History of Madison, Wisconsin, USA

1836 - Madison, Wisconsin founded

wikipedia.org

1854 - Madison
Madison,. capital of the state of Wisconsin, and seat of justice of Dane county, is pleasantly situated on an isthmus between Third lake and Fourth lake, 80 miles W. from Milwaukee, and 154 miles N. W. from Chicago. Lat. 43° 5' N., Ion. 89° 20' W. It stands in the centre of a broad valley, surrounded by heights from which the town can be seen at a distance of several miles. The isthmus is about three-quarters of a mile in width. Fourth lake, which lies on the N. W. side of the town, is 6 miles long by 4 miles wide. It is a beautiful sheet of water, with clean, gravelly shores. The depth is sufficient for navigation by steamboats, and is estimated at about 60 feet. The Third lake is rather smaller. When this place was selected for the seat of government, in 1836, it contained no building but a solitary log cabin. The capitol, which is a limestone structure, built at an expense of $60,000, stands on ground 70 feet above the level of the lakes, and is surrounded by a public square. The... Read MORE...

1879 - A MADISON BLAZE. One of the Finest Blocks in the City Gutted
Soon after one o'clock this afternoon the third and upper story of the great stone building at the southwest corner of Main and Pinckney streets, and owned the Fairchild estate, was discovered to be a fire. This building is occupied on the street floor by M. S. Rowley & Co, hatters and gentlemen's furnishing goods; Bain [unable to read] and Klauber, furnishings goods and merchant tailoring; McConnell & Smith, stationery and musical instruments; and C. A. Damon, merchant tailor. The entire second story was occupied by Thos. Morgan, billiard parlor, saloon and restaurant, while the third story, over Klauber's is occupied by Mr. Klauber as a tailor shop. The rest of the third story was unoccupied.
The fire appear [sic] to have been

FIRST NOTICED
by Fred Eberts, bar-keeper for Morgan who discovered the ceiling over a portion of the eating room to be in a blaze. He rushed down stairs and cried "Fire." Out of the corner room in the third story flames were darting out.

There was a... Read MORE...

1895 - Madison
Madison, a city, the capital of Wisconsin, and seat of justice of Dane co., is pleasantly situated on an isthmus between Lakes Mendota and Monona, 80 miles W. of Milwaukee, and 132 miles N.W. of Chicago, in lat. 43° 5' N., lon. 89° 20' W. Elevation, 788 feet. It stands in the centre of a broad valley, surrounded by heights, from which the city can be seen at a distance of several miles. The isthmus is about three-quarters of a mile in width. Lake Mendota, which lies on the N.W. side of the town, is 6 miles long by 4 miles wide. It is a beautiful sheet of water, with clean gravelly shores. The depth is sufficient for navigation by steamboats, and is estimated at about 60 feet. Lake Monona is rather smaller. When this place was selected for the seat of government, in 1836, it contained no building but a solitary log cabin. The capitol is a beautiful structure, built of stone at an expense of $500,000, standing on ground 70 feet above the level of the lakes, and in the centre of a public ... Read MORE...

1901 - Madison - The City of the Four Lakes by Rueben G. Thwarts
In 1836, that portion of Michigan Territory which lay west of Lake Michigan, was erected into the Territory of Wisconsin. Within the borders of the nascent commonwealth there lived at that time about twelve thousand whites and nine thousand Indians. Many of the sites of future cities of Wisconsin were already occupied by agricultural settlers, isolated or in tiny groups.

Green Bay, a straggling French-Canadian settlement, had comer down from the seventeenth century, maintaining a sickly existence upon the fur trade and the coasting traffic of the upper Great Lakes; Forts Winnebago (at Portage) and Crawford (at Prairie du Chien) were surrounded by meagre hamlets, chiefly of French creoles; the lead mining region in the southwest, although sparsely settled, contained the bulk of the white population, with Mineral Point as its centre, a village having at the time an apparently brighter prospect than the new settlement at the mouth of Milwaukee River; there were also a few notches... Read MORE...

1904 - FIRE RUINED THE CAPITOL WISCONSIN'S MAGNIFICENT CAPITOL BUILDING TOTALLY DESTROYED BY FIRE ONE MILLION DOLLAR LOSS
LOSS IS FIXED AT $1,000,000 EXCLUSIVE OF VALUABLE RELICS BURNED
THERE WAS LITTLE OR NO INSURANCE ON THE BUILDING, THE STATE HAVING CHANGED FROM INSURANCE IN COMPANIES TO A SYSTEM OF STATE INSURANCE - CAPITOL FIGHT EXPECTED.
Madison, Wis., Feb. 27. - Wisconsin's picturesque capitol, the pride of the state for decades, is in ruins. All that remains intact from the devastating flames which started early this morning is the extreme north extension, the contents of which are practically ruined by water. Jagged walls, from which every vestige of inflammable material has been eaten by the fury of the flames, are all that mark what was yesterday the center of Wisconsin's executive life. The loss will be about $1,000,000, exclusive of relics. There was little or no insurance, the state having changed from insurance in companies to a system of state insurance.

GOV. SCHOFIELD maintained insurance on the building throughout his term totaling $600,000, but the last legislature instituted an... Read MORE...

1906
Madison, a city, the capital of Wisconsin and seat of justice of Dane co., is pleasantly situated on an isthmus between lakes Mendota and Monona, 82 miles W. of Milwaukee and 132 miles NW. of Chicago, on the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul and other railroads, in lat. 43 5' N., Ion. 89° 20' W. Elevation, about 800 feet. It stands in the centre of a broad valley, surrounded by heights, from which the city can be seen at a distance of several miles. The capitol is a beautiful structure, standing on ground 70 feet above the level of the lakes and in the centre of a public park. On College Hill, 1 mile W. of the capitol and about 125 feet above the lake, is situated the University of Wisconsin, open to both sexes, which was instituted in 1849 and had in 1902-03, 2870 students. With it are associated the Washburn Observatory (lat. 43° 4' 36" N., Ion. 89° 24' 28" W. ) and a library containing 80,000 volumes. Other institutions of the city are the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and... Read MORE...

1907 - RESCUED IN NICK OF TIME.
Miss Lyla Ransom and E. S. Burnett Narrowly Escape Drowning in Lake Mendota.
(Special to The Northwestern.)
Madison, Wis., Aug. 24. - After one of the most terrible experiences ever recorded on the Madison lakes, during which they clung to an upturned canoe for over two hours in the midst of a raging wind and thunder storm on Lake Mendota, Miss. Lyla Ransom of Wingra Park and E. S. Burnett, research assistant in mechanical engineering at the university, were rescued from a watery grave just in the nick of time. In three minutes more they would have been forced by fatigue to slip over into the deep. The rescuers were Rev. F. T. Galpin of the First Baptist church, Donald Seibel and Frank Roland. Valuable assistance was also rendered by Henry Cook. Miss Ransom leaves soon for Oshkosh to become supervisor of music in the city schools.
The Daily Northwestern
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
August 24, 1907

Here's a list of places to go and things to do in and around Madison:
Wisconsin State Capitol: Start your journey with a visit to the majestic State Capitol building. You can explore its beautiful architecture, take a guided tour, and even go to the observation deck for a fantastic view of the city.

Memorial Union Terrace: Located on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, the Memorial Union Terrace is a must-visit spot. Enjoy a beer, ice cream, or just relax by the lake, taking in live music and beautiful sunsets.

Olbrich Botanical Gardens: Stroll through the stunning gardens featuring Thai pavilions, a serene Thai garden, and the Bolz Conservatory, which houses a diverse collection of plants.

Henry Vilas Zoo: It's a free, family-friendly attraction with a variety of animals, a carousel, and a great place for a picnic.

Chazen Museum of Art: Located on the UW-Madison campus, this museum houses an impressive collection of art, including paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts.

Dane County Farmers' Market: This famous market... Read MORE...