Ebenezer Brigham (April 28, 1789 – September 14, 1861) was a 19th-century American pioneer, businessman, and politician. He was one of the first Americans to explore southwestern Wisconsin and the first permanent settler in present-day Dane County, Wisconsin. A militia officer during the Black Hawk War, he served as commander of Fort Blue Mounds (or Mound Fort) and was active in both the Wisconsin territorial council, and the Wisconsin State Assembly during the 1840s and 1850s. Early life Born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, he left his home state for the Northwest Territory, traveling by canoe along the Allegheny River from Olean Point to Pittsburgh, then taking a flatboat down the Ohio River until stopping at Shawneetown. He walked the rest of the way, arriving in St. Louis in 1818. Career Working as a prospector, Brigham followed the Mississippi River by horseback and stayed at Galena in 1822. One of the earliest visitors to the area, he helped miner James Johnson build one of two log cabins at the camp. Returning to Springfield, Illinois, he left there with a team of oxen heading for the lead mines region of southwest Wisconsin to build his own mining camp. He was originally part of a mining party which lived along the Platte River, only four miles from present-day Platteville, Wisconsin. However, the party soon left the area under threat from the local Winnebagos during the Winnebago War. In the spring of 1828, Brigham arrived in Dane County, Wisconsin to work the lead mines in and around Blue Mounds. Although the mines had been previously occupied, the site had long since been abandoned and he built a cabin for himself. This was the first structure to be built in Dane County. His nearest neighbor was located 24 miles away in Dodgeville and, as of 1832, the only other recorded inhabitants were four French-Canadian fur traders south of Green Bay and east of Rock River. Using such crude tools as a windlass, rope and tub, over 4,000,000 lbs. was taken from the mine and hauled by wagon to Green Bay, Chicago and Galena, in total a 15-day trip. He later accompanied William S. Hamilton and Henry Gratiot and several others to Green Bay to negotiate boundaries between the miners and local tribes. Brigham is said to have discovered a lead deposit by chance, by throwing his cap in the air and digging where it fell. By