First Governor of Wisconsin
When Nelson Dewey left his parents' home at Hamilton, New York, at the age of 23, he traveled by stage coach, steamer, sailing vessel, horse-back, and on foot to reach Wisconsin. The trip took five weeks, and Dewey arrived in Cassville in June of 1836, about two weeks before Wisconsin was officially established as a territory. He soon became interested and active in politics and when Grant County was organized the next year, he became its first Register of Deeds and moved to Lancaster. Next he entered the Territorial Legislature, and when Wisconsin became the 30th state in 1848, Dewey was elected its first governor. Because of his election to such a high office at the age of 35, many people expected him to continue in a political career but he disliked politics and returned to Grant County. In 1854 he began to acquire land at Cassville and developed a 2,000 acre plantation, which he called "Stonefield," today preserved in Nelson Dewey State Park. He died July 20, 1889 and his was the last burial in this cemetery.| HM Number | HME6C |
|---|---|
| Series | This marker is part of the Wisconsin: Wisconsin Historical Society series |
| Tags | |
| Marker Number | 103 |
| Year Placed | 1961 |
| Placed By | Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Friday, October 17th, 2014 at 6:50pm PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 15T E 687082 N 4746224 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 42.84571667, -90.71051667 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 42° 50.743', W 90° 42.631' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 42° 50' 44.58" N, 90° 42' 37.86" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 608 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 300-398 S Jefferson St, Lancaster WI 53813, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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