Dane County

Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the population was 488,073, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin. The 2015 estimate places the county's population at 523,643. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital.Dane County is part of the Madison, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as the Madison-Janesville-Beloit Combined Statistical Area.HistoryDane County was formed in 1836 as a territorial county and organized in 1839. It was named after Nathan Dane, a Massachusetts delegate to the Congress of the Confederation who helped carve Wisconsin out of the Northwest Territory. Dane County was first settled in the 1840s by settlers from New England.