Barracks and Temporary Classrooms

User Note: Follow the sidewalk until you reach the pin on the map below. Look towards the parking lot to see the former site of the Barracks.

Due to the United States entering into World War I, new buildings were constructed to accommodate the Western’s Student Army Training Corps. In 1918, over 350 trainees arrived on campus and the barracks were finished one month later. The SATC, however, was disbanded later that year due to the Armistice and the barracks were converted to classrooms. In addition to this structure, other temporary buildings were erected to serve as classrooms or other spaces for various departments. These wooden buildings were mostly located around the athletic field and continued to be used until the mid-1900s.

See below for more information

Due to the growing global crisis of World War I, President Dwight B. Waldo secured Western’s status as a Student Army Training Corps (SATC) in order to attract students who were interested in military training. After being granted in 1918, President Waldo and other faculty traveled around Michigan to recruit trainees. Over 350 men arrived on campus and began basic training courses, along with the traditional curriculum.

At this time, the barracks were still under construction and the trainees were housed in the Science Building and around the pool in East Hall. In October 1918, the trainees in Western’s Student Army Training Corps finally had designated housing, which was built with help from the United States Government. However, the building did not serve as SATC housing as long as it had intended due to the armistice that was reached in November 1918, which resulted in the disbanding of the corps on December 21, 1918.

The building was then renovated to house classrooms and was renamed the Temporary Building. In addition to this renovation, around five other buildings were built between 1918 and 1948 for classrooms. In 1928, two wooden structures and a small fieldhouse were built just south of the Men’s Gymnasium, and each included space for two classrooms. In addition to these structures, Western also constructed tennis courts near this complex for the Physical Education curriculum.

These structures were utilized until the early 1930s when they were no longer needed due to falling enrollment during the Great Depression and were later torn down. Presently, the site of these former buildings is used as a parking lot for Waldo Stadium and for parking near other buildings. 

Massie, Larry B. Brown and Golden Memories: Western Michigan University's First Century. Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan University, 2003. 

Knauss, James O. The First Fifty Years: A History of Western Michigan College of Education, 1903-1953. Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan College of Education, 1953. 

University Libraries. Rep. Campus Building Inventory - Yearly Summary, n.d.