico.




