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1892 Map of Madison

Name: 1892 Topographic Map of Madison
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1898
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1898

About this map

The Isthmus of Madison is the central focus of this late 19th-century topographic record, showing the city's early development between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. Surveyed by J.H. Renshawe and I.M. Buell, the landscape is defined by the glacial geography of the Four Lakes region, with the southern waters of Lake Wingra and Lake Waubesa providing a clear view of the surrounding drainage through Catfish Creek.

A dense network of transportation lines, including the Chicago Milwaukee and St Paul Railroad and the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, radiates from the capital. These rail corridors anchor the growth of outlying settlements such as Waunakee, De Forest, and Mac Farland. The map preserves the footprint of rural townships like Blooming Grove and Westport before the suburban expansion of the 20th century transformed these agrarian landscapes.