Large portions of Dane County and Columbia County, Wisconsin were once covered by a 200-square-mile prairie, now known as the “Empire Prairie.” When I first started researching this ancient prairie, I was surprised by how little information I could find about it. So using archival maps, land survey data, and historical documents, I’ve reconstructed the Empire Prairie to the best of my ability. Below the map is my four-part series investigating the Empire Prairie. This is a work in progress, so expect more installments as time permits.
The Empire Prairie Series
Part One
Mapping Southern Wisconsin’s 200-square-mile Empire Prairie
How I mapped the prairie from 1830s Public Land Survey System records, and how to interpret the result.
Part Two
The Many Names and Protean Boundaries of the Empire Prairie
A critical investigation of the prairie’s boundaries, and the various other names it went by.
Part Four
A Prairie on Ho-Chunk Lands
What written history tells us about the Ho-Chunk presence on what is now called the Empire Prairie.