Madison is the Wisconsin state capital and home to the Wisconsin State Capitol, completed in 1917 after the previous building burned.
Madison was selected as Wisconsin’s territorial capital in 1836. The city was named for James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, and developed on an isthmus between Lakes Mendota and Monona. Its planned location helped place the government seat between the territory’s established population centers.
The first permanent Wisconsin Capitol was completed in 1869, but a fire damaged it severely in 1904. The current building was constructed between 1906 and 1917 and is modeled partly on the U.S. Capitol. Its dome is one of the most recognizable features of Madison’s skyline.
Milwaukee is Wisconsin’s largest city, but it has never replaced Madison as the state capital. Madison is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, founded in 1848, the year Wisconsin became a state.