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1890 Map of Stoughton

Name: 1890 Topographic Map of Stoughton
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1896
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1896

About this map

The Yahara River winds through this late nineteenth-century landscape, connecting the waters of Lake Kegonsa to the sprawling wetlands of the southeast. As surveyed by I.M. Buell, the region shows a dense network of farming townships including Pleasant Spring and Christiana. The primary corridor of trade and transport is defined by the Chicago Milwaukee and St Paul Railroad, which links the growing hub of Stoughton with Edgerton and the milling village of Dunkirk.

Smaller settlements like Cooksville and Stebbinsville are positioned along local waterways like Waukoma Creek, where early industry utilized the natural descent of the terrain. The map captures a transition in water levels and land use, particularly around the shores of Lake Koshkonong and the marshy basins of Rice Lake and Sweet Lake. These features provide a clear record of the glacial topography that shaped Dane and Rock Counties before modern agricultural drainage altered the drainage patterns.