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Madison: A History of the Formative Years
We are just beginning to understand the power of local history to enhance our understanding of ourselves, our cities, and our culture. It is, after all, that stratum of history that touches our lives most closely.
Madison answers the basic questions of when, where, why, how, and by whom Madison, Wisconsin was developed. The book is richly detailed, fully documented, inclusive in coverage, and delightfully readable. More than 300 illustrations provide a vivid feeling for what life was like in Madison during the formative years. David Mollenhoff's unique interpretive framework emphasizing public policies and community values, gives the book a consistent interpretive quality and reveals major themes that flow through time. This combination will allow you to see the city's growth and development with unusual clarity and coherence—almost as if you were watching time-lapse photography.
When Mollenhoff began to study Madison’s history, he was delighted by his early discoveries but frustrated because no one had written a book-length history of Madison since 1876. Finally, in 1972 he decided to write that book. His research required him to read five miles of microfilm, piles of theses and dissertations, shelves of reports, boxes of manuscripts and letters, and to study thousands of photographs. Soon after the first edition was published in 1982, readers declared it to be a classic. For this second edition Madison has been extensively revised and updated with new maps and photos.
If you want to know the fascinating story of how Madison got to be the way it is, this book belongs on your bookshelf. It will change the way you see the city and your role in it.
Madison answers the basic questions of when, where, why, how, and by whom Madison, Wisconsin was developed. The book is richly detailed, fully documented, inclusive in coverage, and delightfully readable. More than 300 illustrations provide a vivid feeling for what life was like in Madison during the formative years. David Mollenhoff's unique interpretive framework emphasizing public policies and community values, gives the book a consistent interpretive quality and reveals major themes that flow through time. This combination will allow you to see the city's growth and development with unusual clarity and coherence—almost as if you were watching time-lapse photography.
When Mollenhoff began to study Madison’s history, he was delighted by his early discoveries but frustrated because no one had written a book-length history of Madison since 1876. Finally, in 1972 he decided to write that book. His research required him to read five miles of microfilm, piles of theses and dissertations, shelves of reports, boxes of manuscripts and letters, and to study thousands of photographs. Soon after the first edition was published in 1982, readers declared it to be a classic. For this second edition Madison has been extensively revised and updated with new maps and photos.
If you want to know the fascinating story of how Madison got to be the way it is, this book belongs on your bookshelf. It will change the way you see the city and your role in it.
- GenresHistory
479 pages, Hardcover
Published December 15, 2003
5 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 26, 2022
Madison: A History of the Formative Years, David V. Mollenhoff, 1982. 493 pages.
History of Madison, Wisconsin, 1836 to 1920. There's a 2nd edition, 2004. Which would be worth looking up. The 1982 edition has many locations cited as, "where thus-and-so now is:" thus-and-so having been there in 1982, but no longer.
The American Fur Company began systematic fur collection efforts in southern Wisconsin in 1817, by buying pelts from the Winnebago with cheap trade goods and alcohol. Beavers were nearly extirpated there by 1825. p. 15.
The first log cabin in Madison (first building more substantial than a wigwam) was built in 1836, on what would become King Street.
"Madison has the most magnificent site of any inland town I ever saw." --Horace Greeley, 1854, p. 47.
The 1800s Americanism, "railroaded through" means public officials rush to give public money to railroad builders, over taxpayer protest and against the law. p. 122
Ice was cut from frozen lakes and stored in insulated houses to use through the year. In Madison Wisconsin, 1900-1920, ice-cutting season was generally January 15 through February 15. p. 265.
Automobiles increased as horses decreased: In Madison, the numbers were equal, at about 900 of each, in 1915; Madison comprised about 7200 households that year. p. 366. Replacement of horses by automobiles was the most effective weapon against disease-carrying houseflies. p. 386.
After 1919, no new streetcar lines were added in Madison, Wisconsin. The automobile had the speed and flexibility to serve low-density suburbs. Few people would walk farther than a quarter mile to catch a streetcar. p. 368.
publisher:
uwpress.wisc.edu/books/3656.htm
trivia:
goodreads.com/trivia/work/2890723-mad...
History of Madison, Wisconsin, 1836 to 1920. There's a 2nd edition, 2004. Which would be worth looking up. The 1982 edition has many locations cited as, "where thus-and-so now is:" thus-and-so having been there in 1982, but no longer.
The American Fur Company began systematic fur collection efforts in southern Wisconsin in 1817, by buying pelts from the Winnebago with cheap trade goods and alcohol. Beavers were nearly extirpated there by 1825. p. 15.
The first log cabin in Madison (first building more substantial than a wigwam) was built in 1836, on what would become King Street.
"Madison has the most magnificent site of any inland town I ever saw." --Horace Greeley, 1854, p. 47.
The 1800s Americanism, "railroaded through" means public officials rush to give public money to railroad builders, over taxpayer protest and against the law. p. 122
Ice was cut from frozen lakes and stored in insulated houses to use through the year. In Madison Wisconsin, 1900-1920, ice-cutting season was generally January 15 through February 15. p. 265.
Automobiles increased as horses decreased: In Madison, the numbers were equal, at about 900 of each, in 1915; Madison comprised about 7200 households that year. p. 366. Replacement of horses by automobiles was the most effective weapon against disease-carrying houseflies. p. 386.
After 1919, no new streetcar lines were added in Madison, Wisconsin. The automobile had the speed and flexibility to serve low-density suburbs. Few people would walk farther than a quarter mile to catch a streetcar. p. 368.
publisher:
uwpress.wisc.edu/books/3656.htm
trivia:
goodreads.com/trivia/work/2890723-mad...
January 14, 2013
I'm moving this from "currently reading" to "read" since I've been stalled out for about 3 years... I recommend it to those who are interested in Madison history - very detailed, but entertaining, and organized nicely in themes corresponding to different eras in Madison's history. Its very comprehensive though so it takes some time to go through. Great historic photos included. Makes for a nice coffee table book!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews