| Additional Information: | THE WISCONSIN STATE UNIVERSITY-PLATTEVILLE HAS BEEN CHANGED CONSIDERABLY BY ITS HISTORY. THE ORIGIN OF THE PRESENT UNIVERSITY CAN BE TRACED TO THE PLATTEVILLE ACADEMY WHICH WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1839 BY THE REVEREND MR. ALVIN M. DIXON AS A FOSTER CHILD OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
ON OCTOBER 9, 1866, PLATTEVILLE NORMAL SCHOOL WAS OPENED IN THE NEW ACADEMY BUILDING WHICH HAD BEEN DONATED TO THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. (THIS BUILDING REMAINS ON THE CAMPUS AS THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE PRESENT ROUNTREE HALL.)
PLATTEVILLE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL WAS FOUNDED FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF TRAINING TEACHERS. BY LEGISLATIVE ACTION, PLATTEVILLE NORMAL BECAME PLATTEVILLE STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE ON JULY 1, 1927, AND WAS AUTHORIZED TO GRANT DEGREES OF BACHELOR OF EDUCATION IN ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION.
IN 1951, THE LEGISLATURE AUTHORIZED THE GRANTING OF LIBERAL ARTS DEGREES (BACHELOR OF ARTS AND BACHELOR OF SCIENCE) AND THE OFFICIAL NAME OF THE COLLEGE BECAME WISCONSIN STATE COLLEGE, PLATTEVILLE.
AS OF JULY 1, 1959, THE TWO COLLEGES OF PLATTEVILLE, NAMELY THE WISCONSIN STATE COLLEGE AND THE WISCONSIN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (FORMERLY THE SCHOOL OF MINES) WERE MERGED UNDER THE NAME OF THE WISCONSIN STATE COLLEGE AND INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, PLATTEVILLE.
ON JULY 1, 1964, THE NAME OF THE COLLEGE WAS CHANGED TO WISCONSIN STATE UNIVERSITY-PLATTEVILLE.
A MINING SCHOOL WAS OPENED IN JANUARY, 1908. PLATTEVILLE WAS DESIGNATED A SPECIAL SCHOOL FOR AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL ARTS.
FOR MANY YEARS AFTER ITS BEGINNING IN 1866, MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO, THE UNIVERSITY WAS SINGULARLY CONCERNED WITH TEACHER EDUCATION, BUT NOW, IN ADDITION TO THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, THE UNIVERSITY INCLUDES THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS, THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, THE COLLEGE OF INDUSTRY, AND THE GRADUATE SCHOOL.
INTENSIVE SURVEY REPORT STATEMENT:
THIS IMPRESSIVE STONE BUILDING, BUILT IN 1853, HOUSED ONE OF WISCONSIN'S FIRST EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, THE PLATTEVILLE ACADEMY. IN 1866, IT BECAME THE STATE'S FIRST NORMAL SCHOOL. SOME OF THE MANY ARCHITECUTRAL FEATURES OF THIS STRUCTURE INCLUDE EAVE LINE BRACKETS, A CUPPOLA AND A PROJECTED PEDIMENTED ENTRANCEWAY.
THE PLATTEVILLE ACADEMY, OR ROUNDTREE HALL, WAS CONSTRUCTED IN THE YEAR 1853 BY MR. GARDINER. SUBSEQUENT ALTERATIONS WERE MADE TO THE BUILDING AT VARIOUS TIME PERIODS. THE FIRST CHANGE OCCURRED FROM 1867 TO 1868, THE SECOND OCCURRED IN 1873, AND THE THIRD IN 1881. THE FINAL AND MOST RECENT OF THESE CHANGES, WHICH OCCURRED IN 1891, WAS AN ADDITION DESIGNED BY ARCHITECT D. R. JONES. (A)
ACCORDING TO THE INTENSIVE SURVEY REPORT, ROUNDTREE HALL REPRESENTS A TYPE, PERIOD OR METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION, MAKING IT WORTHY OF ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE. HISTORICALLY, IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LOCALITY. FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING ROUNDTREE HALL, SEE THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES NOMINATION FORM: FILES, STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN FILES, PRESERVATION DIVISION. SEE ALSO THE SITE FILE.
Also listed on NRHP, ref# 07000710, as a contributing part of the West Main Street Historic District. Listed 7/19/2007. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. FILES: STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WI., PRESERVATION DIVISION.
B. PLATTEVILLE (WI) JOURNAL, 4 SEPTEMBER 1953.
C. GOEDE (PLATTEVILLE, WI) 24 FEBRUARY 1958.
D. "GENERAL CATALOG, WISCONSIN STATE UNIVERSITY-PLATTEVILLE, 1970-1972," PP. 34-35.
"GUIDING WISCONSIN'S GROWING GENERATIONS," MADISON, 1933, P. 201.
RICH AND GAMBLE, "FROM ACADEMY TO UNIVERSITY: WISCONSIN STATE UNIVERSITY-PLATTEVILLE (1866-1966)".
WYMAN WALKER, ED., "HISTORY OF THE WISCONSIN STATE UNIVERSITIES (1866-1868)," 1968, PP. 19-56.
Platteville Journal 12/5/1996. |
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