Although Dane County was established on December 7, 1836, the county was not formally organized until May 1, 1839. Taxes for 1837 and 1838 were presumably collected by Iowa County to which Dane County was administratively attached, though no tax or assessment rolls for those years have survived. Between 1839 and 1849, the Dare County Board of Commissioners collected taxes for the entire county, including the village of Madison. The Town of Madison collected taxes for the village of Madison which lay within its boundaries from 1850 until 1856 when the village was formally incorporated. Since 1857, a separate tax roll has been kept for the City of Madison. Tax rolls for the years 1839-1856 included here are the Madison portions of the county or Town of Madison tax rolls for those years. As such, they are also included in Dane Series 90, Dane County Tax Rolls.
