Deep within the grassy, rolling confines of the Badger Army Ammunition Plant near Baraboo are three old cemeteries that represent about the only visible reminder of a way of life that disappeared when the farms and homesteads of the great Sauk Prairie were razed to make way for the huge munitions factory.

Disagreement over the fate of those historic cemeteries is one of the final issues preventing the transition of the 7,354 acres of the World War II-era plant — a warren of old and crumbling buildings — into restored prairie and oak savanna.
Now, a tentative deal over ownership, maintenance and preservation of the cemeteries on the ammunition grounds appears to have cleared the way for the transfer of about 3,500 acres of the military lands to the state Department of Natural Resources and 1,500 acres to the Ho-Chunk Nation.

“It is very good news,” Joan Kenney, installation director for the U.S. Army, said of the agreement. “Getting the cemetery arrangements finalized will allow us to move along the transfer of the properties.”

About 2,000 acres of the old plant have already been transferred to the third owner in the new management scheme, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which operates the Dairy Forage Research Center on the site.

Officials have been working for nearly a decade to transfer the property.

But there has been a disagreement over who would be responsible for the cemeteries, said Craig Karr, who represents the DNR in the discussions over the plant’s future.

Lack of progress on the cemetery issue was a concern to Mary Yeakel, a member of the subcommittee that hammered out the compromise. She said the federal General Services Administration, which is responsible for disposing of the plant, indicated that a solution for the cemeteries was needed or the agency might have to put the cemeteries and surrounding acreage up for sale, possibly to a private party.

“It just seemed nobody was taking things by the collar and getting it worked out,” Yeakel said.
But under the agreement, recently approved by the management commission, the town of Sumpter would accept ownership of the three cemeteries.

The Sumpter Town Board has yet to vote on the plan, and Yeakel said a final draft of the agreement is being written.
Yeakel said the proposal calls for an independent group, such as a friends organization, to take responsibility for basic upkeep so the town does not have to bear the expense. The Sauk County Historical Society also will be involved.
The key, she said, will be to manage the cemeteries in a low-key manner that will be less expensive and will fit in with the restored prairies that are envisioned for the property.

Instead of manicured grass, for example, the cemeteries will be allowed to grow up in natural prairie grasses. Headstones would be protected during the prairie burns that are the traditional method of managing such landscapes.

The three pioneer cemeteries are named Miller, Pioneer and Thoelke.

The largest is the Pioneer Cemetery with records of 234 burials. Though it was deeded in 1864, burials took place there much earlier.

The Miller cemetery is the smallest and speaks poignantly to the lives that were lived on the prairie in the 1800s. Three children of Hiram and Mary Miller were buried there in 1852, 1861 and 1862, all of them under the age of 3.
Yeakel said efforts are under way to contact descendents of those who are buried in the cemeteries so that they can be involved in future planning.

The cemeteries have been well maintained by the military, Yeakel said. 

Carr said the DNR also is pleased with the news. He said the property transfer could happen as soon as September, clearing the way for a public master planning process that will help determine the details of how the public lands will be restored and managed.

Progress is also being made on removal of the many structures on the Badger site. Kenney said that task, under way since 2004, should be done in another couple of years.

“I’m extremely pleased with the amount of progress we’re making,” said  Kenney.

IF YOU WANT TO HELP

The Badger Cemetery Committee is looking for help in finding descendants of the people buried in the three cemeteries at the Badger Army Ammunition Plant.

The group also is looking for volunteers who want to help protect and care for the cemeteries.

If you or someone you know is a descendant of someone buried at Badger, or if you would like to participate in the efforts, contact the Sauk County Historical Society, P.O. Box 651, Baraboo, WI 53913. For information, you can e-mail bteexmas@msn.com.