Suydam, John V.

At the territorial convention in Belmont in the fall of 1836, businessman and future territorial governor James Duane Doty sought to make Madison the capital of Wisconsin. Doty owned much of the land on the isthmus between lakes Mendota and Monona, and stood to profit from its selection as capital. First, however, he had to convince the other delegates that Madison would make the best site. Doty and his surveyor, John V. Suydam, drew this map as a promotional tool to get other territorial delegates to invest in the city he imagined would grow on the shores of the lakes.