Grant County Historical Society

THE CUNNINGHAM MUSEUM and THE MITCHELL-ROUNTREE STONE COTTAGE

NOTE: PHOTOGRAPHS AND ILLUSTRATIONS ARE TO BE USED ONLY WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE GRANT COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

The Cunningham Museum is the Official Repository for objects and documents which relate to the history of Grant County Wisconsin. What a history it is! You can see Native American and pioneer artifacts. You can learn about the pioneer African American Settlement of Pleasant Ridge. You can research events of the past and families who settled our area.

The Mitchell-Rountree Stone Cottage is architecturally significant as an early stone colonial house influenced by English 17th and 18th century classical American prototypes and is perhaps the only example of this style to be found in Wisconsin or the midwest.

In the spring of 1837, Samuel Mitchell and his wife Eleanor, hired Mr. Cooper to construct the typical story and a half house, typical of ones found in Virginia. It has twin gable-end chimineys. The walls are bluff dolomitic limestone (also called Galena limestone) although it is not a true limestone. The stones were fitted very closely and in some places mud joints were used instead of mortar. Although brick and wood were the materials of choice in the Platteville area, stone construction was used extensively by English emigrants in the 1830's and 1840's and exemplified in houses found in nearby, Mineral Point.

The kitchen was located 50 feet away in a separate building. The dining room wing and the kitchen were connected with a covered walk. Servants carried food back and forth from the isolated kitchen to the house. The food was brought up to the opening (with a slide in the wall of the dining rom. Here many hands grabbed the food containers and served the master's family and guests.

The Mitchells lived in the stone cottage for 15 years, until Eleanor's death in 1842. Samuel Mitchell continued to reside in the house until 1852, when he sold it to William McCord. Mr. McCord owned it until 1854 when it was sold to Major John Rountree.