Loading map...

1890 Map of Sun Prairie

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

USGS Topo · Published 1896

About this map

Sun Prairie serves as a primary hub in this late nineteenth-century portrait of eastern Dane County, where the landscape is defined by the repetitive, elongated ridges typical of the region's glacial topography. Two major rail corridors anchor the local economy and settlement patterns: the Chicago Milwaukee and St Paul Railroad crossing the northern townships through Deansville and Marshall, and the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad further south.

Drainage systems like Koshkonong Creek and Waterloo Creek wind through extensive wetlands that separate the elevated till ridges. This survey, conducted by I. M. Buell for the U.S. Geological Survey, captures established agricultural villages such as Deerfield, London, and Cambridge before the turn of the century. The map reveals how early road networks and small settlements like Vilas were dictated by the marshy lowland areas and the orientation of the glacial drumlins.