Westmorland History

About the History Committee

The first meeting of the Westmorland History Committee was held on April 4, 2002. The first project for the committee was to survey the neighborhood to determine what history related projects residents were interested in. The results of the survey indicated that history articles for the Westmorland Courier, 4th of July celebration history displays, neighborhood walking tours, collection and archiving of Westmorland history, and developing history books and brochures related to Westmorland were of the most interest to the neighborhood. The first Westmorland history article was published in the November 2003 of the Courier. As of March, 2015, history articles have been published in 60 consecutive issues of the Courier. Since 2005, the history committee has set up a history display table at the Westmorland 4th of July event. The committee published a Westmorland walking tour booklet in September, 2012. The history committee has been archiving neighborhood history related materials since 2003.

“The Westmorland community has a strong sense of time and place…our roots go deep, and our branches continue to grow.” – “Introduction,” Voices of Westmorland: An Oral History of a Neighborhood

Westmorland Neighborhood

Current Projects

• Publishing neighborhood history related articles in the Courier
• Conducting oral history interviews of long time neighborhood residents
• Binding past issues of the Courier
• Staging annual history display table at 4th of July event

Past Projects

• Archived copies of the Westmorland Directory from the 1948 issue thru the 2015 issue
• Archived WNA Board meeting minutes, plat and subdivision maps, donated scrapbooks, and photographs
• Supported walking tours of the neighborhood conducted by Historic Madison, Inc. (2011), Vernacular Architecture Forum (2012), and the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation (2013 & 2014)
• Sponsored speakers at the WNA Annual Meeting
• Implemented recommendations of the Cultural and Historic Resources Section of the Westmorland Neighborhood Plan (2008)

Stone barn, Paunack Avenue, circa 1910.

Westmorland neighborhood entrance, 1930.

Homes under construction on Paunack Avenue, 1938.

4th of July parade, year unknown.

Homes under construction, 609 Gately Terrace, 1949.

Stagecoach Players and the first Stagecoach Traveling Stage, ca. 1952.

Usonian house under construction, 441 Toepfer Avenue, 1937. (Photo: Herb Jacobs Collection).

Glenway Golf Course, May 9, 1939.

Frederick Circle block party, 1956.

4th of July parade, late 1940s.

Homes under construction, 3817 Paunack Avenue, 1939.

Waterman’s Bar, ca. 1950.

4th of July parade, 1944.

Stagecoach Players perform Hansel & Gretel in Madison City Park, ca. 1973.

4th of July parade, 1976.