Few People Know This Charming Small Town In Wisconsin Is The Point Of Beginning
By Ben Jones|Published May 16, 2023
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Ben Jones
Author
Ben Jones is at heart an adventurer who delights in inspiring others. A former reporter and photojournalist, he explored towns large and small as a Wisconsin correspondent for USA Today. He later became a lead photographer and senior copywriter for an award-winning destination marketing agency, before founding Boldland Creative, a company that produces photography, video, and other content for travel destinations. Jones has completed photography and content projects in more than 15 states and when he’s not looking through a camera or at his Macbook you’ll find him exploring the world’s lakes and forests.
In far southwestern Wisconsin, there’s a little landmark that marks the spot where everything in Wisconsin started, so to speak. Hazel Green is the official “point of beginning” of Wisconsin, a fact that’s marked on a roadside sign. So what exactly does “point of beginning” mean and why would anyone want to visit it? Read on to find out why Hazel Green is a Wisconsin town to visit.
Hazel Green, population 1,200, is an old town located in Grant and Lafayette Counties. It’s located just north of the Illinois border, nine miles from the Mississippi River, and it’s not far from the popular tourist town of Galena.
Like Galena, Hazel Green has a long history that’s tied to lead mining. The first European settlement in Wisconsin was in Hazel Green, and it was a mining town.
Life was not easy in the early days of Hazel Green. Originally, the community was called Hardscrabble, a name that reportedly arose out of a mining dispute. The town was eventually renamed Hazel Green after a big grove of hazelnut trees near the site.
While Wisconsin was a wilderness in Hazel Green’s earliest days, people had plans and dreams. In 1831, a government surveyor named Lucius Lyon marked the northern border of Illinois with an earthen mound that was topped with a wooden post.
The post marked the intersection of the Illinois border with the 4th Principal Meridian. All of Wisconsin’s land surveys used this point and everything in Wisconsin is measured from this marker, including the location of scores of roads and property boundaries in every city, town and village. In fact, every property in Wisconsin has a legal description based on this single 1831 marker.
Hazel Green is located in one of the state’s beautiful rural areas, so it's the perfect place for a scenic road trip. There’s a pull-off spot near the “point of beginning” marker – it’s right off of Highway 80, a couple hundred feet from the Illinois border.
Learn more about the history of Hazel Green on the Village of Hazel Green website. Wisconsin’s small towns hold a lot of surprises. Interested in discovering more interesting places? Here are some of Wisconsin’s best small towns.
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