“World’s Largest Ammunition Plant”, History Center

Purpose

            The purpose of this History Center is to provide an archive of documents, photos and artwork of the history of the Badger Ordnance Works/Badger Army Ammunition Plant area, and to share that history with researchers and the general public. The history is shared with researchers through a controlled access to the archival materials and shared with the general public through a museum telling the many stories of this place through artifacts, photos and the use of audio visual technologies. This plant straddled the terminal moraine of the last glacier making that the beginning of our story. A story that includes the Indians who lived and hunted here; the pioneers who started arriving here in 1838 and WWII when the U. S. Army acquired 10,565 acres of farm land to build the World’s Largest Ammunition Plant. The core of the story, by far the largest part of the story and the one point that distinguishes this land from the surrounding area is the construction and operation of that Ammunition Plant in support of three wars.                    

Why do we need this History Center?

We have museums telling the other stories of the “Home Front” and “Rosie the Riveter” but the stories of the 100s of thousands of people who worked to produce the ammunition needed by our and allied soldiers has been forgotten. “Rosie the Riveter” had sisters called Women Ordnance Workers, “WOWs”. The WOWs and their male coworkers producing the propellant worked face to face with super strong acids and explosives that could cause severe burns or death. These people must not continue to be forgotten. And let us not continue to forget those families who lost their farms and summer cottages to the Badger Ordnance Works and sister plants around the country.

 Where do we build this History Center?

We have two possible choices. We can restore and remodel the existing historic Administration building, photo above and at right, or we can allow it to be demolished and construct a modern building. This building offers us 20,000 square feet of floor space on each of two floors plus 10,000 square feet of court yard for pioneer and prairie garden exhibits.                                                 

Save, restore and remodel the existing historic Administration Building

To save Building 200 from the wrecking ball we need to raise $700,000.00 now to show that we have the means to maintain the building for five years giving us the time to raise the funds to do the restoration and remodeling necessary to turn it into the History Center we envision and to demolish the building if we fail.

In the "Project Cost/Timeline" chart above only the first three items are unique to using the existing building. If we build new, "Restoration" becomes new building design and construction, "interior construction/remodeling" changes to "interior construction". An additional cost not listed above is the demolition of the existing building in terms of the wasted resources, building materials, fuel, labor and cash outlay to pay the bill. In this age of "Green",  "conservation", and "economy" we would do well to remember that the "Greenest", most "resource conserving", and "economical" building is the one that is already there.

This building will be demolished later this year, 2011, or early 2012 if we are not able to generate the support to save it. You can be a part of that support and  help us save this historic building for a History Center by sending a check with "History Center" on the memo line to:  

Badger History Group, Inc. Badger Army Ammunition Plant 1 Badger Rd.                             Baraboo, WI 53913

Thank you for your support