Many UW alumni from the post-World War II era remember Badger Village, a student-housing site that was built in Baraboo to handle the influx of returning veterans. Badger Village was perfect for married students because it was a community with its own school, playground and post office. Students commuted to and from classes on school buses, acquired by the university to help with transportation.

Badger Village is also the controversial site of the Badger Ordinance Works, an ammunition plant built by the U.S. Army during World War II. In 1997, the army decided it no longer needed the facility, and a public debate began in Wisconsin about how to use the land. Buildings on the site have been largely abandoned for years, and many may be contaminated by the chemicals used to forge weapons there during World War II.