Lead Region Historic Trust, Inc.

Projects of the Trust:

Prairie Spring Hotel thumbnail

History of the Lead Region

Deaccessioned projects of the Trust:

Pieffer-Bennett Building,
1840s

Huntington-Wellers Building,
1850

Hempstead Building,
***

	The Lead Region Historic Trust protects and saves the oldest buildings in the historic lead- and zinc-mining area of the upper Mississippi basin. Our structures, built between 1825 and 1865 and primarily in Wisconsin's Lafayette and Iowa counties, reflect a unique period during America's first mineral rush. A few of these rare buildings are preserved and maintained solely for exhibit and study, while we adaptively restore and lease the remaining majority to qualified tenants for living space, providing some income to the Trust. Through these restored buildings, we promote interest in American architecture and further individual initiatives in the preservation of all types of historic buildings. We publish a regular newsletter detailing the progress of our current restoration work. We have published a book documenting our most important building, the Prairie Spring Hotel (at left) and its builder, Daniel Morgan Parkinson. In addition, we offer field trips to interested individuals and groups highlighting the architectural and developmental history of the lead/zinc region as well as interesting slide programs in conjunction with talks to educational organizations and other groups promoting historic and cultural preservation activities. Though we're pleased with our results after 15 years on a shoestring budget, our efforts can only remain successful with the philanthropic support of individuals who value history and historical architecture.
	Value Statement Restoration and preservation of historic buildings is a valuable activity that benefits people in the following ways: *Community enhancement.* Properly restored and maintained, historic buildings contribute to the esthetics of a community, whether it be a city, small town, or rural area. Besides the visual appeal of the historic structure, its presence helps to define the history and cultural origins of its surrounding landscape. Increase of real estate tax base. Neglected and run-down buildings contribute little to the tax base, which supports public services and schools in communities. Restored and actively used older buildings, however, retain value and pay their fair share in real estate taxes, which fund these critical community services. Energy conservation. The renovation of existing buildings, whether “used” or historically significant, is necessarily a labor-intensive process, rather than an energy-intensive one. In addition, the embodied energy already in an existing structure is also preserved. From a purely energy standpoint, conservation of existing buildings, coupled with increasing their energy efficiency, is always a plus. The desirable end product is the addition of more housing and other usable built space using already existing structures. Cultural preservation and education. By preserving a broad range of examples of historic buildings, from high-style landmarks through vernacular and folk housing types, we are better able to examine our progression as a culture through time. The educational value to a student of the examination of an actual building, versus a photograph or record drawing, is inestimable.

Lead Region Historic Trust, Inc. 234 N. Judgement St. Shullsburg, WI 53586-9413 USA

©2007 by the Lead Region Historic Trust, Inc. Report website comments or problems to ken@mhtc.net.