Madison Area History

Photos

Winifred Ford's Watercolors - Madison
In 1938-39, Winifred Ford created over 40 watercolors of Madison residences, the old City Hall, and UW buildings. See these paintings at the Wisconsin Historical Society's site.

Historic Madison Photos Circa 1890
The Library of Congress has an online exhibit called American Memory. It includes photos from the Detroit Publishing Co. collection. You can search the collection by keyword. Type "Madison and Wisconsin" and see what you get.

"Lost Madison" Photo Collection
The "Lost Madison Collection" features 30 framed photographs of Madison buildings which for one reason or another were demolished. A sample of these are available online, and the full set are available for viewing at the Central Library.

Books

City Directories - Historical County Plat Maps from South Central Wisconsin and Early Madison City Directories is a digital collection that features fully-searchable atlases and plat books from South Central Wisconsin, specifically Columbia, Dane, Portage and Wood counties, as well as digital city directories from Madison during the years 1858 - 1917.

Early Madison : Reminiscences and Booklists
A bibliography of books about Madison's history, from the University of Wisconsin to Grace Episcopal Church to historical maps. Created by library staff in 1998.

John Nolen's Madison: a Model City by John Nolen. Boston: Mass, 1911. - Electronic version - See the library's reference copy
Written in 1911, the report is a preeminent example of the urban landscape movement of the turn of the century. Text, illustrations and maps are included.

A History of Madison, the Capital of Wisconsin; Including the Four Lake Country; to July, 1874, with an Appendix of Notes on Dane County and Its Town by Daniel Durrie. Madison: WI, 1874. - Electronic version - See the library's reference copy
One of the earliest works completed featuring local research.

Madison, Dane County and Surrounding Towns; Being a History and Guide to Places of Scenic Beauty and Historical Note ... Early Intercourse of the Settlers with the Indians ... with a Complete List of County Supervisors and Officers, and Legislative Members. Madison: WI, 1877. - Electronic version - Reserve the library book
A history of the area from the very beginning of settlement as well as a guide to specific local communities as they were represented in the late 1800s.

Madison, A History of the Formative Years by David V. Mollenhoff. - Reserve the library book: Kendall/Hunt, c1982 version | University of Wisconsin Press, c2003 edition

Madison, Past and Present. Wisconsin State Journal, 1902. - Read online - Reserve the library book
Selections from a Souvenir Volume published to celebrate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Wisconsin State Journal (1852-1902). Part of the Wisconsin Electric Reader.

Madison Park and Pleasure Drive Association Reports. Annual reports of the officers of the Madison Park and Pleasure Drive Association, 1899-1905 is a digital collection that is fully searchable and describes how the drives and parkways that are an integral part of Madison's landscape came to be.

The Story of Madison by Reuben Gold Thwaites. J. N. Purcell, 1900. - Electronic version - Reserve the library book
The early history of the city of Madison, Wisconsin, covering pre-statehood through the end of the 19th century.

Neighborhoods

City of Madison's Neighborhoods
This site links to neighborhood organizations, neighborhood maps, business directories, and neighborhood organization web sites.

Greenbush Cultural Tour
A collaborative community project featuring the neighborhood immediately south of the University of Wisconsin and the State Capitol.

Historic Blooming Grove Historical Society
Discover the historic Blooming Grove area, now incorporated into Madison and Monona.

Madison Commons
A project of the UW-Madison School of Journalism & Mass Communication and its Center for Communication and Democracy. "The Madison Commons [is] a website designed to provide news and information about all of Madison's neighborhoods and a crossroads for the discussion of community issues."

Madison Street Name Origins
Taken from Wisconsin Historical Society's Odd Wisconsin Archive: Origins of  Madison Street Names, this site includes brief information on the persons after whom James Doty named Madison streets.

Park Street Cultural Tour
In 2003-2004, the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures coordinated a four day walking tour along the Park Street Corridor with a 4th/5th grade class at Randall School.

South Madison Oral History Project
Lincoln Elementary School students conducted oral history interviews of citizens in the South Madison area.

School Spirit*

Alumni information and yearbook collections for Madison area high schools can be found on our School Spirit page.

*Alumni web site links compiled by Nadine Goff.

Resources and Organizations

Dane County Cultural Resources Directory, 2004
Over 250 local cultural, arts, and history organizations available as a PDF file courtesy of the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission.

Dane County Historical Society - Historical Archives and Records Center
The Dane County Historical Archives and Records Center was created in 1964 to collect, preserve and make available the primary historical records of people, businesses and organizations with ties to the County.

Dane County Genealogical Society
Includes links, DCGS newsletters, and upcoming events.

Historic Madison, Inc.
Madison's historical society site includes a brief history of Madison and a list of city landmarks.

Madison Trust for Historic Preservation
Find out information about preservation efforts and events in Madison, and discover links to walking tours, other local history sites, view photos, and more.

Incidents and Events

Black Student Protest
A digitized exhibit of Wisconsin State Journal articles covering the black UW-Madison student protests of February 1969. Web page developed by the Wisconsin State Journal, featuring their original news coverage of the events leading up to the protests, the protests, and the news coverage of related issues for the rest of 1969.

Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Association, Inc.
Organized in Madison on June 11, 1861 as a 3 year regiment, they became known as the Iron Brigade. Links are given to other Civil War sites.

Stories from the Start: Early Life in Madison
Exhibit of Madison history from the Wisconsin State Historical Society in honor of the city's sesquicentennial.

Sterling Hall Bombing
Find newspaper articles covering the Sterling Hall bombing on the UW-Madison campus on August 24, 1970. Web page developed by Wisconsin State Journal featuring their original news coverage from 1970 and subsequent follow-up stories through 2005.

St. Raphael Cathedral History
The oldest Catholic church in the city of Madison. The church burned on March 14, 2005.

Genealogy

See our recommended sites for genealogists and genealogical resources bibliography.

The library subscribes to two databases for genealogists:

Ancestry Library
Search AncestryPlus for access to genealogy information in more than 4,000 databases, including census data, passenger lists, the Social Security Death Index, and much more. This database is only available within the library. [Help with login problems]

HeritageQuest
HeritageQuest provides access to genealogy records and books, including census data, local histories, tax rolls, cemetery lists, military rosters, and more. This database is available inside the library, or outside the library with a valid Madison or South Central Library System library card. [Help with login problems]

Madison Public Library Has Its Own Unique History

Free and Public: One Hundred Years with Madison Public Library by Janet Smith Ela. Ela, with Friends of Madison Public Library. 1975. - Reserve the library book

All Their Ways Are Helping Ways: Stories from the History of Madison Public Library
In 2000, the library celebrated its 125th anniversary with a web site featuring 125 stories for 125 days. Dr. Bob Kann condensed these stories into a book, available on our web site.

Photos: Original City Hall building, circa 1903. - Madison, A History of the Formative Years by David Mollenhoff (book cover) - The interior of the original Madison Free Library, 1906.