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Sun Prairie is Dane County's second biggest city and the fastest growing city in Wisconsin. The birthplace of famed artist Georgia O'Keeffe and home of Jimmy the Groundhog, Sun Prairie is famous for its annual "CornFest" held each August. Sun Prairie features a racetrack where Midget Auto Racing is held, the largest Aquatic center in the areas, and many antique shops in its historic downtown. Despite its rapid growth, Sun Prairie remains a great place to live, work or raise a family. To find out more about Sun Prairie homes & lifestyles, Click Here.
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Even the name of Madison area’s second largest city practically shouts “Heartland.” It’s hard to beat the local weekly newspaper’s description: “It’s got a Main Street right out of The Andy Griffith Show. Its communities, dotted with neighborhood schools and more parks than seems fair, are homey and welcoming. People are friendly and happy. And its annual corn festival promises to once again be a wholesome family affair where thousands converge for fresh sweet corn dripping with butter.” (Isthmus, August 10, 2012) The city’s name comes from words carved in a local tree trunk following an extensive rainy period by a Milwaukee construction worker on his way to help build the state capitol in 1837. Up from about 20,000 people in the past 10 years, Sun Prairie has become the fastest growing city in the region with about 30,000 people now calling it home.
Even with large corporate employers like American Family Insurance nearby and traditional neighborhood developments (AKA “new urbanism”), many Sun Prairie neighborhoods more closely resemble familiar commuter bedroom communities with home styles and prices reflecting every category. Some lucky Sun Prairie residents even enjoy ultra-fast, reasonably priced, fiber optic Internet connectivity which was put into some new construction projects early on. Particularly noteworthy is Sun Prairie’s redevelopment of its downtown area, including the award-winning Cannery Square, named for its once dominant canning industry. Today, the city’s largest employers include QBE/General Casualty Companies, the Sun Prairie School District, and telecom provider Frontier Communications. The city consistently has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation.
The city proudly points out it is the birthplace of famed artist Georgia O’Keeffe. Some speculate the region’s abundant plant life led to her obsession with painting flowers. The city celebrates her life with its annual mid-June Georgia O’Keeffe Celebration in conjunction with its Taste of the Arts fair. Another, perhaps more earthly Sun Prairie “citizen” is Jimmy the Groundhog, Punxatawney Phil’s primary competition. Said to be more accurate in predicting the arrival of spring, Jimmy is the best-known resident of “the groundhog capital of the United States.” Wisconsin has long been a hotbed of gear-head action, and Sun Prairie is no exception. Its Angell Park Speed Way, operated by the city’s fire department since 1903, is home to the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.
In the Spring of 1837, Augustus Bird and a group of 45 men made their way from Milwaukee to Madison City. Their mission? To construct a new Capitol building. After several rain-soaked days, sun broke through the clouds and they saw before them a beautiful prairie. They named it Sun Prairie.
In 1844 William Angell purchased 5 acres of land from Mr. Charles Byrd, who had purchased land on a prior trip in 1839. This act created the first lot in what we now know as modern-day Sun Prairie. This same year a post office was established although it was under the name of Rome. That post office was renamed to Su Prairie, however, within the same year.
Soon after, buildings began to appear in the 40s and 50s. A school opened in 1842. The Milwaukee in Baraboo Valley Railroad line was later extended into the village (about 1859) and remained it's terminus for a full decade. With the arrival of the railroad came a lot of growth in the village. For example, with transportation readily available and two grain elevators having been built, a flourishing grain market developed soon thereafter.
An official plat of the village was created and Sun Prairie was finally incorporated in 1868.
The Sun Prairie Area School District is noted for its strong academic achievement for district students. It consists of Sun Prairie Senior High School, an Alternative Learning School, Upper Middle School, two middle Schools, seven public elementary schools, a 4K program, and a web-based Virtual School.
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