The Wisconsin Veterans' Home, in

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, is an

old soldiers' home An old soldiers' home is a military veterans' retirement home, nursing home, or hospital, or sometimes an institution for the care of the widows and orphans of a nation's soldiers, sailors, and marines, etc. United Kingdom In the United King ...

Waupaca County, Wisconsin Waupaca County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,812. The county seat is Waupaca. The county was created in 1851 and organized in 1853. It is named after the Waupaca River, a Menominee la ...

on the scenic

Chain O' Lakes, Wisconsin Chain O' Lakes is a census-designated place in the towns of Farmington and Dayton, Waupaca County, Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 2 ...

. The

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

saw significant advances in

battlefield medicine Battlefield medicine, also called field surgery and later combat casualty care, is the treatment of wounded combatants and non-combatants in or near an area of combat. Civilian medicine has been greatly advanced by procedures that were first ...

. The lower mortality rate of injured soldiers led to the sentiment that the United States should provide care for its surviving injured

veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

. The city of Waupaca purchased the land and buildings of the defunct Greenwood Park Hotel and donated the grounds to the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

(GAR) for the site of a veterans' home. Civil War physician and GAR member Dr. Frederick Marden was chosen to head a five-member committee to organize a Wisconsin veterans' home. Among Dr. Marden's innovative ideas put into action was the practice of allowing wives and widows of veterans to live at the home, as well as the idea of allowing members to live semi-independently in cottages. Marden died on September 24, 1887, a year before the site began operation on August 18, 1888. It is one of the largest veterans home facilities in the country with a staff of nearly 1,000 workers and includes many self-contained community services, including its own fire department.

Historic Buildings

There are five U.S.

Registered Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in King Veterans Home:

Commandant's Residence Home The Commandant's Residence Home is located in King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin. History The construction of the house was commissioned by the Grand Army of the Republic to house veterans. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places ...

, Halfway House (King, Wisconsin), Old Hospital, Veterans Cottages Historic District, and Veterans Home Chapel.

Controversy

In 2016 controversy erupted over the quality of care delivered at the home, chronic staffing shortages and the practice by the state government of redirecting millions of dollars of federal government funding intended for King into other veterans' programs.

References

External links

Wisconsin Department of Veterans' Affairs
{{National Register of Historic Places Veterans' facilities Old soldiers' homes in the United States Buildings and structures in Waupaca County, Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Waupaca County, Wisconsin

Historic Buildings

Controversy

See also

References

External links