The St. John Lead Mine on Main Street in Potosi was mined by Ho-Chunk and Sac Indians for hundreds of years. They used the ore to make paint. Following the Winnebago Treaty of 1827, Willis St. John claimed the cave and mined its rich lead vein. Potosi grew up around the mine, shipping lead ore and timber south on the Mississippi. In 1852, the city built a small, but prosperous brewery that survived prohibition, but not the consolidation of the brewing industry fifty years later. For forty years the brewery lay neglected and abandoned. But in 2008, this tiny town resurrected its brewing history by completing a $7 million restoration of the brewery. Today, the brewery complex houses the National Brewery Museum and the National Brewery Transportation Museum, as well as an interpretive center for the Great River Road. If you like Breweriana and good beer, you’ll be amazed.
Eight miles to the southeast, Dickeyville is the home of an equally remarkable story. The Dickeyville Grotto and Shrines here are the folk-art creations of Father Matthias Wernerus, a Catholic priest and pastor of the city’s Holy Ghost parish from 1918 to 1931. Wernerus constructed dozens of concrete structures on the church grounds honoring his faith and his country. Intricate and fanciful, they are a testament to his creative spirit.
For information about Potosi, call 866/876-2665 or visit grantcountytourism.com.
