Northwestern Branch, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers Historic District facts for kids
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Northwestern Branch, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers Historic District
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Ward Memorial Hall at the Milwaukee Soldiers Home
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| Location | 5000 West National Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
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Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | June 3, 2005 |
| Designated NHLD | June 17, 2011 |
The Northwestern Branch, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers Historic District is an important veterans' medical campus in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is commonly known as the Milwaukee Soldiers Home. It began right around the end of the Civil War to help wounded troops. This 90 acres (36 ha) historic district sits inside a larger 400 acres (160 ha) medical campus. It is located just west of the famous baseball stadium, American Family Field. Its oldest contributing buildings date back all the way to 1867.
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History of the Milwaukee Soldiers Home
During the Civil War, many soldiers needed medical care and safe places to live. President Abraham Lincoln signed a law in 1865 to create a national system of homes for injured volunteer soldiers. These places were originally called national asylums.
The Northwestern Branch was officially founded in 1866 as an old soldiers' home in what was then the northwestern United States. Local citizens in Wisconsin raised funds and collected land. They handed this support over to the federal government. In 1873, the system received the official title of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Other early branches opened too. One opened in Togus, Maine, and another opened near Dayton, Ohio.
The Famous Main Building
The central structure on campus is the Milwaukee Soldiers Home (Old Main). Milwaukee architect E. Townsend Mix designed it. Builders finished it in 1869. The building was designed in the Victorian Second Empire style. It featured tall roofs and an impressive tower.
At first, this giant building held everything under one roof. Soldiers lived, ate, and received medical care inside. Later, managers decided to spread functions across different halls. This led to a large building boom across the grassy grounds.
Important Historic Buildings on Campus
Around 1867, the campus added the Governor's Residence. It was built in the charming Italianate style. A separate hospital opened west of the Main Building in 1879. The well-known architect Henry C. Koch designed many later structures:
- A hospital built in 1879 to treat sick veterans.
- Ward Memorial Hall, built in 1882 as a theater, meeting place, store, and train ticket office.
- A beautiful chapel finished in 1889 for worship services.
- The Wadsworth Library, opened in 1892 so veterans could read books.
- A new headquarters constructed in the handsome Colonial Revival style in 1894.
Everyday Life and Later Additions
Many brave fighters lived on the grounds. Medal of Honor recipient James K. L. Duncan lived here from 1910 until 1913.
Workers also built practical structures near the railroad line. These included an 1895 brick storehouse, a 1938 paint shop, and a 1941 garage. In 1947, the site added three rounded metal quonset storage huts.
In 1930, several federal offices merged into the Veterans Administration. After this change, the Northwestern Branch became known as the Wood, Wisconsin station.
The Historic District Today
The historic site earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. It became a National Historic Landmark in 2011. For many years, preservationists worried about the aging buildings. The site was placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation list of endangered places.
Today, parts of the property belong to the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center. It is run by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The campus borders the ancient Soldiers' Home Reef fossil rock formation. Teams finished a major forty-million-dollar project to restore six of the oldest structures. These restored halls now provide 101 comfortable homes for military veterans and their families.
See Also
- Soldiers' Home Reef
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Old soldiers' homes in the United States
- National Historic Landmarks in Wisconsin
