Abiel E. Brooks Apr 25, 1801 - Jul 27, 1891
Abiel Brooks, whose first name was originally Easter, was born in 1801 and came to Madison in 1846.
He purchased a slice of farmland stretching from Lake Mendota to Lake Wingra, part of which later
became
Camp Randall and part the
University of Wisconsin. Upon his arrival in Madison he built a log cabin
where the
UW Chemistry building is now located.
In 1849 he organized a group of gold-seekers who traveled to California; he was its captain and
two of his sons were in the company. For three years they panned for gold on the American Fork, on
a stretch of river just below
Lucius Fairchild's claim
Fairchild is buried a few feet away, then sailed home via the isthmus of Panama with over $30,000,
a considerable fortune in those days. Brooks supposedly had the gold turned into coins in New
Orleans and carried them in the lining of his coat to Madison.
A few years later, with his California gold, he built the
first brick house in Madison on University Avenue,
which is still standing. He held an annual banquet there for the entire UW faculty for many years.
Proprietor of the Brooks Addition, served as both a Dane County supervisor and Madison alderman from 1856 to 1857.
