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Arbor Hills Neighborhood Association

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ARBOR HILLS

By  Marilyn B. Hurst
December 1992

          The history of this beautiful neighborhood in which you have chosen to live goes back much farther than you might think. Try to imagine the scene about 12,000 years ago when Madison and much of Wisconsin were covered by a vast continental glacier which had ceased to advance and was beginning to waste away.  At its melting edges it began dumping large piles of rock, silt and sand which it had carried from places far to the north. These piles of debris formed hills and ridges upon the land which scientists today call moraines. Sometimes large blocks of ice broke off from the main mass of sand and silt. Often, after melting, they left large depressions on the land, which now are called kettles. If kettles were below the water table, they became lakes, ponds, and bogs. If not, they survived as dry depressions.

            Several thousand years later Paleo-Indians pursuing the great Ice Age mammals which inhabited the land vacated by the ice might have stumbled into the four lakes area which was then one big lake surrounded by beach terraces and moraine ridges. They might have stood on one high moraine, which had a number of broad deep dry depressions in it and surveyed the great lake basin and the broad empty vista beyond. Tundra grasses invaded the new soils left by the glacier providing a food source for grazers such as the woolly mammoths. Then as the climate warmed, spruce forests took hold and browsers such as the mastodons entered the scene. Little did those early nomads know that this place would later be occupied by their descendants, the Woodland Indians, who built their homes of birch bark and sapling trees beside the lakes, gathered the fruits of the forest, and built effigy mounds to commemorate things sacred.

            Today this place is called Arbor Hills and the U.W. Arboretum, and with a keen eye and curious nature one can find evidence of all these events, which preceded us. This ridge is a moraine and we can see the huge boulders left by the wasting ice adorning yards and gardens all around. If you dig in your garden you may unearth more boulders, cobblestones, or perhaps large deposits of sand, clay or gravel. Ancient kettles have been filled and leveled for building sites, but one can still be seen beside the main trail of the Arboretum’s Grady Tract (south of the Beltline.) On the farmland, which preceded development, plowed fields have revealed arrowheads and stone tools, and the fossil bones of a mastodon have been found nearby. There are effigy mounds to be discovered in the forests of the Arboretum.

            In 1956, a group of men got together and formed the Arbor Heights Development Corporation. They purchased farmlands and woods east of Grady Tract and south of the Beltline, platted the land, built the brick monuments at the entrance, paved a boulevard to the top of the hill, called it Arbor Hills, and then began offering lots for sale. There was no great rush to buy the lots because at that time the Beltline was considered a barrier. It was a traffic corridor that people did not want to cross, there was no city sewer, and the nearest school-Silver Spring-in the Town of Madison two miles down the Beltline (where Perkins, Super 8 Motel and Rocky Rococo’s now stand) was not particularly attractive. So in 1958 the developers sponsored a Parade of Homes on the west side of lower Grandview Blvd. Along the east side there was still a farm belonging to the Frederick family and horses grazed in the meadow. Those show homes were purchased by families willing to brave the inconveniences, and a neighborhood was born. The next year, 1959, saw another Parade of Homes, this time on a new side street west of Grandview called Nottingham Way, and in 1960 another Parade followed on Kingston Drive the side street farthest up the hill. Beyond that, the west side of Grandview Blvd. was roughed in as a gravel road back to the woods and Leyton Lane and Circle were roughly paved to connect Kingston Dr. and Grandview Blvd. Lots were offered for sale in both areas. Soon houses sprang up on those extensions and a neighborhood spirit began to emerge. In 1962, thirteen women who foresaw the need for a neighborhood improvement and beautification association organized the Arbor Hills Garden Club, which

by 1966 had attracted nearly 50 members. This group would in the ensuing years become a significant force in protecting the best interests of the neighborhood and in raising considerable funds for boulevard landscaping and park development.

            By the summer of 1965, the developers were ready to commence with the third addition to the neighborhood and earth moving equipment began the rough grading of the east side of the 3100 block of Grandview Blvd. to Leyton Lane and pushing the boulevard further to the south into the woods to a point where it would later meet Post Road. Also roughly graded were the future Pelham Road up to the future park site and part of Derby Down. Meanwhile, Todd Drive and Post Road were being bulldozed through the former cornfields of the Bowman Dairy and into the woods to connect with Grandview Blvd. In the summer of 1967, all of these roads were paved, curbs and gutters installed, and the boulevard medians prepared for future plantings. By the next year the fourth addition was opened. Pelham Road was extended to Todd Drive; Derby Down and Wimbledon Way, Ashford Land and Heatherdell Lane and Sandwood Way, Knollwood Way, Westview Court and Irvington Way were graded and paved. A full-fledged neighborhood was certainly underway and lots in each new addition offered for sale were purchased by enthusiastic buyers. Of course, the building of Aldo Leopold School in 1969 was certainly an attraction to families.

            Meanwhile, the Frederick Farm had been sold to a developer who had ambitious plans for building commercial enterprises on the farm property and along the frontage road. One plan he presented was for an automobile agency to grace the land east of our entrance. Another called for a convenience store and gas station. Clearly, with such abominable threats to the character and integrity of our residential neighborhood, it was now time to organize. Four concerned neighbors got together to discuss the situation, drew up a tentative corporate charter and bylaws for a neighborhood association, and planned a meeting of residents. As a result of this effort, the Arbor Hills Neighborhood Association came into being in August 1967 with 48 charter members. The charter and bylaws were accepted and officers elected; and the first order of business was to discuss strategies for combating the impending threat.

            Since zoning changes would be required for the commercial development, there were hearings before the Town of Madison Board. The Association organized massive opposition and the zoning changes were defeated, the developer next proposed five (5) large twenty-four (24) unit apartment buildings for the site. It then became a dispute over what classification of residential development should be allowed as well as what alternative commercial development could be permitted. On the advice of legal counsel, the association was compelled to seek a compromise that would be acceptable to both parties which in the end was two (2) apartment buildings, a five (5) story building destined to become an insurance company, and four duplexes along Grandview Blvd. This was not what the residents of Arbor Hills had envisioned for their neighborhood, or what the Arbor Heights Development Corporation had led the first property buyers on Grandview to expect. Many felt betrayed. This episode produced pervasive attitudes of distrust for Town government as well as real estate developers, which persisted for a long time. Since then one of the functions of the Association’s Executive Board has been to maintain vigilance in many subsequent issues relating to development in and around the neighborhood.

            With the paving of Grandview Blvd. and the clearance of land along Pelham Rd. for a park, the Arbor Hills Garden Club turned its attention to neighborhood beautification and park development. The barren median strips badly need trees and shrubbery but the City and Town of Madison could not promise immediate funding. They did, however, draw up landscape design plans for each space and estimate the total cost, and suggested that if money were forthcoming from the neighborhood the project would be completed sooner. The Garden Club rose to the challenge and set about raising money by having bake sales, plant sales, craft sales, etc., and over time they accumulated more than half the cost of the plantings. The planting of trees and shrubbery along the boulevard median was accomplished in the summer of 1968. Thee have been additions and enhancements over the years since then.

            The original neighborhood plan contained only 4.5 acres for a hilltop park along Pelham Rd. The land below that down the hill to Wimbledon Way was platted to become ten (10) building lots on a cul-de-sac. Since the arrival of the first residents, this hill has been a magnet for winter fun. Long before the area became a park, one early resident installed a rope tow for skiing. Later children congregated with sleds and toboggan on what was one of the very best sledding hills in Madison. It seemed a shame that houses should one day obliterate this great asset. Two members of the Garden Club together with two members of the Association Board decided to go before the Madison Parks Commission to plead for preserving the projected building sites as green and open space. This occurred at a very favorable time when federal funds were available for “green space”; and the city was able to obtain funds, work out a settlement with the developers, and designate the area as parkland. Thus one of the prime sledding hills in the city was preserved for all time as well as the beautiful unobstructed view of the horizon over Fitchburg.

            When it came time to consider play equipment for the park, the Garden Club engaged a landscape design student who lived in the neighborhood to draw up plans for some creative and unusual play structures. They raised $2,000, obtained permission from the city to pay for and build the structures with manpower from the neighborhood. The city procured the materials and with great cooperation among neighbors, the project was completed. There were two large wooden towers to climb, an arched wooden bridge leading to a great sandbox, a pyramid like wooden structure to climb up with a pole in the center to slide down, and a large frame with several tire swings. Plantings were added a year later. The park was dedicated in June 1972. Some years later the city added toddler swings, a shelter, and lighting to the park. Members of the Garden Club were instrumental in getting the city to provide and ice skating rink for winter recreation, which required bring in water service. This made possible the addition of a drinking fountain to the park. In the 20 years since then, the park and play equipment have served a whole generation of youngsters who were born here or came as toddlers. It was with great nostalgia and sadness that some of them still living here witnessed the demolition of their special world where imagination turned towers into castles or spaceships, and the bridge into a home for trolls. In the spring of 1992 wooden structures no longer had the approval of the city parks department and these were condemned as worn out and unsafe.

            The original brick monuments build by the developers at the Grandview entrance to Arbor Hills contained earth-filled flower boxes. From its beginning, the Garden Club assumed the task of planting, weeding and watering the floral displays, which graced not only the sides, but the center medial as well. There came a time in 1980 when these monuments were showing signs of deterioration. The freezing and thawing of the earth in the flower boxes and the erosion of mortar had taken its toll. The structures were crumbling away. Experts were consulted to examine the alternatives of repair vs. replacement and quickly concluded that the latter was absolutely necessary. It was determined that construction and re-landscaping costs would amount to approximately $8,000. Clearly, a neighborhood-wide effort would be required to raise this considerable sum of money.

            Once again, a group of neighbors led by two energetic women-one from the Town of Madison part of Arbor Hills and the other from the City of Madison section-rose to the challenge and undertook the enormous task of garnering interest and support for the project, and of raising the money through letters of appeal and door-to-door solicitation. The Town of Madison agreed to undertake the job and expense of removing the old crumbling monuments, and in addition, allotted $1,000 for the project. A team of architects who were residents of the neighborhood donated their expertise and joined in designing and drawing up plans for the new structures. The remaining members of the Arbor Heights Development Corporation pledged $500, and several nearby businesses pledged donations as well. When the construction was completed, the Garden Club sought landscape design plans from several area contractors, selected the most attractive and affordable plan, provided additional funds for the trees and shrubs which were to enhance the brick structures, and oversaw the installation.

            It has been hoped many times over these last thirty years that some day the entrance area to Arbor Hills would be properly lighted and the entrance monuments with name highlighted by spotlights. Early attempts were frustrated by little encouragement from the Town of Madison, costs of installing and maintaining equipment, the metering and payment for the electricity consumed, and vandalism. The Town did finally install a power pole with a mercury vapor light on it and a meter and outlet where holiday lights could be serviced, but the monuments remained in the dark; and thefts of the lights on successive occasions discouraged further efforts. The hope for accomplishing appropriate lighting did not go away, however.

            In 1991 the desire for lighting surfaced again and this time two association officers and our alderman spearheaded the project. With generous donations  from the public utility company and private contractors, the lighting of the monuments became a reality. Temporary lights were installed in December and a neighborhood committee assumed the responsibility for decorating the monuments for the holiday season. In a dedication ceremony on December 20, 1991 involving neighborhood leaders, our alderman, and contractors, the lights were turned on, a cheer went up, and for the first time in more than thirty years the words ARBOR HILLS could be seen by passing motorists on the Beltline. In addition to spotlights, festive lighted holiday figures perched atop the brick walls proclaiming to all that this was a neighborhood to be noticed. And noticed we were, for by the next night part of the festive decorations had been stolen and a pall of disappointment fell over the neighborhood. The committee chairmen proceeded to replace the decorations at their own expense and immediately installed them more severely. They sparkled brightly for the rest of the season and seemed to be a beacon symbolizing the cooperative spirit that has made this neighborhood so special! In the August, 1992 Association newsletter it was reported that work was finally completed on the permanent installation of cables, fixtures and an automatic timer. Labor and materials were donated by Hill Electric Company and Crescent Lighting Company and with our alderman’s help, this $5,000+ project was realized at no expense to the association membership.

            When the Association received the bad news from the City of Madison in the spring of 1992 that the old wooden play structures in the park had been condemned and would soon be removed, the good news was that the Parks Department had $25,000 to allocate for their replacement. However, more than $7,000 of that allocation would be needed for installation, leaving $18,000 for the purchase of equipment. Immediately, the president appointed a park committee to work with the park department’s representative in selecting play equipment that would appeal to a broad spectrum of ages. It was soon realized that to obtain the total package of equipment that was desired would cost more than $2,000 over the available funds. Once again an appeal for donations went forth; and once again the people in this neighborhood responded. Individuals and families contributed $1,175; the Garden Club $350; the Women’s Club $250; and a Tupperware party and bake sale netted the remainder. By the end of September 1992, the new plastic and metal equipment had been installed and a new generation of children embarked into a fresh world of imaginative play.

            Perhaps this retrospective view of Arbor Hills will serve to heighten your appreciation of the neighborhood in which you have chosen to live. Its myriad assets have been achieved through the efforts of many-over a long period of time-who cared enough and were willing to put forth the effort and sometimes money required to accomplish great things.

            We welcome you to this beautiful place and hope that you will be warmed by the spirit of community and cooperation which prevails here. We invite you to join with us in continuing these traditions.