Formerly a well spring of political activism, the Mifflin and Bassett Street neighborhoods have settled down into adult, residential neighborhoods as students have moved out and new construction has begun in the historic area.
Established in the late 1800s, the Mifflin-Bassett neighborhood, known affectionately as Miff-land, is one of Madison's oldest. It belongs to the city district once known as the Bloody Fourth Ward,\ according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4. The name stems from the neighborhood's unruly early history. gave rise to the area's nickname, Verveer said.
In the 1960s, UW students began settling in the neighborhood as UW-Madison enrollment increased. Students were no longer required to live in dorms, and the major increase in off-campus housing transformed several downtown neighborhoods, especially the Bassett neighborhood, according to Verveer.
With the influx of students, the Bassett neighborhood became politically active.
The Mifflin Street Co-op, 32 N. Bassett St., was established in 1969. The organic foods store was one of the original sponsors of the Mifflin Block Party, according to Blake Trimbell, a co-op cashier. The store touts itself as pro-peace, and anti-war posters adorn the public bulletin board. Trimbell dubbed the co-op's current political interest, ""food politics.""
""This is the place where people can come and feel the closeness of the community and not just feel like they're going to the store. There's a friendly atmosphere here,"" said Trimbell. The store is ""community oriented,"" and every month, the store donates $20 gift certificates to local nonprofit organizations and has a ""free box"" for those who cannot afford food.
The Mifflin-Bassett neighborhood quickly became a hotbed of radicalism, as evidenced by a series of gestures accordant with the era. The Mifflin Street Co-op sold marijuana-laced brownies to its customers, and an effort arose in the 1970s to rename Bassett Street the Ho Chi Minh Trail in an act of solidarity with those opposing the United States in the Vietnam War, Verveer said.
In the mid 1990s, drug dealing and prostitution problems, especially on the 400 block of W. Main St., led to efforts by Verveer and the City of Madison Police Departments to curb crime. Though Verveer said students have not been a major source of criminal problems, some residents feel tension. Ann Trainor, a long-term resident of the neighborhood said student parties were a problem, but the disturbances have decreased along with the student population in the neighborhood.
Long considered one neighborhood, residents decided in the ‘90s to split Miff-land into the Bassett Street and Mifflin West neighborhoods.
The student decrease is a result of a number of redevelopment projects in the last five years, according to Bassett District Chair of Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc. Peter Ostlind. New residents include empty nesters and retired people living next to undergraduates, resulting in a diversity that Verveer calls ""the coolest thing"" about the neighborhood today.
The redevelopment has also affected businesses in the neighborhood. The Onion newspaper is opening an office in a restored grocery store once owned by Trainor's grandfather. According to Verveer, the Brigham Park boathouse, which is Madison's oldest public historic landmark, is also undergoing restoration.
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