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 $50,000, stands on ground 70 feet above the level of the lakes, and is surrounded by a public square. The streets which lead from the capitol towards the cardinal points descend gradually to the shores of the lakes, excepting the one which extends westward to College hill. On this eminence, 1 mile W. from the capitol, and about 125 feet above the lake, is situated the university of Wisconsin, which was instituted in 1849. Three newspapers are published. It contains a bank, 5 or 6 churches, 26 stores, an iron foundry, a woollen factory, and several steam mills. The author of "Western Portraiture" gives the following lively sketch of this place and its environs:—"Madison perhaps combines and overlooks more charming and diversified scenery to please the eye of fancy and promote health and pleasure, than any other town in the West, and in these respects it surpasses every other state capital in the Union. Its- bright lakes, fresh groves, rippling rivulets, shady dales, and flowery meadow lawns, are commingled in greater profusion, and disposed in more picturesque order than we have ever elsewhere beheld. . . . Nor is it less noteworthy for its business advantages and its healthful position. Situated on elevated ground, amid delightful groves and productive lands, well above the cool, clear lakes, it must be healthy; while the abundance and convenience of fine streams and water-power must facilitate a sound and rapid advancement in agriculture and the mechanic arts. There are also liberal charters for railroads connecting Madison with Milwaukee, Chicago, and the Mississippi, some of which are being pushed ahead with energy." Population in 1840, 876; in 1850, 1525; in 1853, about 3500. (Baldwin's New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States..., 1854)
MADISON, Village, the capital of Wisconsin, and seat of justice of the county of Dane, is situated on sections 13, 14, 23 and 24, in town of same name, at the geographical centre of the county, and midway between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi river, being about 80 miles from each. It is widely noted for the beauty, health and pleasantness of its location, which is on an isthmus about one mile in width, lying between the Third and Fourth Lakes. The surface is somewhat uneven, but in no place too abrupt for building purposes. From either lake it rises to an altitude of about fifty feet, and is then depressed and elevated alternately, making the site of the village a series of gently undulating swells. The State house, a substantial edifice of lime-stone, is built, at the corners of the sections, in the centre of a square park, containing fourteen acres, covered with a luxuriant growth of native oaks, and upon the highest point between the lakes, overlooking each and the surrounding village. It has a large hall through the centre, and contains all of the State offices—the state library, the legislative chambers, and several committee rooms. The corners of the Capitol square are to the cardinal points of the compass, and from each of them a street extends, terminating, excepting the western, in the water. The streets are all straight, sixty-six feet wide, and, with the exception of those just described, are parallel to the sides of the Capitol square, and, consequently, diagonal with the meridian. From the centre of each side of the park, and at right angles with it and the principal streets, broad avenues, eight rods wide, extend completely across the town plat. At the termination of the street leading from the western corner of the park, and one mile directly west from the Capitol, on College Hill, near the shore of Fourth Lake, and in the middle of a park of fifty-five acres, commanding an extensive view of the town, lakes, and surrounding country, the buildings of the University of Wisconsin are located. Near the southern corner of the Capitol square, the Court House of Dane county, a large structure of lime-stone, containing commodious rooms for courts and county officers, is built. About a mile from the northern corner of the Capitol park, on the shore of Fourth Lake, at its outlet, is the best flouring mill in the State, and other machinery, owned by L. J. Farwell, present Governor of Wisconsin. Near the eastern corner of the square, the Post Office, Bank, Hotels, Stores, and other business stands, are located. The site of the town was located as early as 1833 by James Duane Doty, afterwards Governor of the Territory, and more recently Member of Congress; and the village plat was made out by his direction in 1836. A large addition to this plat was laid out in 1850, near the University, known as the "University Addition." Another addition has just been surveyed, on the northeast, by Governor Farwell, by whom it is owned. Several causes operated to retard the prosperity of Madison until 1847, since which time it has gradually and healthfully increased in growth, wealth, and population. Several rail roads are in progress of construction to this place, one at least of which will be completed during the present year, and the others soon after. From its location in the centre of a large agricultural district, having no important rival within a circle of forty miles, and being the permanent Capital of the State, and the seat of the richly endowed University, Madison has special advantages that cannot fail to make it a commanding business point, and a large and flourishing town. To the man of business, the merchant and manufacturer, there are offered great inducements to settle in this thriving and rapidly increasing community. The retired merchant—the student—the lover of the picturesque seeking a healthy and pleasant location for a home, is presented the refreshing breezes and pure air of the lakes—the beautiful scenery, unrivalled in any country—the quiet of a country residence, united with the social advantages and the excitements of a city, while the great abundance of game in the prairies and openings, and the variety of fish in the lakes and streams, afford a relaxation to all in pursuit of health or pleasure. As the Capital of the State, the shire town of the county, it becomes the great centre of public business, calling together, at frequent intervals, people from all parts of the State and county, at the annual meetings of the legislature, at the session of the courts, the convocations of political conventions, and the sessions of the different benevolent societies of the day. The present population of Madison is about 3,500, with 700 dwellings, 26 stores, 15 groceries, 11 taverns, 2 large printing offices, and a book bindery; a grist mill, with eight run of stone, 3 saw mills, an iron foundery, a woollen factory, an oil mill, 2 steam planing mills, a hominy mill propelled by steam; a bank, the first organized in the State; three churches, with three others to be built during the present season; and mechanical shops of all kinds. (John Warren Hunt, Wisconsin Gazetteer..., Madison, 1853)