[2] The ridge was part of James Doty's initial 1836 plat of Madison, but not much development occurred in this area until the 1850s.

The blocks nearer the capitol generally filled up earlier, as did the south side of the isthmus where the rail lines ran.

But a few large houses (described below) were built on Fourth Lake Ridge in the 1850s, and the lots slowly filled.

[2] In this era before cars, the distance to capitol square had discouraged people from building homes on the Fourth Lake Ridge because it was a bit far to walk to work.

But when the blocks around the capitol became full, an eight block walk became more attractive, and when a streetcar line was built in the 1890s from the capitol out along E. Johnson to Baldwin, the area began to fill in with homes of the Queen Anne style that was popular then.