Tenney-Lapham in Madison in Dane County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Tenney Park
⎯⎯⎯
Daniel Tenney
Photographed by Connor Olson, August 18, 2024
1. Tenney Park/Daniel Tenney Marker
This park, named for Daniel K. Tenney, was established in 1899 who bought 14 acres where Lake Mendota meets the Yahara River for $1,500 and gave it to the Pleasure Drive Association, forever changing the face of Madison. Tenney wanted to turn the land into a park, but the city had a history of refusing to finance space for anything as frivolous as leisure.
Tenney went to The Madison Pleasure Drive Association with the condition that they could have his land but only to create a park and only if the park would be kept as a public trust to be handed over to the city when it was ready to steward it. This also changed the mission of the MPDA to include parks, thus changing their name to the Madison Park & Pleasure Drive Association (MPPDA).
MPPDA jumped at the chance, switching focus from rural pleasure city drives, "pleasure grounds," and in the process turning the IMPPDA into the most powerful force for beautification Madison has ever known.
Daniel was born in New York state and moved westward with his parents and nine older brothers and sisters in 1850. They settled in a small community near Cleveland, Ohio, but when Tenney
this page online
Admitted to the bar in 1855, Tenney was a lawyer, long-time activist, and "Madison's favorite curmudgeon Elected to the Madison Common Council in 1860, Tenney was the youngest man to ever serve on the council at the age of 26.
Erected by Oscar Rennebohm Foundation and Madison Parks Foundation.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1899.
Location. 43° 5.511′ N, 89° 22.044′ W. Marker is in Madison, Wisconsin, in Dane County. It is in Tenney-Lapham. It can be reached from North Thornton Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 402 N Thornton Ave, Madison WI 53703, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Wisconsin. It is also in the American Midwest, on the Great Lakes, and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory
Photographed by Connor Olson, August 18, 2024
2. Tenney Park/Daniel Tenney Marker
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Tenney Park (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Tenney Park (approx. Ό mile away); Sherman Avenue Crossing (approx. Ό mile away); Fuller & Johnson Manufacturing Co. Office Building (approx. Ό mile away); Steensland Bridge (approx. Ό mile away); Tenney Park Lock and Dam (approx. Ό mile away); a different marker also named Steensland Bridge (approx. 0.3 miles away); Gisholt Machine Company Manufacturing Complex (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Madison.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 16, 2024, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 240 times since then and 46 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 16, 2024, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
