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The museum's collection is large, holding 110,000 historical objects and around 500,000 archaeological artifacts from Wisconsin that date to prehistoric times to the present day. The collection is divided into five categories: archaeology, culture and history, economic history, Native American ethnography, and social history. The archaeology collection features nationally significant stone and copper collections; culture and history focuses on arts, leisure, sports and recreation, and ethnic history; economic history centers on commerce, technology, agriculture, and industry; Native American ethnography contains everyday items (and religious objects) from cultures of the Upper Great Lakes and the rest of North America; and the&nbsp;social history focuses on home and family life and contains 20,000 items of clothing and other personal wear.

The Wisconsin Historical Museum is located in downtown Madison at the corner of W Mifflin St and N Carroll St on the Capitol Square.

Robert Nesbit, Wisconsin: A History-Click the link below for more information about this book.

Introduction to the Wisconsin Historical Society

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Video Tour of the Wisconsin Historical Museum

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Operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society, this museum has exhibits on three floors that explore Wisconsin as well as national history. The exhibits are divided into several areas: politics, frontier life, immigration, manufacturing and agriculture, and Native American cultures. Visitors will see the numerous artifacts on display, full-scale dioramas, a created ancient Native American house, audiovisuals, and interactive multimedia. The museum also features special seasonal and thematic displays, public programs and special tours, and a museum bookstore. 

Wisconsin Historical Museum

Created by the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, this tour connects Madison landmarks to the state's rich military history. Much of the tour is located in downtown Madison and can be enjoyed as a walking tour. Other places of interest are farther away from the central part of town and will be better visited by bike or car.

Born in 1883, Garner served as a 1st lieutenant in Company G, 1st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment when the National Guard was called into active service during the Mexican Expedition in 1916. He spent nearly a year guarding the border in Texas. Shortly after returning to Wisconsin, he again entered active duty at the start of World War I and rose to the rank of Captain during the conflict. When the United States entered World War II, the nearly 60 year old Garner again answered the call. Staying closer to home, he served as a colonel with the Wisconsin State Selective Service board for almost four years. Garner’s career as a civilian was just as impressive. The Lancaster native moved to Madison in 1903 and helped rescue law books from the Capitol fire in 1904. After graduating from UW-Madison with a degree in civil engineering, he was involved in the savings and loan industry. He served on the boards of numerous financial institutions, as well as Madison General Hospital and the Dane County Humane Society. He was also active as a veteran, helping to found a local American Legion post and serving long periods as marshal of the Memorial Day and Armed Forces Day parades in Madison.  The City of Madison acquired the land for this park in 1965, the year Garner retired from the city council, and immediately named it after him. Garner helped establish an endowment to provide for youth programs and playground equipment at the park. In 1976, the stunning shelter opened and remains an attraction in the city.

Garner Park, with its stunning Frank Lloyd Wright influenced shelter, is named after a prominent Madison resident,  Harrison L. Garner. He served 35 years on the Madison city council and was also heavily involved in numerous local organizations. His military service record is just as impressive—he served his country in active duty on three separate occasions.  

Harrison Garner Park

Forest Hill Cemetery, established in 1858, is located on a 140-acre hillside overlooking the beautiful city of Madison and the surrounding lakes. When the cemetery was being developed, Native American effigy mounds were soon discovered on the land, which reminds us that this was a sacred place well before Madison was established. In section 34, called the Soldiers’ Lot, lies two military burial grounds; Union Rest and Confederate Rest. Union Rest encompasses 240 graves of Union soldiers who died at Camp Randall’s military hospital or Harvey U.S. General Hospital in Madison. In addition, eight orphaned children who lived at the Soldiers’ Orphan Home are also buried at Union Rest. In 1873, a marble obelisk was erected with the children’s names on it. Soldiers from the Spanish American-War and World War I are also buried at Union Rest. In 1886, Union Rest became federal government property. The Confederate Rest is the northernmost Confederate cemetery in the U.S. These men who made up the 1st Alabama Infantry surrendered at the Battle of Island No. 10 near Cairo, Illinois in 1862. A majority of the 140 buried in the section died as prisoners of war at Camp Randall or died on their way to Camp Randall. Around 1868, the Confederate Rest was neglected, until a woman named Alice Waterman became its caretaker.   Alice Waterman was born in Louisiana and later relocated to Madison. She saw the neglect taking place at Confederate Rest and decided to oversee the reconstruction of this section. She planted trees, cut the grass, pulled weeds, put up a fence, and added headboards. She called them “her boys” and arranged flowers at each of their graves every year on Memorial Day. When she passed away in 1897, she was buried at Confederate Rest, making her the only civilian in that section.

Forest Hill Cemetery is one of the oldest and most historic cemeteries in Madison  Walk through the grounds and not only will you see prominent names of founding and influential Madison leaders, but also names of Union and Confederate soldiers, representing both sides of the Civil War.  In addition, an obelisk at the center of Union rest memorializes eight orphan children. 

Soldiers Rest at Forest Hill Cemetery

Within Vilas Park is the Henry Vilas Zoo, named after William F. and Anna’s son Henry, who died at a young age from diabetes. When William and Anna donated the money for Vilas Zoo, the only stipulation was there would be no charge to the public. The official opening of the zoo in 1911 showcased 10 local species including deer, rats, rabbits, an American eagle, and more. The first elephant, Annie, arrived in 1918 and lived until 1948. As the zoo grew, it continued its promise of keeping the zoo free of charge thanks to community outpouring. Today the zoo is one of ten in North America who are free to the public and it includes over 650 animals. Check out Wisconsin’s state animal, the badger, when you get the chance. William F. Vilas was a prominent figure in the Madison community. He was born in 1840 in Vermont and moved to Madison in 1851. He went to the University of Wisconsin at 13 years old and after graduating in 1858, he moved to New York to study law at Albany Law School. He then returned to Madison as a lawyer, but when the Civil War broke out, he joined the Union cause and became captain of Company A, 23rd regiment of the Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. In 1863 he was promoted to major and later lieutenant-colonel and led his regiment to victory at the Battle of Vicksburg.  After the Civil War, he was a Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin from 1868-1885 while also conducting his duties as a lawyer. Later he was the chairman of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago who helped Grover Cleveland obtain the presidency. Cleveland bequeathed him the title of Postmaster General from 1885-1888. He was then appointed Secretary of the Interior from 1888-1889. Vilas similarly became a politician and served one term as U.S. Senator in 1891. Outside of his professional life, he married Anna M. Fox in 1866 and they had four children, but only two outlived him. He passed away on August 27th, 1908 and is interred at Forest Hill Cemetery.

Vilas Park sits on 63 acres along the shore of Lake Wingra in Madison. In 1905 the project for a park began when William F. Vilas and Anna Vilas donated $18,000 to the Madison Park and Pleasure Drive Association. Overall, Vilas donated $35,000 for the development of the park. Today, visitors can engage in similar activities families and people enjoyed when the park first opened.  
Vilas , a Civil War veteran, was a prominent and influential lawyer, statesman and philanthropist during the late 19th century.   Henry Vilas Zoo is named after William F. and Anna’s son Henry, who died at a young age from diabetes.

Henry Vilas Park/Zoo

Whitehorse joined the Navy in 1944 at the age of 16. He chose the Navy because his older brother was already serving in it. During his four years of service, he deployed to both the European and Pacific Theaters, where he was exposed to and inspired by the art of different nations and cultures. He returned home and used the G.I. Bill to study human and animal anatomy, oil painting, and welding and metal fabrication. And during his prolific career as an artist of multiple mediums, he earned critical acclaim and renown.  The Badger was one of Whitehorse’s last works. It was installed and dedicated in 2019, two years after he passed away at the age of 90. According to his wife, Deb, it reflects his love of animals and children, and also his belief that art is not meant to be kept out of reach, but to be enjoyed in an interactive way.

The Badger sculpture, located near Camp Randall is a must-see for Badger fans. The ten-foot long bronze sculpture is meant to be seen, touched, hugged, and even climbed on, making it a fun stop for both children and adults. The artist who created The Badger is Harry Whitehorse, a member of the Ho Chunk Nation and a World War II veteran. 

Whitehorse Badger Statue

Before the Civil War, the state fair was held on the grounds. When the war began in April 1861, Governor Alexander Randall secured the space to fulfill Wisconsin’s duty to train soldiers to defend the Union. Camp Randall also held Confederate prisoners during the Civil War. Guarded by the 19th Wisconsin Infantry, more than 1,200 were held here for two months in 1862. They had been captured at the Battle of Island Number 10, on the Mississippi River, near New Madrid, Missouri. Nearly 140 of the Confederate soldiers died at Camp Randall and are buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison.  After the war, the State Fair was again held on the grounds nine times until it was moved permanently to West Allis in 1892. Eventually, the buildings were torn down and sold for scrap. In 1893 the University of Wisconsin bought the grounds from the Wisconsin Agricultural Committee to use for athletic fields, grounds for student military drill and even agriculture.  The first football game was played on the site in 1895, a contest the Wisconsin Badgers 6-0 over the Minnesota Gophers. The beginnings of what we know as Camp Randall Stadium today was opened in 1917, making it the fourth oldest stadium in Division I college football.  When some of the land was planned to be diverted from university purposes, subdivided, and sold for home to be built, Madison’s Civil War veteran community objected. They felt that their memory and those of their comrades, their sacrifices and devotion, patriotism would be besmirched by turning this special place into just another street of houses. The state of Wisconsin bought the land on which old Camp Randall sat, set aside 6.5 acres for a Memorial Park, and sold the remainder to the university.

While today it is known as home of University of Wisconsin-Madison Badger football, Camp Randall got its name during the Civil War as the primary training camp for soldiers from our state. Of the 91,327 Wisconsin soldiers who fought, some 70,000 trained at Camp Randall.  
In 1912 a Memorial Arch was dedicated in their honor where Dayton Street meets Randall Avenue. The ceremony was the occasion for a reunion and celebration. Be sure to check out the other memorials related to Camp Randall’s Civil War past, including the guard house, Lincoln in Wisconsin sign, and the brown historic site marker.  

Old Abe Arch at Camp Randall

Sterling Hall housed the university physics department, as well as the United States Army Mathematics Research Center (AMRC). The AMRC, which performed research for the United States Department of Defense, had previously been the target of demonstrations. Robert Fassnacht, a postdoctoral researcher, was killed in the early morning blast. His research had no connection to the AMRC. Four others — three in Sterling Hall and one across the street at University Hospital — were injured.The University of Wisconsin campus, site of the Dow Chemical protests in 1967, had an active anti-war culture during the Vietnam War. Students and residents regularly gathered for protests and demonstrations against the involvement of the U.S. military in Vietnam. Three of the four bombers — David Fine and brothers Karl and Dwight Armstrong — eventually served prison time. The fourth, Leo Burt, remains at large. Burt and Fine were UW–Madison students at the time.

Early in the morning of August 24, 1970, nearly a ton of explosives detonated in a van in front of Sterling Hall on the University of Wisconsin campus. The blast heard 30 miles from Madison, killed one researcher, injured three people, and hurled shrapnel around a three block radius. More than two dozen campus buildings suffered damage. The event succeeded in capturing national attention, but failed in its goal of destroying a U.S. Army research facility.  

Sterling Hall 

The Memorial Union opened in 1928. It was the culmination of plans and fundraising to provide a place for students to meet, and also as a memorial to honor University of Wisconsin students and alumni who fought and died in the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and World War I. The cornerstone has names of the 219 Badgers on the Gold Star Honor Roll who died in service, along with the University’s record of military service which includes 10,000 names. It also includes another 10,000 names of donors to the building project.  The entrance to the building reminds all who enter to reflect upon those who served. Engraved in stone are the words, “dedicated to the men and women of the University of Wisconsin who served in our country’s wars.” Ascending the stairs behind those words, and just beyond the entrance, is the Memorial Hall. There are four wooden plaques in Memorial Hall engraved with the 219 names of the Gold Star Honor Roll as of 1928.  There have been wars since the Memorial Union was built. And unfortunately, there are more names to add to the Gold Star Honor Roll, the gold star representing a military service member killed in the line of duty. In 2017, an interactive digital kiosk was added to Memorial Hall in order to update the Gold Star Honor Roll. The digital kiosk allows visitors to Memorial Hall in the Memorial Union to search the names and stories of 900 students and graduates of the University of Wisconsin – Madison who died during military service.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Union was built with two purposes in mind.  Look at the back terrace facing Lake Mendota on a glorious sunny day to discover one.  You will see groups of students gathered to relax and socialize, exactly what UW President Charles Van Hise envisioned in his 1904 inaugural address when he called for a student union.  The other purpose is found sealed in the cornerstone of the building, laid on Memorial Day, 1927.  It is called the Memorial Union because that cornerstone contains the names of students who served their country in the military, including those who made the ultimate sacrifice. 

Memorial Union 

Before the Red Gym, soldiers practiced drills in what was then open space in front of the present day building. The new armory in 1894 provided space for drills with a second floor room that was 160 feet by 93 feet, with a clear height of 43 feet.  Along with the drill hall, the armory included a commandant’s office with a fireproof ammunition safe, a gun room, staircases wide enough for a battalion in column of fours, and even 2 rifle ranges on the third floor, each 160 feet long.  The athletic facilities were also state-of-the-art for the time. Under the floor on the first level was a swimming tank, 80 by 20 feet, with a depth of four to six feet. The third floor gymnasium space approached the size of the drill hall at 160 feet by 65 feet, the largest gymnasium in the United States when it was built. At 26 feet, the third floor ceiling was high enough for a baseball cage. Efficiently utilizing the space, there was a dropped running track along the entire perimeter of the third floor. Run it twelve times to equal a mile.  The University of Wisconsin Armory and Gymnasium saw the training of countless soldiers. It came alive with the excitement of Badger basketball games from 1911 until 1930, at which time games moved to the Field House and later to the Kohl Center. The size of the space also made it a favorite spot for larger social and political gatherings. The Red Gym is a National Historic Landmark for its role in state and national Progressive-Era politics. It’s where Wisconsin Governor and U.S. Senator, Robert M. LaFollette, helped the Progressive Party to gain control of the Wisconsin Republican Party in 1904. The so-called “Gymnasium Convention” led to progressive reforms in Wisconsin and throughout the United States. For six decades beginning in 1928, it was the final stop in the registration process for students attending the University of Wisconsin.   What was once a modern marvel, became woefully inadequate over time. The university built newer, bigger gymnasiums and natatoriums. The Red Gym was scheduled for demolition by the 1950’s. Delays in building new facilities, meant delays in demolition. By the 1960’s it was still being used for athletic activities and as headquarters for the ROTC. During Viet Nam era protests, an arsonist set fire to what he thought was the ROTC offices. There was extensive damage, not to the ROTC offices, but to the Water Resources Management Program offices. Ironically, the fire might have saved the building, generating interest in the structure and its history, leading to repairs and adaptive repurposing. Today the Red Gym is home to offices for student services, and community spaces.

One look at the University of Wisconsin Armory and Gymnasium building and you can see why most people refer to it as the Red Gym. Opened in 1894, the red brick building built in the Romanesque Revival style resembles a castle. The fortress-like structure emphasized its military training function by expressing stability and permanence.  It addressed the University’s need for better athletic facilities, as well as improved military training for male students. 

Red Gym

Van Slyke was a farmer, businessman, and family man in Onondaga, NY before coming to Madison in 1853. When Van Slyke relocated to this growing capital city, he brought his first wife, Laura, and their three children (Laura, Daniel, and Elisha) with him. After moving to Madison, he founded the Dane County Bank, became president of the Wisconsin Bankers Association, and vice-president of the Savings, Loan, and Trust Company. Van Slyke also served on the first city council, helped to select the site of the city’s primary cemetery (Forest Hill Cemetery), and was a UW regent until 1879.  When the Civil War broke out, he was appointed quartermaster for the state and held the rank of brevet lt. colonel, serving from October 1, 1862 to July 28, 1865. As quartermaster, he was charged with the training and supply of troops. He also drafted the plans for Camp Randall as a training installation for Wisconsin’s Civil War soldiers. In fact, his hand-drawn sketch is the only blueprint of the camp in existence.He called the North Carroll Street residence home throughout his life in Madison, even though he had another house built. The second Van Slyke House in Madison stands at 28 E. Gilman Street and was commissioned by Van Slyke under the direction of famed architect August Kutzbock. Napoleon had construction on the Gilman Street house commenced while his first wife, Laura, was still alive. After her death in 1857, and after completion of the house in 1865, he decided that Laura’s memory lay too close to the structure and he could not bear to move into it. It is now known as the Keenan House, as it was purchased in 1900 by Dr. George Keenan, a prominent local physician and United States Consul to Bremen, Germany, who lived there with his wife until 1916.

The Van Slyke House, one of two in the city of Madison, is located at 510 N. Carroll Street and is widely considered one of the finest examples of Italianate-style architecture in the United States. Originally built for a successful hardware merchant named Samuel Fox in 1856, Napoleon Bonaparte Van Slyke and his second wife, Annie, purchased the residence in 1860

The Van Slyke House

The origins of the museum date back to 1901, when Wisconsin Civil War veterans successfully lobbied the state legislature to establish a museum to remember the service and sacrifices made by Wisconsin men during the Civil War. The museum was located in the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Memorial Hall inside the Capitol building. Civil War veterans operated the museum for almost 40 years. After World War II, the newly created Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs took charge of its care, and the museum began expanding its collection to conflicts after the Civil War. This change in scope was reflected by a name change in 1972, when G.A.R. Memorial Hall became the Wisconsin Veterans Museum (WVM). WVM moved from the Capitol to a newly renovated space across the street in 1993. The exhibit galleries trace the story of Wisconsin’s role in American military history from the Civil War to the present. The exhibits bring back memories for veterans and stimulate discussion among visitors. A research center provides opportunities to learn more about the veterans in your family tree or conduct research on any number of topics. Programs and activities capture the interest and attention of everyone from school children to retired life-long learners. Wisconsin has a proud military history, from the Iron Brigade to the Red Arrow Division, from Arthur MacArthur to Richard Bong, from Billy Mitchell to Mitchell Red Cloud. WVM believes that EVERY VETERAN IS A STORY and is privileged to preserve stories of their sacrifice. Stop in at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum to learn more about the women and men from the Badger State who have served our nation.

The Wisconsin Veterans Museum has been a Smithsonian Affiliate since 2013 and offers exhibits and programs that interpret the role of Wisconsin veterans in shaping the nation’s history. Stories of Wisconsin veterans from the Civil War through the present day are intended to educate and inspire guests to learn more of the state's military history at this museum which offers free admission to the public. Highlights of the museum include a Civil War cannon captured at the Battle of Shiloh, letters written by a World War I army nurse, and the option to listen to oral history interviews with local veterans of World War II. The museum also includes an exhibit that includes the Medal of Honor which was posthumously awarded to a local soldier in the Korean War, a Huey helicopter that flew missions in Vietnam, a Cold War era submarine periscope, and exhibits dedicated to the service of Wisconsin women and men in modern military conflicts.

Wisconsin Veterans Museum

Following the Civil War, Union soldiers formed a veterans’ organization known as the Grand Army of the Republic, GAR. The group became incredibly powerful in state and national politics, and this was definitely the case in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin G.A.R. wanted to ensure that future generations would remember their service and sacrifices, and so they worked to have it written into law. In 1901, state statute established the G.A.R. Memorial Hall, a museum dedicated to preserving the memory of Wisconsin’s role in the Civil War. It was to be located in the Capitol building and operated by members of the Wisconsin G.A.R. The core of G.A.R. Memorial Hall collection was the Civil War battle flags carried by Wisconsin troops throughout the war. When a fire broke out in the Capitol in February 1904, local residents bravely raced into the burning building to rescue the flags. The building was destroyed, but within a year of the new (and current) Capitol opening in 1917, G.A.R. Memorial Hall was rededicated. Generations of Wisconsin residents toured the Hall and marveled at the precious artifacts from the Civil War. As the last Civil War veterans began passing away, Spanish-American War veterans took over care of G.A.R. Memorial Hall. Following World War II, the newly created Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs operated the museum. The collection grew to include objects from Wisconsin veterans of subsequent conflicts. In 1972, G.A.R. Memorial Hall was renamed the Wisconsin Veterans Museum to reflect the broader focus, and a little more than 20 years after that, the museum moved to its current location on Mifflin Street. While G.A.R. Memorial Hall doesn’t exist any longer, its battle flags and other objects, and the stories of Wisconsin veterans live on at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.

The Wisconsin Capitol building housed the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Memorial Hall  until the opening of a stand-alone Wisconsin Veterans Museum in 1993. The core of the collection held in the GAR Memorial Hall was a 30-flag collection of Civil War Wisconsin regimental standards. 

GAR Memorial Hall

The idea of the Gold Star as a symbol of loss during wartime can be traced to the first World War. During the Victorian era people wore Black to signify that they were in mourning. In 1917 after the United States entered World War I, Louise Bowen from Chicago suggested substituting the wearing of Black with that of a gold star. She proposed that the gold star better reflected that while sadness was undoubtedly felt at the loss, there was also a deep sense of pride in their loved one for the great and just cause of defending the United States. She also was concerned that as the deaths from the war began to accumulate, the sight of more and more people the streets in Black would dampen American’s morale and willingness to fight.Men were encouraged to wear a gold star on an armband and women to hang a small gold star flag from the window of their homes. Called service flags, they could be seen in countless American windows by 1918. The service flag contained one blue star in a white rectangular field bordered with red for each person in the service. If a family lost a loved one, their flag showed a gold star superimposed over the blue. Gold Star Mothers, beginning with Grace Darling Seibold, whose son had volunteered to fly during the first World War, would become a large, governmentally sanctioned service organization that exists to give comfort and community to mothers whose child had died. The organization also advocated on behalf of Gold Star Mothers and volunteers to do good in the veteran community. Today, there is an American Gold Star Families organization committed to education, advocacy and awareness, and support for those who have lost a loved one in service to their country.

Gold Star families are immediate relatives of members of the U.S. Armed Forces who have been killed in combat or in support of certain military activities. The Gold Star Family Memorial Garden was dedicated and unveiled on August 22, 2018. Made possible by the National Garden Clubs, Inc., the Wisconsin Garden Club Federation, America’s Gold Star Families and the State of Wisconsin, it is the first in the nation to be placed on state capitol grounds. 

Gold Star Memorial Garden

In 1866, Old Abe got a roommate when a golden eagle named Andy Johnson joined him in the Capitol. Andy Johnson had served about seven months with the 49th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, but was not tame like Old Abe. The two fought on numerous occasions, and eventually in 1873 Old Abe mortally wounded Andy. In February 1881, a small fire broke out in the Capitol basement where Old Abe lived in February 1881 and he died one month later of smoke inhalation. Governor William E. Smith decided to preserve Old Abe’s remains for future generations. The remains were placed in the Capitol rotunda in September 1881. While some visitors commented that the rendering lacked a life-like appearance, President Theodore Roosevelt was thrilled to see the eagle he had read about as a child when he visited the Capitol in 1903.  Tragically, Old Abe’s remains were destroyed in 1904 by a fire that also razed almost the entire Capitol building. The current Capitol building, built between 1906 and 1917, never housed Old Abe or his remains, but it sits on the exact spot where the bald eagle once resided. Across Mifflin Street, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum preserves the story of Old Abe in their exhibits, with photographs of the eagle, and with his feathers that survived the fires.

Did you know an eagle lived in the Wisconsin State Capitol building for 17 years in his own two room apartment with a personal caretaker and custom bathtub? Old Abe was a bald eagle who served as the mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. He marched with them into battle, kept them company in camp, and boosted their morale. After three years of service, he returned to Wisconsin and took up residence in the Capitol building. Old Abe became a nationally-known celebrity, traveling around the state and country to make appearances at veterans’ reunions and fundraisers. P. T. Barnum, the famous circus showman, unsuccessfully tried to buy Old Abe for $20,000.

Old Abe at the Capitol

The Capitol's architecture is not only a fine example of the Beaux-Arts style, it also features Wisconsin iconography. The interior features motifs of wreaths and garlands using oak leaves. The exterior continues this theme of Wisconsin-related motifs with the statue atop the dome, called "Wisconsin," which depicts a woman wearing a helmet with a badger (the state animal) and ears of corn (an important state crop), as well as other symbols of the themes of liberty, justice, and truth.

Built between 1906 and 1917, the Wisconsin State Capitol is the location of the state's seat of government, housing the Office of the Governor, the state Supreme Court, and both chambers of the state legislature. Designed by famed architect George Post, the Capitol is a beautiful example of Renaissance Revival architecture as interpreted through the Beaux-Arts style. The building is 284.5 feet tall, including the large statue erected on top of the dome created by celebrated artist Daniel Chester French who also created the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The Capitol is the third since the state was granted statehood 1848 (two served as territorial capitols). The dome is notable not only for its large size but also for the fact that is the largest granite dome in the world and the only granite capitol dome in the country. The Capitol is also significant for its association with the progressive political movement of the early 20th century, as championed by Governor Robert La Follette (1900-1906) and his sons, which profoundly impacted state and national politics. All of these factors led to the Capitol to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 2001.

Wisconsin State Capitol

The Fairchild house was finished in 1850 and became a focal point of Madison’s political and social circles during his time as state treasurer and mayor. Along with the liveliness around the house created by his political career, Fairchild and his wife, Sally, had four children to care for in Madison, although the Fairchilds had five children all together. There were four boys in the family; James, Cassius, Lucius, and Charles; and one girl, Sarah. Sadly, James had passed long before they move to Madison. Jairus, as well, would fall ill and die in 1862, just as his remaining children were entering their adult years.  All three of his sons fought in the Civil War. Cassius began his service with the 16th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and would close out the war as a brevet brigadier general in the Army of the Tennessee. He was wounded at the Battle of Shiloh and was sent back to Madison to recover from his wounds, where he convalesced in the adjoining room to his terminally ill father. Lucius was assigned to the 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and would eventually attain the rank of brigadier general in the Army of the Potomac. He suffered a gunshot to the left arm during the Battle of Gettysburg, resulting in the amputation of that limb. Charles would serve as paymaster for the Union Navy and was one of less than 100 men from Wisconsin to serve in the Navy. Sarah would later marry a University of Wisconsin professor. After the war, Lucius took over the family estate and it served his political ambitions as well as it did his father's. As governor of the state from 1866 to 1872, Lucius used the Fairchild home as the state’s executive residence, since the state did not possess a governor’s mansion at the time. After his terms as governor, Lucius would leave the family home as he was appointed consul to Liverpool and Paris, and later becoming Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. Although the Fairchild house no longer stands, the legacy of the Fairchilds continues to be told throughout Madison and Wisconsin.

The Fairchild house was built by Jairus Cassius Fairchild, a New York native who, like so many other early Madison residents, made their way west from the Empire State to this growing capital city. Jairus arrived in Madison in 1846 and immediately set out to make a name for himself. He started a lumber yard and a brick company, both of which greatly aided in the building of the Fairchild house, and became president of the Watertown-Madison Railroad Company. He was elected the first state treasurer in 1848 and became the first mayor of Madison in 1856.  

The Fairchild House Site

Following Governor Harvey’s untimely death in 1862 (making him Wisconsin’s shortest-serving Governor), Cordelia Harvey took up her husband’s task of advocating for wounded soldiers from Wisconsin to return to the state to convalesce. She was appointed the state sanitary agent in late 1862 and, by 1863, had secured the building on Spaight Street for this exact purpose (President Lincoln backed this project after being personally petitioned by Cordelia). Between 1863 and the end of the Civil War in 1865, more than 630 soldiers recovered from battle in, what was then called, Harvey Hospital. After the war, it was apparent to Cordelia that the war-orphaned children of Wisconsin needed care. In 1866, through private donations and a state purchase of the land surrounding Harvey Hospital, the Soldiers’ Orphan Home opened. Cordelia was appointed the first superintendent of the home. By the time it closed in 1875, the Soldiers’ Orphan Home cared for and raised 683 children.  The above mentioned historical marker was dedicated in 1908 by the school children of Madison, who were invited to donate between one and five cents toward the cost of the memorial. Attorney General Frank L. Gilbert, a former orphan of the home, was asked to deliver remarks at the dedication ceremony, which was attended by hundreds of Madisonians. The historical marker, on the East corner of Spaight and Brearly Streets, can be visited today.

In 1852, construction began on a three-story, octagonal-shaped mansion overlooking Lake Monona on Spaight Street. The home was owned by former Wisconsin Governor, Leonard Farwell (1852-1854), who sold the property in 1860 to a group of investors from Milwaukee. Today, that building no longer stands and the only physical memory of what was to become the Harvey Hospital and the Soldiers’ Orphan Home is a historic marker that reads:  

“On this city block stood during the Civil War, Harvey Hospital, and later the Wisconsin Soldiers’ orphans home. Both established through the influence of Mrs. Cordelia P. Harvey, whose honored husband, Governor Louis P. Harvey, had, April 19, 1862, been accidentally drowned in Tennessee River, near Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, where, after the battle of Shiloh, he went with supplies for the comfort of sick and wounded Wisconsin soldiers. Presented to the City by the school children of Madison May 29, 1908.” 

Harvey Hospital Site

Tenney was born in Plattsburg, New York in December of 1834, Mr. Tenney learned the trade of printing at the young age of eight. His family moved to Ohio where he worked at a publishing newspaper with his brothers, Horace and Henry. At age 15, he moved to Madison in 1850 to attend the University of Wisconsin as one of its first students.  In 1855, he was admitted to the Wisconsin bar at age 20. When the Civil War broke out, Tenney supported the Union cause, but could not enter the army due to ill health. He practiced law in Madison with several others including his brother, Henry, before moving to Chicago where he practiced commercial law for 27 years. After retiring in 1898, he returned to Madison with his wife, Mary Jane. He passed away on February 10, 1915 and is interred at Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison.

Although Madison attorney, Daniel K. Tenney was known as “the great-curmudgeon” he was committed to his vision of creating a public space for Madison. In 1899, Daniel K. Tenney, a retired attorney, bought 14 acres of land to develop into Tenney Park. The City of Madison, at the time, refused to use public funding for leisure projects. The land was originally marshland, but Tenney and the Madison Park and Pleasure Drive Association had a vision to turn it into a beautiful, scenic park. Tenney donated the land under the condition the park would be placed into a trust for the ongoing benefit of the public.  

Tenney Park

On November 3, 1941, the local newspaper ran an Associated Press article about a young Madison man. His plane had crashed into a mountain near San Francisco at 400 mph. Only a week earlier, 24-year-old, Lt. Thomas L. Truax, Bud to his friends, had evaded death in a training mission that took the lives of two fellow airmen. Lt. Truax had a lot going for him. Having completed his training in the U.S. Army Air Corps, he had earned the rank of First Lieutenant, and had married his wife less than 18 months before the plane crash that took his life. Naming the new air base in his honor seemed the appropriate thing to do.  Lieutenant Truax was not alone in giving the ultimate sacrifice for his country. There were others, other Wisconsin airmen that gave their lives in service to their country. For example, you will find Truax Field located at 3200 Pierstorff Street. First Lieutenant Duane Pierstorff was returning to Madison from navigation training in April of 1958, when shortly after takeoff from Tinker Air Force Base near Oklahoma City, his plane began to vibrate. Trying to avoid civilian casualties, Pierstorff returned to Tinker where he crashed onto the runway. He later died of his injuries. The next year, the Madison Common Council voted to name a new street at Truax in honor of Pierstorff.   The vote was in keeping with a tradition begun in 1945. Post Commander Brigadier General Vincent J. Meloy got approval to name base routes after Wisconsin airmen that had died in WWII, whether stationed at Truax or not. Their last names became street names. Today near Truax Field, you might find yourself on streets named Kinsman, Anderson, Pankratz, Straubel, or Grimm. These are just a few of the streets named for airmen from Madison and throughout the state of Wisconsin. Behind each name is a story, many are the the stories of ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

Today, Truax Field in Madison, Wisconsin, is home to the 115th Fighter Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard, integrating active-duty airmen into the Air National Guard.  When Truax Field was activated as an air base in June of 1942, it had been only months since the November 1941 plane crash had killed its namesake, Lieutenant Thomas L. Truax.  Lieutenant Truax had died before the United States even entered WWII. 

Madison's Every Place Has a Story Walking Tour

Wisconsin Historical Museum

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information