Madison's European origins begin in 1829, when former federal judge James Duane Doty purchased over a thousand acres (4 km²) of swamp and forest land on the isthmus between Lakes Mendota and Monona, with the intention of building a city in the Four Lakes region.
A orixe de Madison remóntase ao ano 1829, cando o antigo xuíz federal James Duane Doty mercou ao redor dun milleiro de acres (4 km²) de pantano e bosque no istmo entre os lagos Mendota e Monona, coa intención de construír unha cidade na rexión dos Catro Lagos.