Instructor

Signe Skott Cooper was a University of Wisconsin nursing student who finished her nursing program in February, 1943, passed the State Board of Nursing exams, and volunteered to serve in the Army Nurse Corps. As a First Lieutenant, Cooper served in military hospitals in Leo and Margherita, India, where her unit averaged a death per day. At the conclusion of World War II, she was discharged and sent to Fort Dix, NJ, so that she could outprocess from the Army.Cooper then returned home to Middleton and accepted a position at the University of Wisconsin Hospital. She served as the head nurse of the obstetrical unit while finishing her degree. Aided by the GI Bill, which paid for books and tuition, she completed her program while working full time.Signe Skott Cooper retired from the university in 1983, leaving a lasting legacy of excellence. She was a trailblazer in nursing education, primarily in the sphere of distance learning, and found innovative ways to reach nurses across the state via radio and the Educational Telephone Network. She wrote two nursing textbooks and edited three others, helping students and licensed nurses alike learn and improve their profession. Signe Scott Cooper was a woman who devoted her life to serving others.

While this location is off of the path of our tour, we would be remiss if we did not include a building named after one of the university's most prestigious veterans. Signe Scott Cooper Hall is the home of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Nursing. Completed in 2014, the building bears the name of “one of nursing’s greatest national resources” and one of University of Wisconsin-Madison’s most distinguished veterans. Her lifetime of service, to her country, the university, and her fellow educators and nurses, is one of inspiration.

Signe Skott Cooper Hall

Take a walk around the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and explore it's military history since its founding in 1848. 

Camp Randall is named after Alexander W. Randall, Wisconsin's first wartime governor. It served as a training camp for Wisconsin's Civil War soldiers starting on May 1, 1861. Eventually, over 70,000 of the state's 91,327 troops trained here at some point. In 1862, Camp Randall became a Prisoner of War Camp when approximately 1400 sick and wounded confederate soldiers were held here. Many succumbed to their wounds and are buried at "Soldiers' Rest", the northernmost confederate cemetery in the United States.After the war, outrage by veterans prevented the land being sold for building lots, and in 1893, the Wisconsin state legislature purchased the site and donated it to the university. Soldiers were quartered and trained at Camp Randall during World War I, and Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) trained here during World War II.When the university decided to build an athletic facility on the grounds, veterans groups wrote a petition to the university regents asking that the name always remain Camp Randall. The stadium at Camp Randall was first used in 1895 and the Badgers began a long tradition by defeating the University of Minnesota by a score of 6-0.Another interesting fact about Camp Randall is that the "1940" addition included dormitories named the Schreiner and Baumann houses. These were named after two University of Wisconsin students killed at Okinawa. These dorms were originally used to house naval trainees.

Camp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in the north central United States, located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. It has been the home of Wisconsin Badgers football in rudimentary form since 1895, and as a fully functioning stadium since 1917. The oldest and fifth largest stadium in the Big Ten Conference, Camp Randall is the 41st largest stadium in the world, with a seating capacity of 80,321. Camp Randall Stadium is not named after the team or someone associated with the university. Camp Randall was an army base during the American Civil War and the Badgers stadium was built on its location.

Camp Randall Stadium 

After several failed attempts to build a gymnasium annex, the university regents decided that a practice athletic facility should be built adjacent to Camp Randall stadium so that the new building could connect to existing infrastructure and eliminate the need for separate locker rooms and shower facilities. This decision was met with strong objections by citizen and veterans groups because the site was a memorial park. A temporary trailer park housing 44 families was also located at this site.In a bid to assuage those objecting to the plan, the university passed a resolution designating the facility as a memorial to the Union Veterans of the Civil War. A plaque was installed on the building which told the story of the history of Camp Randall, focusing on its time as a camp during the Civil War. The university also requested that the state legislature convert the remainder of the park into a perpetual memorial, honoring the men of the Union who fought in the Civil War. The protestors relented and the building was constructed. The Memorial Shell is now primarily used as an ice rink, indoor track, and a recreational facility for the student body.

Although the majority of visitors would think this spot is the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame, it is also the site of the Camp Randall Memorial. The "Shell", as it is known, honors the soldiers of the United States Army who fought in the Civil War. The University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1991 and currently numbers more than 180 members.

Camp Randall Memorial

After the victory in World War II, the University of Wisconsin-Madison promised to “admit all the students it can house”. The enrollment of the university tripled between 1944 and 1946 as veterans returning from war took advantage of the GI Bill and went on to higher education. To alleviate the shortage of housing, the university took creative measures to find a way to house all of these students; they used houseboats, overnight cabins, and even established trailer parks.The first of these trailer parks was known as Randall Park Trailer Camp. It was erected in August, 1945, and it consisted of 91 living trailers (64 standard and 27 expansive), four toilet units, and two laundry units. Each trailer had sleeping for four and a hot plate for cooking. The population of the camp was restricted to veterans and their families, who paid $25/month rent for a standard trailer and $32.50/month rent for an expansive trailer.The Randall Park Trailer Camp was the first “vetsville” on a university campus in the country. It was so popular among its residents that the university decided to erect another one, the Monroe Trailer Camp. The Monroe Trailer Camp consisted of 113 trailers and was located to the south of Randall Park Trailer Camp. With construction set to begin on the East Wing of Engineering in 1951, the Randall Park Trailer Camp was cleared and its residents moved to Monroe. The Monroe Trailer Camp lasted until 1955.

Although now a beautiful park and part of Engineering Hall, in the years immediately following World War II, this was the site of a trailer park built to house the tremendous influx of students at the University of Wisconsin. A large majority of these students were veterans, who lived in these trailers with their fellow students or their families, while they used their GI Bill to gain a university education.

Randall Park Trailer Camp

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

Dr. Middleton served as a general medical officer from 1917 to 1919 with the United States Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I. After the war, he remained in the Army Reserve and in World War II, he was called to active duty as the Chief Consultant for Medicine in the European Theater of Operations. In this role, he helped build the systems for the care of wounded and sick American soldiers.After World War II, Dr. Middleton returned to the university. During the Korean War, he served as a Special Advisor to the Surgeon General.  In 1955, President Eisenhower appointed Dr. Middleton as the Chief Medical Director of the Veterans Administration, where he served for eight years.After his service with the VA, Dr. Middleton returned to the University of Wisconsin Medical School and served as the dean until 1974. This building, when originally built, housed the Middleton Medical Library. In 1967, the regents set aside a long standing tradition of not naming buildings after living people to name the library. The VA hospital in Madison is also named after Dr. Middleton.

The next stop is the Middleton Building, named after Doctor William Shainline Middleton, a long-serving member of the faculty of the University of Wisconsin Medical School. Dr. Middleton arrived in Madison in 1912 and served as a member of the faculty for 63 years, with several breaks for federal service.

Middleton Building (formerly Middleton Medical Library)

The flagpole standing in front of the Wisconsin Historical Society commemorates the founding of the National Society of Scabbard and Blade at the University of Wisconsin in 1904. Scabbard and Blade is a military honor society whose membership is open to Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) cadets and midshipmen of all the military services. The society’s organization is modeled after the US Army, with its chapters called companies and companies organized into regiments in the order of their establishment.Scabbard and Blade was founded by Leo M. Cook, Albert W. Foster, Victor R. Griggs, Charles A. Taylor, and Harold K. Weld. All five were senior cadets in the corps of cadets at University of Wisconsin. The mission of the Scabbard and Blade is to develop aspiring and current military officers that emulate the “Five Star” qualities while fostering strong joint-service relationships. The Five Stars are as follows: Honor, Leadership, Professionalism, Officership, and Unity.

Positioned to the front of the Wisconsin Historical Society, this decorated flagpole commemorates the founding of the National Society of Scabbard and Blade. This is a military honor society whose membership is comprised of both junior and senior Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) cadets. It was founded here at the University of Wisconsin in 1904.

Scabbard & Blade Flagpole

The lack of a library building for the ever-growing student population of the University of Wisconsin was becoming more and more apparent after the end of World War II. As a result, the construction of Memorial Library became a priority for the university and construction began in 1950. In 1953, the new facility was completed and Professor Emeritus L.C. Burke transferred the first book, the Coverdale bible, from the historical library building to Memorial Library. In 1900, L.C. Burke, then a student, carried the first book from the old library on Bascom Hill to the historical library building.The building was dedicated on February 1, 1953, in the theater at Memorial Union. The keynote address was given by Howard Mumford Jones, an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin. In the library itself, a plaque dedicating the library to those who served in the armed forces during the Second World War was installed in the west entrance (now the exit). Memorial Library underwent two other major renovations, one in 1973 and one in 1987. Additional plaques honoring those who served in the Korean War and Vietnam were installed in the south entrance (now the primary entrance). Memorial Library serves as the primary research library for the humanities and social sciences.

Originally dedicated to those who served in World War II, Memorial Library is the major research library in the state of Wisconsin. This is particularly true in the academic areas of Social Sciences and Humanities. It is also considered the "graduate" student library at the University of Wisconsin. Its numerous reading rooms and expansive collections make it a perfect place for study on campus.

Memorial Library

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

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. 

UW-Madison Veterans Campus Tour

Signe Skott Cooper Hall

Introduction

Backstory and Context

Sources