1103 Spaight St./Block 180 1887 Madison Landmark
National Register of Historic Places
Gazebo 1979 Stuart Gallaher
In 1848 Block 180 was designated as the
Village Cemetery.
It didn't take long to realize that it would be too small and in 1877 all of the burials that could
be found were moved to
Forest Hill Cemetery.
In 1883 the site was made a city park, Madison's first. Named after former mayor and supreme court
justice
Harlow Orton. In 1887 the park was officially opened
and remained the city's only public park until the turn of the century.
Orton Park, now a peaceful retreat, once a stormy center of controversy Capital Times March 28, 1966
Location of
George Segal's "Gay Liberation" statue from 1986 to 1991
Orton Park, now a peaceful retreat, once a stormy center of controversy Capital Times March 28, 1966