Halloween is coming up next week, the chance to tell ghost stories and celebrate Madison’s haunted tales. But did you know that there’s a real-life “ghost town” hidden deep in the woods of the UW-Madison Arboretum? Welcome to the “Lost City” of Lake Forest.
Big Plans for Lake Forest
Developer Chandler P. Chapman had big plans for Lake Forest in the early 1900s, envisioning an 800-acre suburb with its own gas, electric and water service, schools, playgrounds, even streetcars. As the name suggests, the big draw was the natural setting, and Chapman’s plans called for 1,000 lots nestled along a pond or next to a forest preserve.
Sunk Costs
But the land had other ideas. The ground was so marshy that when Chapman’s construction crews began laying roads and building foundations for home, they sunk into the spongy earth.
The project was ultimately abandoned, and the UW purchased the Lake Forest land in the 1930s as part of its land conservation efforts. But vestiges of the old construction remain.
This map, located just inside the Martin Street entrance to the Arboretum, shows how to get to the “Lost City Forest.” (Rob Thomas/Madison Minutes)
Finding the Lost City
You don’t need to be Indiana Jones to explore the Lost City. Head to the Martin Street entrance to the UW Arboretum, just off Fish Hatchery Road. Head past the gate, and there’s a map that will tell you exactly where the Lost City Forest is.
Head into the forest, and you’ll be walking not on a dirt path, but a decaying concrete path, which feels incongruous so deep in the woods. This path was not built by the UW, but is the remains of the original road that was supposed to lead into the Lake Forest development.
Keep walking through the woods, and eventually you’ll come across the vestiges of Lake Forest. Most of the evidence of the development is overgrown with vegetation and vanished over time, but you can still see traces of one of the original homes built for Lake Forest. A set of stone steps were intended to lead up to someone’s front door, but instead lead up to nowhere.
Learn More About the Lost City
Want to know more? UW Arboretum naturalist Kathy Miner is hosting a class about the Lost City at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Arb’s Visitor Center. The fee is $20, and those interested should register in advance by Nov. 12.
