SPRING VALLEY, WI – Ore, flux, and heat. These three ingredients required for smelting iron marked Spring Valley’s era as a boom town. While the earliest settlers began arriving in the 1860s and businesses such as sawmills started to appear, it was the promise of iron that marked the true beginning of Spring Valley’s industrial era.
Local geologist Prof. W.W. Newell began prospecting the area in the late 1870s. His efforts led to the discovery of the Cady Creek Mines. After a brief venture westward in search of gold, Newell returned and made a more significant find: the Gilman Mine, just a mile and a half west of the village.
This discovery catalyzed the decision to build a full-scale smelting operation in Spring Valley. A furnace was transported from Youngstown, Ohio, where it had outlived its original purpose. The timing coincided with the closure of a major smelter in Black River Falls, sending experienced iron workers searching for new opportunities—many of them settling in Spring Valley.
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