Madison, Wisconsin – 1867 State Capital Bird’s-Eye View Map

Albert Ruger, who had begun sketching Union Army camps as an Ohio infantryman at the end of the Civil War, drew this bird’s-eye view map of Madison, Wisconsin as the city stood in 1867; it was printed that year by the Chicago Lithographing Co. and is offered here as a museum-quality reproduction. The view looks across Lake Monona to the isthmus, with the Capitol at the center of the street grid and Lake Mendota beyond. Sailboats and steamboats work both lakes, and the University stands on its hill above the Mendota shore at left. A numbered index of 23 points of interest and four building vignettes run along the bottom margin on either side of the title, “Madison, Wisconsin, 1867.”

Historical Context

Madison was chosen as Wisconsin’s capital in 1836 and was thirty-one years into that role when Ruger drew it. Wisconsin became a state in 1848, the same year the legislature established the University of Wisconsin, and North Hall, the first building on the hill, opened in 1851. Construction of the Capitol at the center of this view began in 1857 and ran until 1869, two years after the date on the sheet. The Civil War had ended two years earlier, and the index carries its mark: number 8 is the Soldiers Orphan Home. Number 9 is the depot of the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien Railway.

The Map’s Features

Streets are named on the sheet, among them Wisconsin Avenue, Washington Avenue, King, Pinckney, Carroll and Henry Streets near the Capitol, and University Avenue, Park, Murray and Lake Streets below the campus. Numbers on the buildings match the index, which lists the Capitol, University, Lunatic Asylum, City Hall, ward school houses, Court House, Jail, Soldiers Orphan Home, railway depot and Turn Hall, followed by thirteen churches from Presbyterian and German Catholic to Hebrew, Norwegian and Unitarian. The four vignettes show the Capitol, the Vilas House, the Rasdall House and the University, the last with its domed main hall flanked by two plainer halls at the head of a tree-lined slope. The title cartouche carries two working men seated either side of a shield and eagle, with steamboats behind them. The credits read “Drawn by A. Ruger” and “Chicago Lith. Co. Chicago.”

Historical Significance

Ruger made a trade of the bird’s-eye city view in the years right after the war and went on to draw about 175 of them. The Madison sheet comes from the start of that career, and it catches the city between two eras: the Capitol shown here burned in 1904 and was replaced by the present building. For a family with roots in Madison, or a graduate who walked up that hill, the map shows the ground as it was two years after the war, with the streets named and the churches counted.

Museum-Quality Reproduction

This is a high-quality reproduction of the original historic map, professionally printed on premium archival paper using the Giclée printing process to preserve fine cartographic detail, line clarity, and period authenticity for long-term display.

Perfect For:

University of Wisconsin alumni, faculty and families
Madison residents and Wisconsin natives
Collectors of 19th-century bird’s-eye views and the work of Albert Ruger
Readers of Wisconsin history and the years after the Civil War
Law offices, studies and government offices

Specifications:

Depicts: Madison, Wisconsin, state capital, on the isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona, as it stood in 1867
Original Publication: 1867
Publisher: Chicago Lithographing Co., Chicago, Illinois
Cartographer: Albert Ruger
Style: Color bird’s-eye view city map with index and building vignettes
Product Type: Giclée reproduction on premium archival paper
Printed In: Rochester Hills, Michigan

Dimensions (Width x Height): 27 x 21 inches (68.6 x 53.3 cm)

Each map is printed using the finest materials and methods. Your map will be handled with white gloves from start to finish. We use the Giclée printing method on premium archival paper, which produces a clear, extremely detailed, durable map perfect for proud display in your home or office.