Potosi Badger Huts Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Potosi Badger Huts Site
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A portion of the site.
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| Location | Potosi, Wisconsin |
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| Area | 9.8 acres (4.0 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 96001532 |
| Added to NRHP | December 27, 1996 |
The Potosi Badger Huts Site is located in Potosi, Wisconsin. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. It was listed for its potential to yield information in the future.
It is an archeological site which includes the remnants of two structures, plus 100 "diggings", shafts, and a possible adit. The site derives "from the early 1830s and was probably abandoned by the late 1840s, when the initial lead boom ended. Covering approximately 10 acres, the site is located on the top and sides of a southwest to northeast bearing ridge that overlooks the village of Potosi."
History
The National Register of Historic Places states that "Although no artifacts have yet been recovered to assign these structures to the early lead mining era, the appearance of the rock walls suggest some antiquity. The stones are moss-covered and the spaces between the stones have filled with dirt. Long-term Potosi residents also regard them as the remains of early miners' (a.k.a. badgers) huts. The evidence, admittedly, remains circumstantial."
While these unknown structural remains are called "Badger Huts" in the report, they do not look like other contemporaneous dwellings found in the region. One might wonder why a miner would build a home on a steep hill which has no water when there was a village just below. Perhaps these structures are the remains of a small building used to protect equipment or gun powder.
