One of the three original city of Madison parks
Formally Conklin Park Renamed James Madison Park in 1963
11.5-acres bordered by E. Gorham St., N. Butler St., Lake Mendota
The park grew over the years through purchases of homes along E. Gorham.
The original park started with the land purchased from the Conklin family in 1938.
The
Conklin ice house had stood on the site.
Col. Joseph "Bud" Jackson, business manager of the Jackson Clinic and leader of the Madison and Wisconsin Foundation, had for years been promoting
the site as a location for a convention center in opposition to the Monona Avenue-Olin Terrace site that Frank Lloyd Wright and his supporters had
been seeking. Jackson was an admirer of James Madison and suggested the name to the Parks Commission.
The steam yacht “Mendota,” built in 1872, used the park as its home. It was the largest and fastest on the lake, carrying 150 passengers on two
decks and featured a steam calliope. The Mendota sailed on request to Pheasant Branch, Picnic Point, the University, the Insane Asylum (now Mendota
Mental Health Institute), McBride’s Point (Maple Bluff) and elsewhere.
Bernard-Hoover Boathouse, at the eastern end of James Madison Park, is the last remaining building of
the commercial pleasure boat and boat livery industry in Madison.
Gates of Heaven
Mendota Yacht Club
2007 - 2008: Mayor Dave C. wants to expand James Madison Park again:
The mayor would sell the landmark Anna and Cornelius Collins house & Connor house set on a
hill overlooking the lake at 646 and 640 E. Gorham St. It's suggested that they could be moved.
