The area around the Blue Mounds, Dane County, was first settled by Europeans in 1828 by Ebenezer Brigham, a successful lead miner from Massachusetts. He had traveled to Wisconsin to join in the lead rush of the late 1820s. After arriving, he set up operations just north of where the cave lies today. Ebenezer's house later became a trading post, an inn, a stagecoach stop, and the first post office in Dane County. Ebenezer Brigham later became a colonel and helped build and command Fort Blue Mounds during the Blackhawk War. He died after a long life, not knowing that a beautiful cave existed beneath his Brigham Farm.