A Brief History of Madison, Wisconsin

The first people to inhabit the area that is now Madison were Native American "mound builders," who lived there between 300 and 1,300 AD. The Winnebago Nation were living in the area at the time of American settlement. Madison itself was created in 1836, when James Duane Doty, a former federal judge, purchased 1,200 acres of land and began to plat a grid of streets. He named it Madison in honor of James Madison, the former U.S President and signer of the U.S. Constitution. The streets of the city were to be named after the other signers of the Constitution.

Madison would become the capital of the newly formed Wisconsin Territory after Doty lobbied its legislature and gave them gifts of buffalo robes and discounts on Madison lots. Madison was approved as the capital on November 28th, 1836, while it had not even been constructed yet. It was incorporated as a village in 1846, and would remain the capital when Wisconsin became a state in 1848. The University of Wisconsin-Madison would be constructed in Madison in 1849, and the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad connected to Madison in 1854. In 1846, Madison was incorporated as a city with a population of 6,864, with settlers from all over the world. This growth has continued to the present, with the city and its people donating money and land constantly for public parks, improvements, and playgrounds.

If you wish to learn more about the history of Madison, you can visit these websites:
http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-Midwest/Madison-History.html
http://www.ci.madison.wi.us/Parks/madhist.html