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Wisconsin County
Grant County, Wisconsin
Platteville mining heritage and Mississippi River Driftless bluffs - from Platteville's lead and zinc mining heritage (southwest Wisconsin's Grant County was the center of the Upper Mississippi lead mining district in the early 19th century - one of the most significant mining booms in American history that preceded the California Gold Rush, and Platteville's Mining and Rollo Jamison Museums preserve this foundational chapter of Wisconsin economic history) to Grant County's spectacular Mississippi River Driftless Area bluffs (the county's western edge along the Mississippi features some of the most dramatic bluff scenery in the upper Midwest, with towering limestone bluffs overlooking the river in a landscape untouched by glaciation).
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Office: Grant County Emergency Management – 8820 US Hwy 35/61/81, Lancaster, WI 53813 (PO Box 506) | (608) 723-7171 | Email: [email protected]
Services: Established under Wisconsin Statutes Ch. 166/323 to prepare for and minimize the effects of enemy action and natural/man-made disasters; coordinates emergency repairs to vital public utilities and facilities
Notes: Grant County maintains a Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) as required by state statute.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-61 and WI-35 (Great River Road) serve Lancaster and the Mississippi River communities; a historic car ferry operates at Cassville
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Grant County Conservation, Sanitation and Zoning Department – 150 West Alona Lane, Suite #1, Lancaster, WI 53813 | (608) 723-6080
Services: Zoning Permit Application Process – confirm your project is a permitted use; a Sanitary Permit is required prior to Zoning Permit issuance if the structure will have internal plumbing/running water; land-locked parcels have additional requirements
Notes: City of Lancaster maintains its own separate Building Department (206 South Madison Street, Building Inspector Josh Copsey, (608) 723-4246) – confirm whether county or city jurisdiction applies to your property. Diggers Hotline required 3 business days before any digging project.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Grant County Veterans Service Office – Lancaster, WI
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Schreiner Memorial Library – 113 West Elm Street, Lancaster, WI 53813 | (608) 723-7304 | Email: [email protected] | Hours: Mon/Thu 9 AM–6 PM, Tue/Wed 9 AM–8 PM, Fri 9 AM–5 PM, Sat 9 AM–1 PM (closed Sun)
Services: A member of the Southwest Wisconsin Library System (SWLS); the Potosi Branch library, opened 2007, operates as a joint effort between Schreiner Memorial Library and the Village of Potosi; offers meeting/program space reservations
Notes: Confirm state when researching – a separate, unrelated “Lancaster County Public Library” exists in South Carolina.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Grant County, part of the historic Upper Mississippi Valley Zinc-Lead District, is genuinely central to one of the most significant early chapters of Wisconsin economic history – European mining here traces back to 1685, and the great LEAD MINING BOOM (1827-1849) brought a massive rush of miners and speculators to Platteville and the surrounding region after galena (lead ore) was discovered there in 1827; many early Cornish miners transformed regional mining with deep-shaft techniques, ventilation, and pumping systems they’d mastered in England – a legacy still honored today with a Cornish miner depicted on the official Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin; Wisconsin’s own nickname, “The Badger State,” and its state mascot the Badger, genuinely derive from the scruffy appearance of lead miners emerging from these small mines; the last mines in the county closed only in 1978, meaning mining activity spanned nearly 300 years, with peak production between 1917-1952 and an estimated 1.2 million tons of zinc and 100,000 tons of lead extracted; Platteville’s Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums preserve this heritage in depth; the county is also home to UW-Platteville, established from the state’s first Normal School (teachers college); the historic Cassville car ferry, still operating May-October, crosses the Mississippi River along the same historic route traveled in 1836 by Nelson Dewey, who would become Wisconsin’s first governor in 1848 – his Stonefield estate, north of Cassville, is preserved as a historic site today; the county also holds Wyalusing State Park’s genuine ancient Native American effigy mounds overlooking the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers
Notes: Grant County’s genuine, documented role as the literal origin of Wisconsin’s “Badger State” nickname – rooted directly in its 19th-century lead mining history – is an extraordinary, well-verified piece of state identity.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Grant County GIS – accessible via co.grant.wi.gov
Parcel Search: Grant County Land Records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Grant County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Grant County Humane Society (GCHS) – 222 S Roosevelt St, Lancaster, WI 53813 | (608) 723-6366 | Email: [email protected] | Hours: Visits by appointment only (no walk-ins without an approved application)
Services: A tax-deductible 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded entirely by memberships, donations, grants, fundraisers, and adoption fees; adoption fees $225 (dogs) / $125 (cats), including spay/neuter, age-appropriate vaccinations, negative fecal parasite exam, heartworm test, and microchip
Notes: All donations stay local per the organization’s stated policy.
Notes: Contact Grant County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Grant County’s 19th-century lead mining boom is genuinely one of the most historically significant chapters in the state’s economic story – directly responsible for Wisconsin’s “Badger State” nickname and mascot. The historic Cassville car ferry still crosses the Mississippi today along the same route Wisconsin’s first governor traveled in 1836. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Grant County
Grant County is southwest Wisconsin’s lead mining heritage and Mississippi River Driftless bluff county – the 19th-century lead rush that put Wisconsin on the national map and the county’s spectacular river bluff scenery define one of the state’s most historically and naturally distinctive southwest corner counties.
Lancaster (the county seat, population ~3,800) is Grant County’s governmental hub, while Platteville (home to UW-Platteville) serves as the county’s largest city and primary commercial and educational center.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Grant County Assessor at 130 W. Maple Street, Lancaster, WI 53813, phone 608-723-2604. WI assessed at fair market value.
Courts & Legal
Grant County Circuit Court at 130 W. Maple Street, Lancaster, WI 53813, phone 608-723-2713, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
130 W Maple St, Lancaster, WI 53813
(608) 723-2727
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Grant County Register in Probate, Lancaster (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Grant County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Grant County Register in Probate 130 West Maple Street, Lancaster, WI 53813 (608) 723-2697
Grant County is in Southwest Wisconsin along the Mississippi River, county seat Lancaster. Wisconsin has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code and has NO separate probate court – probate is handled by the CIRCUIT COURT (Probate Division) for the county where the decedent lived, administered day-to-day by that county’s REGISTER IN PROBATE. Wisconsin runs two main tracks: FORMAL administration, supervised directly by a circuit court judge, and INFORMAL administration, supervised by the Register in Probate without continuous judicial oversight. Informal administration is the default path for most straightforward estates.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Wisconsin Statutes Chapters 851 through 882 govern probate. Wisconsin is also a MARITAL PROPERTY state (similar to community property) – under the Wisconsin Marital Property Act, most assets acquired during marriage are co-owned by both spouses, so a surviving spouse may already own half of all marital property outright; only the decedent’s half passes through the estate.
Transfer by Affidavit (Wis. Stat. §867.03) – available when the decedent’s ENTIRE probate estate (personal property only; real estate is not covered by this shortcut) has a gross value of $50,000 or less. Available 30 days after death to an heir, a trustee of a revocable trust, a beneficiary named in the will, or a guardian of the decedent.
Summary Settlement (Wis. Stat. §867.01) – geared toward estates of $50,000 or less where there is a surviving spouse, domestic partner, or minor children, or where the estate would otherwise be absorbed by allowances and expenses.
Summary Assignment – another shortcut for estates too small to pay debts in full.
Formal or Informal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. Begins with a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) filed with the county Register in Probate to admit the will (if any) and appoint a personal representative.
Step 2: filing for administration
File a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) with the Grant County Register in Probate.
Mail notice of the hearing to all heirs, beneficiaries, and interested parties at least 20 days before the hearing; publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county for three successive weeks.
Once appointed, the personal representative inventories assets, and the court (for formal administration) or Register in Probate (for informal) sets a creditor claims deadline – generally 3 to 4 months from the date of the court’s order, with first publication of that notice required within 15 days of the order.
The personal representative pays valid debts and expenses, then distributes remaining assets to heirs/beneficiaries.
File a final accounting with the Circuit Court (Probate) showing all assets received, debts paid, and distributions made; once approved, the estate is closed.
Wisconsin Circuit Courts require attorneys to e-file; pro se (self-represented) filers are encouraged to use the Wisconsin Circuit Court eFiling system as well.
What it costs
Personal representative compensation: presumptive statutory rate of 2% of inventory value (Wis. Stat. §857.05), though the will or the parties can agree to a different amount.
Filing fees, publication costs, and (for real estate transfers under the small-estate process) an Affidavit of Heirship and Affidavit of Service, notarized and filed with the court.
Typical timeline: simple estates 6-12 months; complex or contested estates 18 months or longer.
Wisconsin does NOT impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, with a $15,000,000 per-person exemption for 2026 – meaning the vast majority of Wisconsin estates owe nothing.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
111 S Jefferson St, Lancaster, WI 53813
(608) 723-2157
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(608) 723-2727
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
Grant County Health Department, 111 S Jefferson St, Lancaster, WI 53813
(608) 723-6416
Economic Support Office
Grant County Economic Support Office, 111 S Jefferson St, Lancaster, WI 53813
(608) 723-6407
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Grant County Health Department – 111 S. Jefferson St., Lancaster, WI 53813
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