[4] Dodge made a pact with the local Winnebago Indian leaders so he could build a cabin and smelter.

[4] A fourth settlement, Moon Spring, near the intersection of the present Highway 18 bypass and Bennett Road flourished until the cholera epidemic in the early 1850s.

At the time, Mineral Point was the seat, because it was centrally located in the 'old' Iowa County that stretched from the Wisconsin River in the north south to the Illinois border.

[citation needed] Dodgeville's population grew rapidly, and it became a center for mining and later, dairy product manufacturing and shipping.

Dodgeville became the largest city in Wisconsin at the time as well as most of the Midwest north of St. Louis, and west of Cincinnati.

[citation needed] The community's boom didn't last long though, and with the decline of mining its population was overtaken by rapidly growing cities like Chicago and Milwaukee.

[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.06 square miles (10.52 km2), all of it land.

The event, which takes place the third weekend of July, serves as a way for the people of Dodgeville to show appreciation for the farmers who are the backbone of the local economy.

The parade features farming implements, fire trucks and ambulances, and floats constructed by area churches and businesses.

The festival features cold BBQ sandwiches, music, rides, tractor pulls, and fireworks.

Several additions to the building have been added over the years, in keeping with the historic and classic architectural style of the original structure.

The Iowa County Historical Society restored the cabin and moved it to its present location on Fountain Street.

It is one of Wisconsin's oldest structures and may be the last extant mining camp cabin from the days of the "Lead Rush" of 1827–1830.

It was demolished during the 1990s to build a convenience store at the intersections of Highway 23—Bequette, North and Spring Streets.

In the 1940s the lower level of the opera house was the first location of the Iowa County Dairy Cooperative, before the coop built a structure near the intersection of Hwy.

The Dodgeville Primitive Methodist Church stood on this site until the present Plymouth Congregational UCC structure was built in 1907.

Downtown Dodgeville's historic buildings stretch six blocks along north and south Iowa Street.

Governor Dodge State Park is located on Highway 23, about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Dodgeville.

Dodgeville is home to WDMP-FM 99.3 offering a full service country format and WZRK 810 AM and 96.9 FM offering an active rock format, Dodgeville is also served locally by Wisconsin Public Radio transmitter WHHI 91.3 licensed to nearby Highland.

Dodgeville is a part of the larger Madison radio and television market with Madison-based broadcasters available over the air and on cable, satellite and OTT services.

[18] The Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) has a special needs van that serves Iowa County.

Dodgeville no longer has rail service, but was once served by both the Chicago and Northwestern and the Illinois Central Railroads.

The C&NW line extended from Madison to Dodgeville and then to points west and south, with its terminus in Galena.

The Illinois Central line to Dodgeville was removed in February 1942 and the rails were used in the construction of the Battleship Wisconsin, which was commissioned during World War II and served into the Vietnam era.

Later other structures were added to the hospital, which were eventually demolished to build the much larger existing Upland Hills Health Center.