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Wisconsin's First Capitols
The Madison lakes area was home to American Indian communities for thousands of years. Early American Indians lived, farmed, and built burial mounds here on the isthmus. These mounds took the shape of birds, beasts, and spirit beings. White settlers began arriving in the early 1800s. In 1836, legislators gathered at the first territorial capitol building in Belmont. They voted to make Madison the new state capital. Construction of the new capitol building began in 1837 and was finished in 1848 -- the same year Wisconsin became the 30th state. |