The Old Lake
When Orson Lyons arrived in 1834 to survey the section lines that
were to separate Bristol & the Sun Prairie townships, he noted a pond surrounded by an oak savanna. This pond would be known though the years as "Patrick Lake", "Brazee Lake", "Brazee Swamp", "Duscheck's Marsh", & "The Old Lake'. Local history holds that the lake fluctuated between a shallow pond and a nearly dry marsh with a periodicity of about 10 years. The photograph above shows the marsh in 1937 when it was 1'-2' deep and home to thousands of shoal-feeding ducks. The marsh attracted the attention of Dr. Robert A. McCabe of the UW-Madison who studied the nesting ecology of marsh birds between 1947 and 1951.
were to separate Bristol & the Sun Prairie townships, he noted a pond surrounded by an oak savanna. This pond would be known though the years as "Patrick Lake", "Brazee Lake", "Brazee Swamp", "Duscheck's Marsh", & "The Old Lake'. Local history holds that the lake fluctuated between a shallow pond and a nearly dry marsh with a periodicity of about 10 years. The photograph above shows the marsh in 1937 when it was 1'-2' deep and home to thousands of shoal-feeding ducks. The marsh attracted the attention of Dr. Robert A. McCabe of the UW-Madison who studied the nesting ecology of marsh birds between 1947 and 1951.
Early spring 1965
With taxes on the rise, two small farmers on the outskirts of Sun Prairie began to feel the pinch. To cover their debts they needed more crop land.
The farmers installed drain-tile and pumps and started to drain the 160 acre marshland, turning the spongy black soil into a corn-field. Although the Public Service Commission sought an injunction, their legal case failed and for nearly three decades the marsh ceased to exist.
The farmers installed drain-tile and pumps and started to drain the 160 acre marshland, turning the spongy black soil into a corn-field. Although the Public Service Commission sought an injunction, their legal case failed and for nearly three decades the marsh ceased to exist.A Marsh Reborn?
In 1991, the marsh was purchased by the DNR and DOT as part of their wetland mitigation program. In the winter of 1991, the tile
and pumps were removed from the corn field. By April of 1992, 100 acres of water covered the marsh, with an average depth of 18” and a maximum depth of three feet. By the spring of 1993, the marsh had filled to 160 acres with an average depth of five feet. On the uplands a few acres of prairie were restored with locally collected seeds. A wetland was reborn!
and pumps were removed from the corn field. By April of 1992, 100 acres of water covered the marsh, with an average depth of 18” and a maximum depth of three feet. By the spring of 1993, the marsh had filled to 160 acres with an average depth of five feet. On the uplands a few acres of prairie were restored with locally collected seeds. A wetland was reborn!