Wisconsin Historical Collections, Volume IX (1882)

              100 wisconsin state historical society aztalan as a modern township standing in a more attractive agricultural region than madisony was settled earlier one of its surviving citizens reminded me with pride that it had once lacked only two votes of being made the state capital instead of madison in 1848 it had four large hotels a wagon factory with half a hundred workmen — and its streets were full of freight-wagons bound either with farm pro ducts to milwaukee or with merchandise to many an inland point but rail-roads one and all from first to last have come just near enough to kill it pre-historio aztalan is the largest and most elaborate monument of wisconsin aborig ines its ruins were first discovered by timothy johnson in the fall of 1833 in january following it was explored and described with a drawing in the milwaukee advertiser by nathaniel f hyer another account of it with cuts appeared in 1813 in silliman's journal new haven this was written by stephen taylor then living at eichland forest and afterwards at stevens point and who has recently bequeathed a thousand dollars to the state historical society but the antique remain unique in wisconsin and perhaps out side of it were first accurately surveyed and plotted by dr lap ham in 1850 his description and drawings were published in 1855 in the smithsonian contributions to knowledge the strange monument styled aztalan by mr hyer — inasmuch as it seemed to him a structure worthy of the mexican aztecs and possibly erected by some kindred race — is situated on the right bank of the craw fish the first western tributary of eock river above koshkonong it may be viewed as an intrenched camp on the west bank of the stream which here flows south and is about one hundred feet in width