Historic Madison's board meets ten times a year. Board members have a variety of backgrounds but share an interest in learning more about Madison's history. Board members are elected at the November/December annual meeting with members. They elect their officers at their January board meetings. In 2003, board members will be writing an acquisition policy in anticipation of developing more Madison history exhibits and displays.

While we do not schedule monthly meetings for our members, we plan 3-5 programs per year which are publicized through the media and our quarterly newsletter. Program meetings have a variety of topics, but two programs we repeat frequently are the Alternate Parade of Homes and our tour of Madison cemeteries, choosing a theme for the individuals we highlight.

Historic Madison: Why you should be a member

Historic Madison, Inc., is a nonprofit organization which promotes the acquisition, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge about Madison's past. It was founded in 1973 as Madison's historical society and seeks to foster an awareness of the history and culture of Wisconsin's capital city. Before it is lost forever, Historic Madison, Inc., seeks to preserve an understanding of Madison's past.

Historic Madison, Inc. has a small membership base. As a result, it may take years to have exhibit space. However, the organization has been creative over the years, creating programs and publications. If you don't have any of these publications, you don't know what you are missing.

With a larger membership base, we could more easily publish our Journals, collect and transcribe additional oral histories, develop more of the McVicar-Stein and Wollin negatives, and occasionally pay for publicity for our events. See our order form for the membership categories.

Our top 10 reasons for being a member

10. Nearly 20 issues of the Journal of the Four Lake Region have been published since 1975. Articles range from the arrival of immigrant groups to railroads to special buildings like the Old Executive Mansion and the Frank Lloyd Wright Nakoma Country Clubhouse.

9. We have three book projects ideas and need your financial help to see them published. These include additional biographical sketches of individuals buried in city cemeteries, a book on the McVicar-Stein photo collections, and possibly one on Madison architecture. A brochure on some of the history of Camp Randall could be another project.

8. The three photograph collections we purchased in 1999 need to have hundreds of photographs developed from oversized film and glass negatives.

7. The biographical guide to Forest Hill cemetery sold out of three printings, publicizing such notables as Snowball Riley, the LaFollette family, and Thomas Jefferson's son Eston Hemings Jefferson and his family. A new edition was printed in 2002.

6. You can't be on the board if you aren't a member.

5. The Alternate Parade of Homes occurred for the 25th time in 2003. Many great homes in historic neighborhoods have been opened up to the public to see how remodeling and restorations have made the homes better than new.

4. Cemetery tours are offered each May with a specific theme. You can never get bored with 50,000 happy ghosts.

3. Board members have a sense of humor. Who else would request the Dolly Madison Bakery to furnish the treats for James Madison's 2001 stamp celebration?

2. The success of the first Forest Hill biographical guide led to the equally popular Bishops to Bootleggers book on Resurrection Cemetery. The title refers to the range of individuals buried by the German, Irish, and Italian-Sicilian Catholics.

1. You can receive a 40% membership discount when you buy your copy of either cemetery book.