Joseph Schafer (1867-1941) received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin and went on to 16 years’ service as the chairman of the History faculty at the University of Oregon. In 1920 he returned to Wisconsin to serve as superintendent of the State Historical Society, where he remained until his death.

The lead region of Wisconsin comprises the counties of Grant, Iowa and Lafayette. This history focuses on the industry of lead mining as well as agriculture in that region. Among the appendixes is an interesting table showing the origin countries for all persons living in every town in the region in 1870.