The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums Announce "Slavery in Platteville" Series

PLATTEVILLE, Wisconsin, Sept. 8, 2020 – The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums will be holding a series of three presentations by historian James B. Hibbard this fall regarding slavery in Platteville. The first two will be free and open to the public, and the third will be part of the Museums’ Annual Programs and Meeting, open to all who renew their annual gift to the Friends of The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums.

Hibbard will present the following three talks:

Thursday, September 17th, 7:00 p.m.: Slavery in Platteville, Part 1: The Mitchell Family  

Thursday, October 22nd, 7:00 p.m.: Slavery in Platteville, Part 2: The Rountree Family  

Saturday, November 7th, 4:00 p.m.: Black Lead Miners in Platteville: The Story of William Maxwell  

The first presentation will explore the Mitchell family, especially James Mitchell’s ownership of two young slave girls. It will show where the girls lived and worked, who confronted Mitchell about his slave ownership, and how Mitchell’s treatment of the enslaved girls caused him to leave town.

The second presentation will chronicle Platteville founder John H. Rountree’s ownership of slaves. It will look in depth at the circumstances surrounding Rountree’s slave ownership, his treatment of them, especially “Sister Rachel,” and how he eventually became an antislavery Republican.  

The third presentation will illustrate William Maxwell’s career as a Black lead miner. Maxwell holds the distinction of establishing his own lead diggings in Platteville, where he employed four other miners. He was also the first Black man in Grant County to successfully use the court system to collect a debt.

For the health of our visitors, the presentation will be held via Zoom. A Q&A with the speaker will follow each talk.

The lecture series complements the African-American Miners in Wisconsin exhibit on exhibit at the Museums since fall 2017. The exhibit was a collaboration between five UW-Platteville students and the Museums. The importance of the exhibit was recognized when the Mining History Association presented the Museums with the 2019 Beselme-Orrell Mining Heritage Award at its annual conference.

For registration information, email musuems@platteville.org or call (608) 348-3301. We invite folks to follow The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums on Facebook and to visit our website at www.mining.jamison.museum for more information on current and upcoming programs.