What Visitors Can See and Do at The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums

The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums in southwestern Wisconsin offer a guided one-hour underground tour of the 1845 Bevans Lead-Zinc Mine, a ride on a 1931 mine train (weather permitting), exhibits on regional natural and cultural history, and outdoor spaces including a pollinator garden and picnic grounds. The key condition for a visit is timing: the museum is closed from November 1 through April 30, and the tour season runs May through October. Special winter programming is listed separately under the programs and special events section.

The Underground Mine Tour

The centerpiece is the 1845 Bevans Mine, entered by walking down a 90-step incline. The museum notes that temperature and humidity change as you descend, so the underground portion is a sensory experience as well as a historical one. The tour covers more than 100 years of local lead and zinc mining history, and a visit to the headframe shows how ore was hoisted to the surface and hand-sorted.

Practical points to plan around:

• Duration: about one hour for the guided underground tour.
• Location: the mine entrance is in the backyard of the museum campus.
• Access: the 90-step incline is the route in, which matters for anyone with mobility concerns.

The Mine Train

Climb into an ore car for a train ride across the three-acre campus, pulled by a 1931 Whitcomb locomotive that was used at the Blackstone Mine near Shullsburg until the 1950s. The museum reports the train has carried more than 300,000 adults and children since 1978. Rides depend on the weather, so treat the train as a likely but not guaranteed part of the visit.

Exhibits and Buildings

The campus spreads across several historically significant structures, each with its own role:

The exhibit galleries, founded in 1964, hold a collection of regional mining artifacts and dioramas described as among the largest in the Upper Midwest. Displays explain Mississippi Valley-Type lead-zinc ore deposits and how local mining led to Wisconsin's nickname as the Badger State. Cultural history exhibits drawn from folk historian Rollo Jamison's one-man collection cover rural life in the region, with objects ranging from cigar molds and bull halters to hair wreaths.

Shopping and Grounds

The museum store sells rock and mineral specimens along with gifts related to regional history. Outside, visitors are encouraged to use the greenspace, pollinator garden, and picnic grounds, which makes the campus workable as a longer stop rather than a quick tour.

Deciding Whether to Go

The museum suits visitors interested in industrial and mining history, geology, or regional rural culture, and families looking for a combined indoor-outdoor outing. Two conditions shape the decision:

• Season: plan between May and October for the mine tour and train; check the programs and special events listings for winter offerings.
• Weather: the train runs weather permitting, so build some flexibility into the day.

Tickets are sold through the museum's website, and the site's "Buy Tickets" prompt is the starting point for booking.