The Milwaukee Soldiers Home Foundation, Inc.,
was granted a lease in Spring 2009 by the National Cemetery Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, to restore the Wood National Cemetery Roundhouse.
The Roundhouse, built in 1900, was one of the cemetery’s early reception houses for visitors and also functioned as a cemetery office. It can be seen in the cemetery while traveling eastbound on I-94.
Restoration work on the 14-foot round building is slated to begin, depending upon weather and fundraising, in 2010.
The project is estimated to cost $35,000, and it will be restored to Secretary of the Interior Standards and to create a historical display inside that educates visitors about the 34,000-plus veterans—including especially notable burials such as members of the Civil War’s 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the first African American unit to fight in federal uniform—who are buried in Wood National Cemetery, about the National Soldiers Home Historic District of which the cemetery is a part, and about the cemetery itself. The roundhouse will also feature a second Wood National Cemetery kiosk that will allow visitors to access cemetery burial records from both inside and outside the building. The roundhouse will be open during special occasions in the cemetery as well as by request through the Soldiers Home Foundation. Permanent hours may be established once restoration is completed.
The Roundhouse project compliments a recent Eagle Scout project to expand and improve the ceremonial platforms used for special events such as Memorial Day Ceremonies, which lie on either side of the roundhouse.
The Foundation is currently raising money, and time and talent donations to offset costs, for the Roundhouse project. Additionally, the Foundation plans to hold a public meeting this winter to discuss the Roundhouse plans and receive input on the interior display details.
Once National Register-required approval of plans is received, restoration of the Roundhouse exterior is expected to take just a few months.
The Soldiers Home Foundation entered into the Roundhouse lease as it continues to wait for signatures on a lease to the 1889 Chapel in the National Soldiers Home Historic District. The Foundation has been negotiating with the US VA for more than 2 years to obtain a long-term lease to restore and reopen the Soldiers Home Chapel. Once reopened the Chapel will be used for veteran funerals, VA and visiting chaplain use, and veteran outreach referral services as well as for non-denominational chapel-related events such as wedding renewals and for historic and education programs. For details, visit the Chapel project section of this Web site.
