The Wisconsin Pharmaceutical Experiment Station, dedicated to the propagation and investigation of medicinal plants, was the first such research facility of its kind in the nation.
The research gardens were initially located at Camp Randall, but were moved in 1913 to the south-facing lower slope of land west of the intersection of Lake Mendota Drive and University Bay Drive. Most of the research plots were located in the area now occupied by the Eagle Heights Apartments (100 Group), but a few plots extended toward the area we now call Big Woods.
After 20 years, at the height of the Depression, funding for research was eliminated and the station closed.
Read more about the History of Pharmacy on the UW-Madison campus…