History of the School of Human Ecology

School of Human Ecology	University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Practice Cottage, 1911-1940

The Practice Cottage, c. 1912

The first “Practice Cottage” on the UW campus epitomized the value and power of home economics as applied science. In 1911, the “Schmelzer property,” as it was called, cost $8,900 and the Board of Regents granted an additional $1,200 for remodeling the house and equipping a modern kitchen.

In this building, students put into practice the theories they learned in the classroom. The house was sparsely furnished and students completed much of the decoration. Moreover, dietetics students were required to live in the cottage and to plan, purchase, prepare and serve meals for themselves and two instructors. As student Genevieve Hicks remarked about her experience in the practice cottage:

Efficiency isn't just a “something”–the fad of the age: it is permanent and its real worth is known to a girl at the cottage. It takes management and efficiency to get work done in the shortest and best way, to have meals planned and ready to serve on the hour without cutting classes.

Students also used the kitchen to conduct class experiments.

The diet kitchen in the Practice Cottage, 1910s

The Practice Cottage in its new location, seen from the steps of Ag Hall, 1931

In 1930, the house was moved from the corner of Randall Street and Linden Drive to Lorch Street and Linden Drive to make way for a new orthopedic hospital. Though the students continued to live and study in the Practice Cottage, its problems and limitations were becoming increasingly apparent. Abby Marlatt had agitated for a new cottage since 1918, but it was not until 1941 that a more spacious and modern house was constructed.