Property Record
CAMP WILLIAMS
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | 128th Infantry Regiment Cantonment Area (Camp Williams) |
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| Other Name: | Camp Williams |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 80620 |
| Location (Address): | CAMP WILLIAMS |
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| County: | Juneau |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | Orange |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | 17 |
| Range: | 2 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 21 |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1889 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1979 |
| Historic Use: | military building |
| Architectural Style: | Other Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' {Camp Williams (128th Infantry Regiment Cantonment Area)} exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. In 1888 the Adjutant General, General Chapman, and an anonymous officer purchased a site for a rifle range near Camp Douglas, and offered it to the state for a camp. In 1889 the Legislature authorized purchase of 600 acres for a permanent campground and rifle range for the Wisconsin National Guard, and Chapman's acres and others were bought. The site, then called the Wisconsin Rifle Range, was used for battalion camps. Over the years it developed into an extensive installation with permanent buildings and improvements reaching its greatest development under Lt. Col. Charles R. Williams. In 1927 it was officially named Camp Willians in his honor. In 1957 the Legislature provided that the portion of Camp Williams under lease to the federal government for use of the Air National Guard was to be known as Volk Field in honor of first Wis. National Guard pilot killed in Korea. Originally named Camp Douglas (during World War I); cavalry troops were stationed here. Historic American Building Survey (HABS): Camp Williams--WI 381, 127th Infantry Regimental Cantonment Area--WI 381-A, 128th Regimetnal Cantonment Area--WI 381-B; Camp Williams Officer's Club and Range House--WI 381-C. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) "History of Wisconsin National Guard" Dept. of Military Affairs, Jan. 1976, p. 8. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |