The Taychopera Foundation was incorporated in 1968 as a non-profit organization to encourage and assist in the preservation of structures of architectural and historical significance in Madison and the surrounding area. (Taychopera means “region of the four lakes” in the Winnebago language.) Initially Taychopera sponsored the sale of a booklet on historic Madison houses and note paper with sketches of historic houses. Late in the fall of 1968 the Foundation began its first project to directly assist in preservation with an effort to save the (Abel) Dunning House (Mapleside), a pre-Civil War farmhouse on University Avenue. Attempts to move the house or to preserve it on its original site failed despite a public fund raising campaign, and Mapleside was razed to make way for a Burger King franchise.
Later Taychopera projects were more successful. It was instrumental in the passage of a Madison city ordinance creating a City Landmarks Commission (June, 1970) to designate and encourage the preservation of Madison's historic buildings. Taychopera financed the publication of a plan (1971) to create an historic district in the West Gilman-North Pinckney Street area. In 1971 it actively supported and helped to finance the public effort to save and move the Gates of Heaven Synagogue, one of the oldest synagogues in the nation. During its brief existence, Taychopera also sponsored a color film on Madison's historic buildings, and many tours and lectures on preservation. It was a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation from 1971 to 1974. The Foundation became less active after 1972, and voted to dissolve in December, 1975. Prior to its dissolution Taychopera transferred its records and a $2,200 trust fund to the Historical Society.
