Just 60 miles from Milwaukee, Madison, Wisconsin is the second largest city in the state. The state capitol and the county seat of Dane County, the Greater Madison Area - also home to the University of Wisconsin - is often described as The City of Four Lakes, comprised of Lake Mendota, Lake Monona, Lake Wingra and Lake Waubesa. The downtown is located on an isthmus between lakes Mendota and Monona, but the city has long since expanded far beyond. The lakes are connected via the Yahara River to Lake Kegonsa. Eventually the Yahara flows into the Rock River and beyond to the Mississippi River.

In May of 1829, territorial Judge and land speculator James Duane Doty, enthralled by the natural beauty of the area, purchased 1200 acres of land from the federal government for $1.25 an acre. Seven years later President Andrew Jackson created the territory of Wisconsin and within six months Wisconsin’s first governor, Henry Dodge, convened the first Legislature to determine the site of the territorial capital. The legislature voted in favor of choosing Madison for its capital largely because of its location halfway between the new and growing cities around Milwaukee in the east and the long established strategic post of Prairie du Chien in the west, as well as because of its location between the highly populated lead mining regions in the southwest and Wisconsin's oldest city, Green Bay in the northeast. Being named for a much-admired founding father who had just passed away, and having streets named after every founding father, also helped attract support.

During the American Civil War, Madison served as a center of the Union Army in Wisconsin. The intersection of Milwaukee, East Washington, Winnebego, and North Streets are known as Union Corners, as a tavern located there was the last stop for Union soldiers before heading to fight the Confederates. Camp Randall was built and was used as a training camp, a military hospital, and a prison camp for captured Confederate soldiers. After the war ended, Camp Randall was absorbed into the grounds of the University of Wisconsin. Camp Randall Stadium was built over the site in 1917. The original capitol burned in 1904 and construction on the current capitol building began in 1906.

Home to the likes of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, playwrights Thornton Wilder and Tina Howe, Olympic skaters Eric and Beth Heiden, novelist Jacquelyn Mitchard, Pulitzer Prize-winning non-fiction writers Deborah Blum and David Maraniss and actors Joan Cusack, Tyne Daly, Bradley Whitford, Chris Noth, and Chris Farley. Movie producers Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, and David Zucker are Wisconsin natives who began their careers in Madison.

Madison is perennially nationally recognized as an ideal place to live, work and play. In 1996, Money magazine identified Madison as the best place to live in the United States. It has consistently ranked near the top of the best-places list in subsequent years, with the city's low unemployment rate a major contributor. Madison has constantly been rated one of the top 10 best cities to live in, almost every year and was celebrated by Sports Illustrated magazine in 2003 as the "Best College Sports Town" in America. And in 2004, Forbes Magazine ranked "Madison No. 1 in Nation for Business and Careers". The ranking looked at criteria including: education of the work force, percentage of the population with college degrees, low unemployment and crime rates, cost of housing and income and job growth.

For more information on activities in and around Madison, Wisconsin, visit:

• At Home in Madison
• City of Madison, WI
• Dane County, WI
• Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce
• The State of Wisconsin
• Madison, WI Real Estate Summary on IDCide (Local Info Data Server)
• Madison, WI on MuniNetGuide.com
• Madison, WI on CityTownInfo.com
• Madison, WI Google Earth Map
• View Madison, WI Area Jobs on Career Builder
• View Madison, WI Area Jobs on Yahoo HotJobs
• Madison, Wisconsin on Wikipedia.com
• Madison, Wisconsin on epodunk

For more information on activities in and around South Central Wisconsin, visit:

• Visit Madison
• Downtown Madison
• University of Wisconsin - Madison
• Wisconsin: Life's So Good!

Madison Homes, Properties and Special Feature Real Estate

Madison, Wisconsin real estate includes a wide variety of homes for sale, condos for sale, water access properties (waterfront or scenic view), active adult communities, farms/hobby farms and executive properties. Whether you're presently a buyer or seller, we're confident we can help you achieve your real estate goals. Sellers who have been in the area for a while know our reputation for knowledgeable advice, enthusiastic service, creative marketing and professional networking. Dairyland Real Estate mines every source for suitable properties so you can feel at ease that your search will produce the right kind of solution for you.

For buyers new to the area, Dairyland Real Estate will provide the specialized services you deserve: a strong work ethic, personal real estate expertise to help define your needs, help with selecting and securing standard financing for your purchase, special technology, constant communication throughout the transaction, and more. Our recognized expertise, professionalism and commitment to customer satisfaction has made us the choice of many previous home buyers to help guide their search - from existing homes for sale, properties for sale, lots, vacant land, new construction, 55-plus and retirement communities, investment properties, waterfront, golf and recreational properties, golf course lots - all the way to luxury villas, estates and executive homes.

So when you're ready to buy or sell real estate in or around Madison, Wisconsin, please let Dairyland Real Estate help you find the home or property of your dreams. Contact Dairyland Real Estate today!

Other nearby communities have similar real estate characteristics as Madison and may also be of interest to you in your home search. Please feel free to ask Dairyland Real Estate about homes for sale, lakeside/riverside properties and other real estate listings for nearby communities, such as Evansville, Stoughton, Janesville, Beloit, Madison, Dane County, Rock County, Green County, Fulton, Edgerton, Milton, Albion, Lima Center, Koshkonong Mounds, (Lake Koshkonong), Cambridge, McFarland, Deerfield, Orfordville, Brodhead, Albany, Monticello, Monroe, Newark, Rutland, Fitchburg, Verona, Monona, Oregon, Mt. Horeb, Mount Horeb and much more.

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