Flatues on Main Street in Platteville WI
The FLATUES, this display has a variety of raised panels that create a dimensional effect. Similar to a statue but since they are flat, they are dubbed FLATUES! The lower panel has clues to correspond with Flatues above. You can view the small perpendicular fin near each flatue when viewing them on Main Street in downtown Platteville WI. The name and the clue number appear there.
Scroll down on this webpage to read the stories behind these prominent Platteville citizens. You will be able to unlock the clues and also see more biographical information about these Platteville citizens.
The ground level Flatues are of Bud Wall and a young Tud Bowden. Bud was a friend and mentor to me and I was always appreciative of his generosity and knowledge.
A special thank you to Mary Huck, retired educator from The Mining and Rollo Jamison Museums, for her contribution to the historical data used in the Flatues project!
Agnes O. Brigham (1875-1960)
Agnes Brigham, a graduate of Boston School of Gymnastics and known affectionately as Briggie, was hired at the Normal School as the physical education director in 1903 until her retirement in 1941. She introduced basketball to the Normal School and coached both men’s and women’s teams in 1903. She taught hygiene and health education from 1903 until her retirement in 1941. Platteville’s first women’s dorm was named in her honor in 1951. In 1979 she was inducted into the UWP Hall of Fame.
According to a story told around town, the school hired A. O. Brigham and when a representative went to the train station to welcome the new staff member, he was surprised to find they had hired a woman. That’s probably not true. The Boston Normal School of Gymnastics was coed, established by a woman, and became known for its early promotion of physical education teacher training and the advancement of women in the field.
Clue 9
John Hawkins Rountree (1805-1890)
One of our founding fathers is John Rountree. Born in Kentucky, he and several others came to this area looking for lead and after scouting around, they bought a mine in 1827. A successful businessman, generous contributor to good causes, and civic leader, he influenced the development of Platteville. He worked as a miner, operated a smelter, opened the first store and post office and gave substantial support to the Academy. While his later beliefs are not known, he did illegally purchase and own slaves in Wisconsin. Rountree entertained General U.S. Grant at his home which still stands. A father of nine children, he died in 1890.
The Rountree home at 150 Rountree Ave.
Clue 3
Josiah Pickard (1824-1914)
Josiah Pickard was the most influential principal of the Platteville Academy. He held the fundamental belief that society should improve the general education of children by improving the education of teachers. Under his leadership the Academy increased its enrollment, built a new building in 1853, (still standing and currently the middle section of Rountree Apartments on Elm St.,) and set the groundwork for its development into a teaching college. Only 22 years old when he was hired in 1846, he started with a student body of five students. When he left in 1860 over 300 students were enrolled. In 1859 he made the controversial decision to admit an African-American student. When the trustees ordered the student be dismissed, Pickard said he’d quit unless she stayed. The trustees reconsidered. Mr. Pickard left Platteville when he was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of Wisconsin. He ended his career in education as President of the University of Iowa.
The three story Academy built in 1853 (also shown in the picture are additions added later)
Clue 1
E.D.E.N. Southworth (1819-1899)
On her first night in Platteville, Emma found herself at home in a one room log cabin alone when she heard a long, low murmur, and peering out of the window she saw the hungry eyes of a pack of wolves. Smelling a recently butchered piece of meat, the hungry wolves dug and clawed at the cabin for over an hour before her husband and the gun returned. She lived in Platteville from 1841 to 1843 and taught a session in Platteville’s school. Her husband abandoned the family, so she and the children moved back to the Washington D.C. area. To add to her income as a teacher, she began writing serial stories for magazines. She became a wealthy and prolific author and wrote over 40 best sellers. Her books were known for their brave, witty, and adventurous heroines who could remedy any unfortunate situation they found themselves in. During the last half of the 19th century she was probably the single most widely-read American novelist.
Clue 6
Dr. Wilson Cunningham (1872-1962)
Dr. Cunningham cared for Platteville’s residents for decades. He opened a 3 bed hospital at 87 East Main Street in 1900 in the new Bayley Building and financed the construction of Platteville’s first hospital building in 1914 with 30 rooms. He became famous for his innovative internal ox-bone splint for fractured bones. In the days before ambulances and emergency rooms, doctors were often on their own. Dr. Cunningham frequently told the story of an emergency tracheotomy on a little girl where he used a hairpin to keep the air passage open. He owned Platteville’s first car bought in 1902. The tools he used to make ox bone screws to fix the broken bones of miners is on display at the Grant County Historical Society Museum in Lancaster.
Clue 7
W. N. Smith (1877-1957)
W.N. Smith was the co-founder of the Vinegar Hill Zinc Co. in 1907 which grew to be one of the larger zinc companies in the area. He served on the Board of Regents of the Wisconsin Mining School. An active civic leader he vigorously promoted the public park system and the city pool. W.N. spearheaded the layout of Platteville’s golf course and he was one of the founding members. At his death, he bequeathed $10,000 to the city to be used for Platteville parks. That would equal about $97,000 in today’s dollars. In gratitude for his efforts, Smith Park was named in his honor.
Smith’s home at 155 Bayley Ave
Clue 4
Martin Rindlaub (1838-1932)
Born in Pennsylvania, Martin Rindlaub moved to Platteville and bought the Platteville Witness in 1876. He worked as the editor until his retirement in 1902. As a young reporter he covered the Lincoln – Douglas debate in Freeport. While always covering important current issues, he also realized the importance of remembering our past. The Wisconsin Federation of Women’s Clubs began raising funds for the restoration of the First Capital buildings. In retirement, with his wife Kate’s urging, he started the editorial campaign which resulted in the restoration of the 1st Territorial Capitol in Belmont. Always adventuresome, in 1931 at the age of 93, he took his first airplane ride in a biplane. Eddie Tor was the nickname used by Dick Brockman, editor of the Platteville Journal at the time Rindlaub was installed.
Clue 8
Walter Payton (1954-1999)
Payton was born in Columbia, Mississippi. He was an active member of the boy scouts, Little League, and his church. He played drums in his high school’s marching band and in his spare time drums in jazz-rock groups. In his junior year at John J. Jefferson High School, the coach asked him to play football and he agreed as long as he could still be in the marching band. His high school was integrated that year; Payton and his teammates were upset that their head coach, Charles Boston, had been made an assistant coach and Payton boycotted some spring practices in protest. He earned statewide honors in his junior and senior year. His athletic skills helped ease tensions regarding desegregation. He attended college at the historically black school Jackson State University. He acquired the nickname “Sweetness” in college although the origin is ambiguous. Perhaps it was his personality, his grace on the field, or a sarcastic description of his aggressive playing style. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1975 and played with them through the 1987 season. He is remembered as an outstanding rusher and held numerous records in many categories. Mike Ditka described Payton as the greatest football player he had ever seen – but even greater as a human being. The Bears held their training camp at UWP from 1984 until 2001. Locals and visitors alike came for a close look at the team and Payton was friendly to his fans. Apparently he was also a prankster and regularly set off firecrackers in the dormitory usually at 2:00 or 4:00 a.m. In 1999 Payton revealed he was diagnosed with a rare liver disease (primary sclerosing cholangitis) which may have led to his bile duct cancer. He spent his last months as an advocate for organ transplants. While his illness was too advanced for a transplant, his advocacy caused organ donations to skyrocket in Illinois. He died at the age of 45.
Clue 5
Bo Ryan (1947-)
Ryan was born in Chester, Pennsylvania and learned from his father who coached youth sports. Ryan attended Wilkes College where he played basketball and decided to become a coach. After graduate work at Villanova University, he got his first basketball coaching job at Brockhaven Junior High School. He coached a couple of schools until he was hired as assistant head coach at University of Wisconsin-Madison where he worked from 1976 until 1984. He then accepted the head coach position at UW-P where he remained until 1999. Ryan’s Platteville team had a record of 352-76 and won four national championships. After Platteville he coached at UW-Milwaukee from 1999-2001 and UW-Madison 2001-2015. He ended up with 747 wins at the college level. Bo is a four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017. Bo’s son, Will, also became a coach and is currently head coach of the UW-Green Bay men’s basketball team.
Clue 2
Dr. Herbert S. Gasser (1888-1963)
Gasser was born in Platteville and attended the State Normal School before going to the University of Wisconsin for his masters where he studied physiology under Dr. Joseph Erlanger. He got his M.D. in 1915 from John Hopkins Medical School. Then he came back to Wisconsin to study pharmacology. He studied abroad in Europe as well. He taught at Washington University in St. Louis before being appointed a Professor of Physiology and Head of the Medical Department at Cornell University and Director of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. His major work dates from his collaboration with Dr. Erlanger and was concerned with the electrophysiology of the nerves. His research led to advances in our knowledge of pain and reflex action and has inspired a large school of neurophysiologists. In 1944 he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Joseph Erlanger. Gasser used his prize money to fund further research on the subject.
Clue 10
Weldon Texas “Bud” Wall (Jan 21, 1939 – June 27, 2005)
Bud was born and lived in Monroe, NC. Attended East Carolina University and the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, FL. He came to Platteville as an art professor in 1967 where he taught color and design, drawing, art survey, jewelry, ceramics, sculpture and foundry techniques.
His work had received many awards and recognition through his career. He was involved with casting the two ton bronze Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial that is on display in Neillsville, WI at The High Ground.
Bud was an outstanding story teller with original and imaginative subjects that were brought to life through his artistic work.
Bud truly found and lived his passion for art and creativity. He awed and inspired those who were fortunate enough to know him. His kindness, generosity, sense of humor and easy going nature made lasting impressions. He is missed.
Image 11
Thomas “Tud” Bowden (June 21, 1954 – )
The flatue shown is of young Tud Bowden next to Bud Wall. Tud has left his mark in Southwest Wisconsin through his many talents. One of the creators of Wundoemus Spice Blend, a talented musician aka Colonel Wundo in the Wundo Band, a graphic & sign designer, and the creator of the flatues you are looking at now.
Tud and Bud were best of friends and enjoyed collaborating on many projects through the years. Both have shared their talents through creating music, food, artwork, while inspiring & teaching others and taking time to positively impact their communities.
Image 12
