The four lakes region was formed by the glaciers when they retreated about 13,000 years ago. Between 300 and 1,300 AD Native American “mound builders” occupied the area. Of the thousands of effigy mounds that once surrounded the lakes only a few remain to remind us of this unique culture. By the time the Yankee settlers began to arrive, the Winnebago Nation called the area home and continued to camp near the lakes into the 1940’s.

James Duane Doty, a territorial Judge and land speculator, traveled through Madison’s Isthmus in May 1829 and liked the site so much that he bought 1,200 acres for $1,500 and platted a grid of streets. In 1836, he persuaded the territorial legislature meeting in Belmont, WI to designate Madison, then his paper city, as the site for the new capital.

Doty named the city Madison for James Madison, the 4th President of the U.S. who had died on June 28, 1836 and he named the streets around the capitol square for the other signers of the U.S. Constitution.

In April 1837, Eben and Roseline Peck moved to the Isthmus from Blue Mounds and built a log cabin boarding house near S. Butler St. to accommodate the workers who came from Milwaukee to build the Capitol. Roseline gave birth to Madison’s first non-Native American baby and her public-house guests named the child Wisconsiana Victoria.

Nine years later when the Village of Madison was incorporated the population had reached 626. Wisconsin became a state in 1848. Madison became a city in 1856 and boasted a population of 6,864. The first settlers were Yankees from the eastern states. They were soon followed by German, Irish and Norwegian immigrants. Italians, Greeks, Jews and Blacks also found a home here after the turn of the Century.

King St. and the E. Main/S. Pinckney Street sides of the Capitol Square were the first commercial districts. The first residential districts were north of the Square along Gorham, Gilman and Langdon Streets. The growth of state and county government, the University of Wisconsin and a few industries such as Oscar Mayer, French Battery Co. (Ray-o-Vac) and L.L. Olds Seed Co. (and businesses that are gone such as the Gisholt Machine Tool Co. and the Fauerbach Brewery) provided employment and stimulated Madison’s growth.

An unconference is an event that has no fixed structure and only two rules, no power point and no presentations. The day is split in to sessions during which a series of “tracks” run on a theme with a track leader hosting the discussion, debate and learning. The discussion takes a life of it’s own with atendees bringing their own views, questions and opinions as well as debate. This takes many directions and concludes with real learning and opinion forming. The track leaders have been carefuly chosen from their areas of experience and knowledge and the value they can bring to the “track” and have been drawn from across the globe giving a real global view. We will be adding to the list of track leaders right up to the day of the event (and even during it.)

You are actively encouraged to disagree, argue, debate and question, all we ask is that you respect one another. In addition to the published tracks we will be adding to the list by request right up to the day. If you want to add a track just contact us and we will set it up. We will also be encouraging impromptu tracks throughout the day whenever a new subject comes up. An unconference is about what you want to discuss and is not restricted by any fixed agenda.