Term: Potosi [origin of place name]

Definition:

Explanation 1: Named after the Spanish word for lead, which was mined just previous to the Black Hawk War, during which time shanties and log houses were built. Explanation 2: Believed to be a corruption of the Native American name "Potosa," which is believed to have been the name of Julien Dubuque's wife. Explanation 3:  named in 1839, probably by miners from Potosi, Mo. since during the 1830s, many Missouri and Southern Illinois miners moved into Wisconsin's lead region; the original name, Potosí, was attached to a mountain in Bolivia and the word itself is said to mean "great thunderous noise," from potocsí, a word in the Quechuan or Aymarán language.

View a related article at Wisconsin Magazine of History Archives.