Brigham Park - Blue Mounds, WI
N 43° 01.649 W 089° 49.112
16T E 270361 N 4767722
This is a 112 acre park near Blue Mounds, WI. It has picnic facilities, camp sites, a playground, and a nature trail.
Waymark Code: WM4W6B
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Date Posted: 10/04/2008
Views: 7
There are two historical markers in the park that read:
"Brigham Park
Ebenezer Brigham (1789-1861), first permanent white settler of Dane County, came here as a prospector in 1828. The inn he built for his miners became popular with travelers on the old Military Road, and Blue Mounds became a well-known landmark. Ebenezer Brigham was a colonel in the Black Hawk War and was prominent in Wisconsin's territorial affairs and early statehood. Charles Brigham came to Blue Mounds in 1886. He bacame a leader in dairying and soil conservation, and in the religious, cultural and political activities of the area. This park, given to Dane County by the Brigham family, is dedicated to the memory of Charles Ilsley Brigham and Col. Ebenezer Brigham.
Erected in 1955 by Dane County Park Commission"
"Brigham Park
You are looking north from the Military Ridge toward Mazomanie, which lies in the Wisconsin River Valley. Beyond the Wisconsin River bluffs, on a clear day, the higher Baraboo Hills can be seen 35 miles away. These hills, with some of the oldest rock on the continent, are fronted by the younger river bluffs of even height. Capped by the hard Prairie du Chien dolomite rock, the bluffs are the remains of an old "peneplain", a land worn flat by many years of erosion.
The contour strip farming displayed below is a soil conservation method of great importance in hilly, erosion-prone southwestern Wisconsin. this and other methods, such as minimum tillage, are necessary to conserve the light soil which was originally blown into this "driftless" or unglaciated area by winds.
Brigham Park contains one of the rare examples of a mature sugar maple forest in Southern Wisconsin. Explore it along the park nature trail. A combination of fertile soil and ample moisture has allowed these maples to grow to maturity. The damp environment, created by frequent fogs and a north-facing slope, protected the forest from prairie fires before the arrival of settlers. Within the forest, notice how the density and heavy shade of the trees modifies tempature, moisture, light and wind, creating a distinct air-conditioned "micro-environment" in summer.
Dane County Natural History Marker System
1976"
Name: Brigham Park
Street Location: 3160 Hwy F
Local Municipality: Blue Mounds
State/Province, etc.: WI
Country: USA
Web Site: [Web Link]
Memorial/Commemoration: This park, given to Dane County by the Brigham family, is dedicated to the memory of Charles Ilsley Brigham and Col. Ebenezer Brigham.
Picnic Facilities: shelter, grills, tables
Recreational Facilities:
Playground, Nature Trail
Traditional Geocaches:
GCYBZJ Giants Glen
Date Established: Not listed
Monuments/Statues: Not listed
Art (murals/sculpture, etc.): Not listed
Fountains: Not listed
Ponds/Lakes/Streams/Rivers/Beach: Not listed
Special Events: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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