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Directions: Mineral Point is at the junction of Routes 23, 39, and 151. From Illinois, we prefer:I88 west, I39 north, Rt. 20 west, Rt. 78 north, Rt. 11 west, Rt. 23 north into town. Some prefer: I90/39 to Madison, then Rt. 151 to Mineral Point. From Milwaukee: I94 west, I90 south, Rt. 151 west to Mineral Point. From Minneapolis: I94 to I90/94 exiting at Rt. 39, which winds through beautiful countryside to Mineral Point. The hills surrounding Mineral Point are rich with interconnected paved roads, so any missed turn is an opportunity to re-plan a route with plenty of options. Enjoy dairy farms, rolling hills, little rivers. Be alert for hawks along the roads, often perched right on the road signs or on fence posts. Watch for the occasional pasture of llamas or buffalo, for a change of pace from the many picturesque pastures of grazing dairy cows.
The Building: 207 Commerce, known locally as "O'Neill's Old Stand", features retail gallery space on the street level and living space for the shop keep and family on the upper level. The building is partly made of timber frame construction, dating to 1829, with hand hewn posts and beams and mortise and tenon joints. The other portion is of limestone construction, dating from approximately 1836. This beautiful building is rich in history and includes lovingly restored examples of historical construction techniques and materials.
Nature Nearby: Governor Dodge State Park offers hiking and canoeing and beautiful views. There is an abundance of other state parks within a very short drive. Devil's Lake is in nearby Baraboo, and smaller state and county nature parks abound such as Blue Mound, Yellowstone Lake, and Natural Bridge. The Cheese Country Recreation Trail, well maintained by the local ATV club, offers hiking and biking through prairie remnants, along limestone bluffs, and adjacent to the fences of the pastures in the hills.
Art and Artists:
More: See our Articles page for random informative essays. Geocaching: The Pfeifer family enjoys the hobby which uses GPS units and a website of cache locations. Coordinates of the cache sites can be found on the website, entered into the GPS unit, in order to undertake an excursion to attempt to find the cache. If found, a logbook inside the cache can be signed by the finder, and the find can be logged on the finders website log book. Canoe Building: This art and craft runs the gamut from traditional techniques used to recreate strict copies of historic crafts to use of modern materials combined with traditional materials and methods to create beautiful and artistic interpretations of these sleek water craft. Patrick Pfeifer and his dad Randy are proud of the fiberglass and cedar strip canoe they built and they learned a great deal during the process from a great international canoe building help site. Mineral Point is a wonderful and fascinating community full of warm and delightful and interesting and talented people. The Chamber of Commerce does an excellent job of promoting the City and providing links to her services and attractions. We are glad to be allowed to be a part this amazing place! |
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Prairie
Oak Artisans |
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Prairie Oak Artisans North 
History: Mineral Point history is rich and
wonderful, with each building having a story to tell. The
railway museum and Pendarvis are both right in town, and the mining
museum is in nearby Platteville. The Prairie Oak Artisans
North building at 
Residents:
Like many historic Mineral Point storefronts, 207 Commerce features
living space on the second story, so that the artists can reside
where they work. Gallery owner Karma Grotelueschen produces
her felted landscapes, block prints, nature prints, and beaded
jewelry right in the Mineral Point gallery's workspace and can frequently be found working on projects there. Her children, Patrick Pfeifer, 17, and Thomas Pfeifer, 13, also design and produce artwork available at the gallery.
Patrick can frequently be found playing his fiddle or mandolin on
the front patio on a warm summer or fall evening. Thomas might
challenge you to a game of chess or checkers. If the shop is closed, but lights are on upstairs,
give the sturdy iron door knocker a couple raps. If we are
there, we will let you in and share our art and our building's
history with you or tell you about our prairie plants in our front
gardens.
Oil Paintings - 
Pottery - 
Birdhouses -
