23 Jan 2024

Historic Context for the WWII Internment and Prisoner-of-War (POW) Compound at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin

Abstract: This report provides a comprehensive historic context for the enemy alien internment compound and prisoner-of-war (POW) compound at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, during World War II (WWII). Through primary and secondary sources, it illustrates the development of the internment and POW program at the installation, the built environment, labor details, and aspects of daily life. Although buildings associated with the internment and POW compound are no longer extant, researchers georeferenced historic maps of the compound to create digital footprints of the demolished infrastructure. Additionally, researchers generated and analyzed lidar returns to accentuate the signatures of former building foundations. Together, these processes can help fieldwork investigators determine the approximate locations of former internment and POW infrastructure.