First State Normal School

Wisconsin's first college devoted wholly to training teachers, the Platteville Normal School, opened here on October 9, 1866, in Rountree Hall, which since 1853 had housed its predecessor, the Platteville Academy. The Academy, which operated from 1842 to 1866, had functioned largely as a private high school preparing students for college and teaching. After the legislature authorized the state in 1865 to establish normal schools for teacher training, many cities submitted proposals. Platteville Academy's trustees provided Rountree Hall, the community raised money, and Platteville Normal School opened with a 5-member faculty and 60 students. Two years later, General Ulysses S. Grant participated in the dedication of a new wing. Rountree Hall became the home of the Wisconsin Mining Trade School in 1907, and the Normal School moved to an adjacent site. In 1925 normal schools were converted to state teachers colleges and empowered to grant bachelor's degrees. In 1959, the Wisconsin State College-Platteville and the Wisconsin Institute of Technology merged, and in 1971 the institution became the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Platteville, Wisconsin · United States