Platteville combines a distinctive mining theme with trails and green spaces that offer a different view of the area. The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums explore mining history with an underground mine and a mine train. Outdoors, the three-mile David Canny Rountree Branch Trail and Mound View Park offer tangible connections to the landscape. The Mitchell-Rountree Stone Cottage adds a story brought to life through two dates and the retirement home of Samuel Mitchell and his wife. For planning your trip, Platteville offers several thematic highlights: mining, local history, and nature.

Mining History on Main Street

The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums are at the east end of Main Street and offer tours of the underground 1845 Bevans Lead-Zinc Mine. The offerings also include rides on a 1931 mine train. This brings together two distinct ways to explore the mining theme: a tour underground and a ride on the train. The dates refer to different things: 1845 to the mine and 1931 to the mine train. This gives the offerings a clear historical timeframe. If you are especially interested in mining history, you can choose between the underground tour and the train ride.

The David Canny Rountree Branch Trail

The David Canny Rountree Branch Trail is three miles long and intended for pedestrians and bicycles. The entire corridor is paved and lit. For most of its route, the trail runs parallel to the Rountree Branch. This gives it a different focus from the museums: here, the emphasis is on a route for walking or cycling, while the museums offer an underground tour and a train ride. Its length, surface, lighting, and the course of the creek describe the trail from different perspectives.

A Green Connection at Mound View Park

About half of Mound View Park consists of natural vegetation and woodland; at the same time, the park serves as a green connection for the city. A section of the Rountree Branch flows through the natural area. The creek connection distinguishes the park from the trail: here, a section flows through the natural area, while the trail runs parallel to the Branch for most of its length. The two places offer different perspectives on the same creek: one in the park’s natural area, the other along the trail.

Local History with a Biographical Connection

The Mitchell-Rountree Stone Cottage complements the mining theme with a local story told through people and the building’s purpose. Samuel Mitchell and his wife moved to Platteville in 1836 and built the cottage in 1837 as their retirement home. The one-year interval makes the sequence of their move and the construction clear. The cottage story centers on the couple and the home’s intended use as their retirement residence; at the museums, the mine and mine train shape the historical perspective. This makes it possible to distinguish biographical local history from mining history, rather than reducing both themes to a single historical perspective.

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