Mr. Canfield's 1859 Map

William Canfield Presentation

Canfield Day will be held on April 8 with an online presentation to celebrate the birth of Sauk County’s first historian,

William H. Canfield, who was born near Syracuse, New York in 1819. When Canfield arrived in Sauk County in 1842, he was 23 years old and his wife, Cordelia, was 19 and pregnant with the couple’s first child. The Canfields settled on Skillet Creek and lived under their dry goods boxes until a small log cabin could be constructed. William Canfield worked as a surveyor to support the family and eventually completed over 3,000 farm surveys. His work took him to all parts of Sauk County, meeting many people and hearing their stories.

Canfield’s interest in survey work and history led him to create the first large scale map of Sauk County which was published in 1859. While not exactly a plat map, the map does indicate the names of over 1,700 landowners and their general location as well as 285 points of interest including sawmills, lime kilns, and schools to things far older like effigy mounds. Around the edge of the map Canfield included lithographic images of scenes from around Sauk County to highlight some of the important buildings and businesses in the area.

Canfield’s 1859 map and the ten scenes will be the subject of the presentation on April 8. Historic photos exist of many of the places Canfield chose to highlight and will be shown along with the scenes from the map. Modern day images of the same locations will also be shown and discussed.

The annual presentation of the William H. Canfield History Award will be delayed this year until the Society’s annual summer picnic which will be held later this summer if conditions permit. 

 In 1857 Sauk County completed a six-sided stone jail building. Canfield included this extraordinary building on his 1859 map. The lithograph was created from a photo of the building. Today the Baraboo post office sits on the same site.