Madison's History

Before the first European settlers arrived in 1836, the Ho-Chunk Indians (formerly called the Winnebago) lived in the area where Madison is located today. Many people of different backgrounds have arrived since then to make their homes in Madison. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city was over 208,000 people.

Madison was built on the isthmus between two lakes.

The Ho-Chunk called the Madison area "Taychopera" - meaning "land of the four lakes." The lakes are Mendota, Monona, Waubesa, and Kegonsa. Lakes Mendota and Monona are actually in Madison, but Waubesa and Kegonsa are south of the city.

Over the years, people have disagreed about how these lakes were first named. For example, some people say that Monona meant "beautiful" and the Ho-Chunk called it that because they thought it was the prettiest lake. Other people think the name meant "lake of the morning" because the Indians saw it as they watched the sun rise from the east in the morning.

Some people claim that Lake Mendota meant "large" or "great" because it was the biggest lake, but other people thought the name meant "lake of the evening" because the Indians looked across it as they watched the sun set in the west.

Lake Wingra is a smaller lake that is also within the city today, but it is not one of the chain of lakes. Its name means "dead lake" because it is surrounded by marsh and reeds.

From about 300-1300 A.D., Native American "mound builders" lived in the area where Madison is today. These Indian people built thousands of effigy mounds, but only a small number of the mounds survive. This example is the Vilas Circle Bear Effigy Mound, and it can be found on Vilas Avenue, near Lake Wingra and Vilas Park.

In 1829 James Doty, a territorial judge who later became governor of Wisconsin Territory, traveled through the isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. He liked the area so much that he purchased 1,200 acres of land for $1,500. Next, Doty hired Moses M. Strong to plat out a city in what was then a wilderness, and he named this spot "Madison" in honor of the fourth president of the United States, James Madison.

In 1836 Doty convinced the legislature to move the territorial capital from Belmont to his new city. In April, 1837 Roseline and Eben Peck arrived and built a log cabin that served as their home and also as an inn for travelers and for the men who were working on the capitol building. In this cabin the first pioneer child in Madison was born, and she was named Wisconsinana Victoria Peck. These pictures are an artist's sketch of the Pecks' cabin and a painting of Mrs. Peck.

This sign, at 128 S. Butler Street, marks the spot of the first Madison dwelling, where the Pecks lived. It was a group of 4 connected cabins that served as their home, an inn, a ballroom, a post office, a voting place, and even a hospital.

Other pioneer families soon joined the Pecks, and Madison grew rapidly. In 1848, when the Village of Madison was incorporated, there were 626 residents. By the time Madison was incorporated as a city in 1856, the population was 6,864.

Wisconsin's first capitol was in Belmont, a town southwest of Madison. In May of 1837, 36 workmen arrived from Milwaukee to begin work on the second capitol building. They chose the hill between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. Stone was taken from Maple Bluff, and oak trees on the nearby hill provided wood paneling for the building. Here is a picture of the second state capitol, built in Madison on the spot where today's capitol is located. It was soon decided that this second building was too small, and so a third capitol was built on the same spot in 1857.

In 1904, a fire swept through the State Capitol and damaged or destroyed much of the building.

Firemen who were fighting the fire rescued a screaming eagle, named Old Abe, from the burning Capitol building. Old Abe had become famous during the Civil War, and until the time of the fire he had lived in a cage in the basement in the capitol building.

Click here to find out more about Old Abe, the Civil War eagle.

Public schools have always been an important part of the Madison community. Here are a few facts about Madison's first schools:

• In the spring of 1838 the first school opened its doors to about a dozen children. School was held in the building that was also the home of Isaac Palmer and his wife.
• The Palmers' home-and the building where the first school class took place-- was made of wood and located on the corner of King and Clymer streets, near what is now the Capitol Square.
• Our first school teacher was Miss Louisa Brayton. Her salary was $2.00 per week, but she had to pay half of that amount each week for her room and board.
• In 1839, residents of the village of Madison used tax money to build the area's first official school building on the corner of Pinckney and Dayton streets.
• A new, brick school building, known as the "Little Brick," was completed in 1845 at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Butler Street.
• In 1847 the "Female Academy," a school for older girls, was built on the block near Wisconsin Avenue and West Johnson streets.
• After Madison became a city in 1856, it was divided into four wards and the first superintendent, Damon Kilgore, was hired to oversee the education of Madison's 1,865 school-aged children.

Today, Madison's students and teachers often research the history of their schools. Some of them have created Web sites to document their efforts. Click on these links to find out about the histories of Allis Elementary, Crestwood Elementary, Mendota Elementary and Randall Elementary.

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Mansion Hill Homes

Many important Madison people in business, politics, and education chose an area called Mansion Hill, located between Lake Mendota and the Capitol, for their homes. It was also called Yankee Hill and Big Bug Hill. Here are pictures of some of those homes:

In 1858 Pierce House was built as "the best money could buy." Some of the materials were shipped in from Europe, and sandstone from Prairie du Chien was used. The architect, Samuel Hunter Donnel, used some of the same designs he used on the capitol building. A tunnel connected the house and the barn so that people could be safe from Indian attacks. It can be seen at 424 North Pinckney Street. Today this house is known as the Mansion Hill Inn, a bed and breakfast.

Bashford House is located at 423 North Pinckney Street, across the street from the Pierce House. It was designed by the same architect and was built in 1857 for a banker. The house is named for Robert Bashford, a former city attorney and also a mayor of Madison. It is now divided into apartments. All the downstairs rooms have fireplaces with hand-carved wooden mantels. The walls are two-and-one-half feet thick and are made of brick. Holes were left in the brick walls to let the heat pass from room to room.

Gilman House was the Old Governor's Mansion and is located at 130 East Gilman Street. It was built in 1855 and sold in 1883 to Jeremiah Rusk during his term as governor for a sum of $15,000. It was sold again two years later to the State of Wisconsin. It was the Governor's Mansion from 1885 to 1950.

Kendall House is located at 104 East Gilman Street. It was built in 1855 for J. E. Kendall, a pioneer banker. It is a landmark on Mansion Hill, and it is one of the oldest remaining sandstone mansions in the city.

The Keenan House, at 28 East Gilman Street, was built in 1858. It was designed by August Kutzbock. Dr. George Keenan, an important Madison physician, lived in the house from 1900 to 1916.