The Recent History of Aztalan State Park

The site of Aztalan, so called because at the time it was thought to be related to the Aztecs of Mexico, was rediscovered in the fall of 1835. In 1850, author, naturalist, and scientist Increase A. Lapham investigated the site, which was then mostly undisturbed by the plow, and he urged its preservation. But it was plowed for farm crops for many years.

Aztalan's beginnings as a park date to 1922, when a group of concerned Jefferson citizens purchased the few conical mounds remaining from a group that once numbered more than 40. At that time what is now part of the state park was called Mounds Park. In 1927 the property was turned over to the Wisconsin Archaeological Society, and a formal dedication took place on October 20, 1928.

On April 2, 1947, the Wisconsin Legislature directed the state Conservation Commission to acquire the land as a historical memorial park.The commission bought 120 acres and the Wisconsin Archeological Society and Lake Mills - Aztalan Historical Society donated their lands. The site opened to the public as a state park in 1952, designated a National Landmark in 1964, and listed in the National Registry of Historic Places in 1966.

In the hopes of properly developing the site as a major interpretive location for Native American cultures, in 2003 the DNR completed a new master plan for Aztalan. The plan took more than two years to finish, and included the input of professional archaeologists, local residents, politicians, Native American tribes, and other interested members of the public. The plan calls for expansion of the park's area, a new visitor center, interpretive trails, a pedestrian bridge, and fishing piers.The existence of this new plan does not guarantee anything specific will happen, but it does chart the course of future site development.

For more information, ask:

Sarah Bolser
(608) 873-9695