Jairus Cassius Fairchild

Madison's 1st Mayor 1856 – 57

Wife: Sally Blair Fairchild

Sons: Cassius and Lucius

Lucius served three terms as governor (1865-1871)

Lived: Dec 27, 1801 - Jul 18, 1862

Buried: Forest Hill, Madison, WI - section 32, The Fairchild family

Fairchild Street named after

Failed in bids for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1851 and 1853

Lived in a Mansion on Wisconsin Ave. and W. Wilson St. Today the Department of Health and Family Services occupies the land at 1 W. Wilson St.

In 1846 he moved to Madison, where he kept a store, ran a brickyard, speculated in lands and an ice and coal company, and served as director and later president of the Watertown-Madison R.R. Company. He held a receivership in the Milwaukee-Horicon R.R., and joined with others in operating a cranberry company and sawmill in northern Wisconsin. A "Tadpole" Democrat, he was the first state treasurer of Wisconsin, (1848-1852), and in 1856 was Madison's first city mayor.

One of Madison's most prominent pioneer families, Jairus and Sally Blair Fairchild left Ohio in 1846 and moved to Madison (Jairus had been a business partner with abolitionist John Brown). He became Madison's first elected mayor in 1856.

His son, Lucius (1831-1896), worked in the California goldfields and fought with the 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War, losing an arm at Gettysburg. He returned to Madison and served three terms as governor (1865-1871). A well-loved man, his funeral service was said to be one of the largest in Madison history.