Wisconsin's 250 Years of History: Mukwonago LbNA #77797
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Add Location| Owner: | Mukwonago Historical Soc.
 |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Apr 6, 2026 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Mukwonago |
| County: | Waukesha |
| State: | Wisconsin |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | Not yet found! |
|---|---|
| Last found: | N/A |
| Last edited: | Apr 6, 2026 |
HISTORICAL MUKWONAGO MUCKETY MUCKS
Formatted clues (pdf) - click the link above or copy/paste this link to a browser:
www.mukwonagohistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/LetterboxingCluesMHS.pdf
Mukwonago Historical Society Letterbox Clues:
INSTRUCTIONS:
The clues are in Oak Knoll Cemetery [328 Eagle Lake Ave & Rochester St/Hwy 83, Mukwonago, WI, 53149] and will reveal where the letterbox is hidden. Find the gravestones to which you will be navigated in the clues below, fill in the blanks from the names on the gravestone at each destination. Transfer the “MARKED” letters to the appropriate line at the END OF ALL CLUES. For example, a letter in parentheses ( ) is transferred to the ( ) line at the end. Names are separated by an asterisk: *. Each triple hyphen --- is ONE letter (this text editor does not print underscores). Pace ranges are given for different sized adults. After all clues have been solved & all MARKED letters transferred to the end, unscramble the letters to create common words and a Mukwonago address that reveal where the Letterbox is hidden.
PARKING:
There is a 1-lane road in the cemetery where you can park alongside - entrance opposite Gibson St on Eagle Lake Ave/Hwy LO. Street parking to the east of Rochester St/Hwy 83 (be very careful crossing the busy road!)
Pre-White Settler History:
The Winnebago tribe inhabited Waukesha County prior to the Potawatomi tribe who arrived in the early 1700s and established the Potawatomi Indian Village along the Fox River, where the Village of Mukwonago is now located. In 1832 the Potawatomi ceded their lands, leading to an influx of white settlers.
STARTING POSITION:
Start at the south end of the Oak Knoll Cemetery sign along Hwy 83/Rochester St. Face west (away from Hwy 83/Rochester St.)
CLUE #1:
Walk west just past the large PINE TREE. Face north (right). Walk a short distance north until you approach a large grey granite gravestone.
BIO: This man (b. 1807) was one of the first settlers in Mukwonago, emigrating from Andover, Vermont. A city street bears his last name. He built the first trading post in the area and also the first brick house in Waukesha County in 1842. His house is the home of the Red Brick Museum and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
--- --- --- --- --- ( --- ) * | --- | --- --- --- --- --- < --- >
To solve a number needed in the clue at the end:
1a) Subtract his birth year from his death year: --- ---
1b) Subtract his wife's birth year from death year: --- ---
1c) Add the above 2 numbers and subtract 20: --- --- ---
>> Transfer the number in 1c to the end.
CLUE #2:
From the north side of Clue #1’s gravestone, face west (away from road). Walk 12-20 paces. Face south (left). Go 1 gravestone south.
BIO: This Freemason (b. 1848) was a Mukwonago wagon maker and blacksmith. After buying the inventory of parts from the failed Mystic Bicycle Works in 1897, he and his son formed their own bicycle manufacturing company and sold bicycles until 1910, each which sold for around $75 which was a lot of money back then ($2500 value today).
| --- | --- --- --- [ --- ] --- * --- --- --- --- --- ( --- ) ---
CLUE #3: In front of gravestone, face south. Walk 40-50 paces. Face west (right). Walk 4-7 paces to a bright white stone Civil War gravestone.
BIO: This Civil War soldier (b. 1828) was 1 of 13 children born in New York. He served in Company B of the 106th New York infantry, part of the Union Army of the Potomac for 2 yr 9 mo. In November 1864 he was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps in which he served until March 1865. After the war he moved to Wisconsin in 1869 (Lake Geneva) and then to Mukwonago in 1871. His son Gilbert built and ran the eponymous hotel, part of which survives today as “Fork in the Road” restaurant.
--- --- --- { --- } --- --- --- * { --- } --- --- --- --- --- [ --- ] --- --- ---
CLUE #4:
Face south. Walk 30-38 paces. Face west (right). Walk 15-20 paces. Look for a flat in-ground gravestone and a metal Civil War flag stake.
BIO: This man from Georgia escaped slavery by joining the Union army and becoming a bodyguard to Wisconsin Infantry Captain J.M. Randall. He was praised for his bravery under fire during subsequent battles. After the war, he traveled to Mukwonago with Captain Randall where the Captain's relatives, the Chafins, had a farm on the shore of Stockman Lake (now Phantom Lake). He stayed with them and worked as a horse trainer and later became a local hero when he saved the Chafin's two boys from drowning, one who later ran for US President twice under the Prohibition ticket.
[ --- ] --- { --- } --- --- { --- } --- --- * --- < --- > --- --- [ --- ]
CLUE #5:
From the west (bottom) side of Clue #4 gravestone, face north. Walk 25-30 paces. Face west (left). Walk past GIBSON 34-50 paces. Look for a GAR metal flag stake.
BIO: This Civil War soldier (b. 1841) was born in New York, grew up in Pennsylvania, and moved with his family to Mukwonago just before the outbreak of the Civil War. He enlisted in June 1861 and was a member of the 5th Wisconsin infantry in the Army of the Potomac for 3 years. The 5th was a hard-fighting unit, instrumental in securing victory in a number of battles in Virginia – 2nd Fredericksburg, Rappahannock Station, the Wilderness – among others. He was known in Mukwonago and Waukesha County for his exploits as a hunter and woodsman, having held the county record for most cords of wood cut in a single day.
--- --- --- --- { --- } --- --- * --- < --- > --- --- --- --- --- ---
CLUE #6:
Face north. Walk (between the 2 stumps) for 70-100 paces to the north side of the SMART gravestone. Face west (left). Walk 20-30 paces past BOYD to the west-facing GOODMAN gravestone. Face north (right). Walk 12-15 paces north to find the large gray east-west family stone with different last names on each side. Locate the first (northmost) small family gravestone in the group of 4.
BIO: This Mukwonago native (b. 1874) was the first woman lawyer in Waukesha County. Besides being a practicing attorney, she was a justice of the peace, ghost speech writer, and author of many books and articles. She was listed in “Who’s Who in America” and founded Kappa Beta Pi, the first international legal sorority in the world and founder of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois.
{ ---} --- | --- | --- --- * --- --- ( --- ) --- --- --- --- | --- |
CLUE #7:
Start at the south side of the large family gravestone in Clue #6. Walk south 20-28 paces to the WAGNER gravestone. Face west (right). Walk 70-100 paces west to a lone gravestone of a former member of the M.V.F.D. along the road.
BIO: This black man (b. 1869) arrived in Mukwonago around 1900 looking for work. He first was hired as a livery hand for the Dillenbeck Hotel; later bought his own team and wagon and hired out for hauling and helped build Highway ES. He played guitar and could sing and entertained boys from the town and taught them how to fish. He was a renowned psychic that people came to for readings at his house and Village gatherings. His burial site was left unmarked in 1934; in 1967, the firemen of M.V.F.D purchased a gravestone to honor their fellow firefighter.
[ --- ] --- --- * --- --- { --- } --- ---
LETTERBOX LOCATION SCRAMBLE PUZZLE:
Transfer the marked letters from above to the spaces below and >>> unscramble the words.
Letters in parentheses ( ): --- --- --- >>> --- --- ---
Letters in brackets [ ]: --- --- --- --- --- >>> --- --- --- --- ---
Letters in braces { }: --- --- --- --- --- --- --- >>> --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Letters in angles < >: --- --- --- P >>> --- --- --- ---
The Letterbox location address:
The number from Clue #1c: --- --- ---
Letters in bars '| |': --- --- --- --- >>> --- --- --- ---
These clues are found on www.letterboxing.org, titles
“Wisconsin's 250 Years of History: Mukwonago”
&
“Waukesha County 250: Mukwonago”
www.mukwonagohistoricalsociety.org
Formatted clues (pdf) - click the link above or copy/paste this link to a browser:
www.mukwonagohistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/LetterboxingCluesMHS.pdf
Mukwonago Historical Society Letterbox Clues:
INSTRUCTIONS:
The clues are in Oak Knoll Cemetery [328 Eagle Lake Ave & Rochester St/Hwy 83, Mukwonago, WI, 53149] and will reveal where the letterbox is hidden. Find the gravestones to which you will be navigated in the clues below, fill in the blanks from the names on the gravestone at each destination. Transfer the “MARKED” letters to the appropriate line at the END OF ALL CLUES. For example, a letter in parentheses ( ) is transferred to the ( ) line at the end. Names are separated by an asterisk: *. Each triple hyphen --- is ONE letter (this text editor does not print underscores). Pace ranges are given for different sized adults. After all clues have been solved & all MARKED letters transferred to the end, unscramble the letters to create common words and a Mukwonago address that reveal where the Letterbox is hidden.
PARKING:
There is a 1-lane road in the cemetery where you can park alongside - entrance opposite Gibson St on Eagle Lake Ave/Hwy LO. Street parking to the east of Rochester St/Hwy 83 (be very careful crossing the busy road!)
Pre-White Settler History:
The Winnebago tribe inhabited Waukesha County prior to the Potawatomi tribe who arrived in the early 1700s and established the Potawatomi Indian Village along the Fox River, where the Village of Mukwonago is now located. In 1832 the Potawatomi ceded their lands, leading to an influx of white settlers.
STARTING POSITION:
Start at the south end of the Oak Knoll Cemetery sign along Hwy 83/Rochester St. Face west (away from Hwy 83/Rochester St.)
CLUE #1:
Walk west just past the large PINE TREE. Face north (right). Walk a short distance north until you approach a large grey granite gravestone.
BIO: This man (b. 1807) was one of the first settlers in Mukwonago, emigrating from Andover, Vermont. A city street bears his last name. He built the first trading post in the area and also the first brick house in Waukesha County in 1842. His house is the home of the Red Brick Museum and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
--- --- --- --- --- ( --- ) * | --- | --- --- --- --- --- < --- >
To solve a number needed in the clue at the end:
1a) Subtract his birth year from his death year: --- ---
1b) Subtract his wife's birth year from death year: --- ---
1c) Add the above 2 numbers and subtract 20: --- --- ---
>> Transfer the number in 1c to the end.
CLUE #2:
From the north side of Clue #1’s gravestone, face west (away from road). Walk 12-20 paces. Face south (left). Go 1 gravestone south.
BIO: This Freemason (b. 1848) was a Mukwonago wagon maker and blacksmith. After buying the inventory of parts from the failed Mystic Bicycle Works in 1897, he and his son formed their own bicycle manufacturing company and sold bicycles until 1910, each which sold for around $75 which was a lot of money back then ($2500 value today).
| --- | --- --- --- [ --- ] --- * --- --- --- --- --- ( --- ) ---
CLUE #3: In front of gravestone, face south. Walk 40-50 paces. Face west (right). Walk 4-7 paces to a bright white stone Civil War gravestone.
BIO: This Civil War soldier (b. 1828) was 1 of 13 children born in New York. He served in Company B of the 106th New York infantry, part of the Union Army of the Potomac for 2 yr 9 mo. In November 1864 he was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps in which he served until March 1865. After the war he moved to Wisconsin in 1869 (Lake Geneva) and then to Mukwonago in 1871. His son Gilbert built and ran the eponymous hotel, part of which survives today as “Fork in the Road” restaurant.
--- --- --- { --- } --- --- --- * { --- } --- --- --- --- --- [ --- ] --- --- ---
CLUE #4:
Face south. Walk 30-38 paces. Face west (right). Walk 15-20 paces. Look for a flat in-ground gravestone and a metal Civil War flag stake.
BIO: This man from Georgia escaped slavery by joining the Union army and becoming a bodyguard to Wisconsin Infantry Captain J.M. Randall. He was praised for his bravery under fire during subsequent battles. After the war, he traveled to Mukwonago with Captain Randall where the Captain's relatives, the Chafins, had a farm on the shore of Stockman Lake (now Phantom Lake). He stayed with them and worked as a horse trainer and later became a local hero when he saved the Chafin's two boys from drowning, one who later ran for US President twice under the Prohibition ticket.
[ --- ] --- { --- } --- --- { --- } --- --- * --- < --- > --- --- [ --- ]
CLUE #5:
From the west (bottom) side of Clue #4 gravestone, face north. Walk 25-30 paces. Face west (left). Walk past GIBSON 34-50 paces. Look for a GAR metal flag stake.
BIO: This Civil War soldier (b. 1841) was born in New York, grew up in Pennsylvania, and moved with his family to Mukwonago just before the outbreak of the Civil War. He enlisted in June 1861 and was a member of the 5th Wisconsin infantry in the Army of the Potomac for 3 years. The 5th was a hard-fighting unit, instrumental in securing victory in a number of battles in Virginia – 2nd Fredericksburg, Rappahannock Station, the Wilderness – among others. He was known in Mukwonago and Waukesha County for his exploits as a hunter and woodsman, having held the county record for most cords of wood cut in a single day.
--- --- --- --- { --- } --- --- * --- < --- > --- --- --- --- --- ---
CLUE #6:
Face north. Walk (between the 2 stumps) for 70-100 paces to the north side of the SMART gravestone. Face west (left). Walk 20-30 paces past BOYD to the west-facing GOODMAN gravestone. Face north (right). Walk 12-15 paces north to find the large gray east-west family stone with different last names on each side. Locate the first (northmost) small family gravestone in the group of 4.
BIO: This Mukwonago native (b. 1874) was the first woman lawyer in Waukesha County. Besides being a practicing attorney, she was a justice of the peace, ghost speech writer, and author of many books and articles. She was listed in “Who’s Who in America” and founded Kappa Beta Pi, the first international legal sorority in the world and founder of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois.
{ ---} --- | --- | --- --- * --- --- ( --- ) --- --- --- --- | --- |
CLUE #7:
Start at the south side of the large family gravestone in Clue #6. Walk south 20-28 paces to the WAGNER gravestone. Face west (right). Walk 70-100 paces west to a lone gravestone of a former member of the M.V.F.D. along the road.
BIO: This black man (b. 1869) arrived in Mukwonago around 1900 looking for work. He first was hired as a livery hand for the Dillenbeck Hotel; later bought his own team and wagon and hired out for hauling and helped build Highway ES. He played guitar and could sing and entertained boys from the town and taught them how to fish. He was a renowned psychic that people came to for readings at his house and Village gatherings. His burial site was left unmarked in 1934; in 1967, the firemen of M.V.F.D purchased a gravestone to honor their fellow firefighter.
[ --- ] --- --- * --- --- { --- } --- ---
LETTERBOX LOCATION SCRAMBLE PUZZLE:
Transfer the marked letters from above to the spaces below and >>> unscramble the words.
Letters in parentheses ( ): --- --- --- >>> --- --- ---
Letters in brackets [ ]: --- --- --- --- --- >>> --- --- --- --- ---
Letters in braces { }: --- --- --- --- --- --- --- >>> --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Letters in angles < >: --- --- --- P >>> --- --- --- ---
The Letterbox location address:
The number from Clue #1c: --- --- ---
Letters in bars '| |': --- --- --- --- >>> --- --- --- ---
These clues are found on www.letterboxing.org, titles
“Wisconsin's 250 Years of History: Mukwonago”
&
“Waukesha County 250: Mukwonago”
www.mukwonagohistoricalsociety.org