Public Program: History of the Wisconsin State School/ Child Center

Where does a child go when they are orphaned, neglected, or dependent on others for their care? If you were a boy or girl living in Wisconsin between the years of 1886 and 1976, you would likely go to the State Public School for Dependent and Neglected Children in Sparta. At its height of operation in the 1930s, the State School, later renamed the “Wisconsin Child Center,” was home to over 500 children and occupied 25 buildings on its campus. In the structured environment of the Child Center, children would be provided health care, meals, education, and manual training until they were 18 years old. The goal of the institution was to place children with families outside its walls. Thousands of children passed through the Child Center until its doors closed in 1976. For some children, going to the Child Center was the first step to a better life. For others, living at the Child Center was just another sad chapter in an already traumatic childhood.

“This isn’t just a story about bricks and mortar,” says Roll. “It’s about the resilience of the children who lived there, the shifting philosophies of how we treat our most vulnerable, the economic impact a large state institution has on the city in which it resides, and how those affected by that institution wrestle with its legacy.”
To accommodate a larger audience, this program will be held at the Sparta United Methodist Church, 210 N. Court St., not at the Local History Room. Parking is available in the Museum/Monroe County Parking Lot off Central Ave. Please use the K Street entrance.

Admission is free, with a suggested $1 donation to support future programming. For more information, please visit www.monroecountyhistory.org/news or call 608-269-8680.