In September 1901 the GAR Memorial Hall opened on the second floor of the south wing of the Wisconsin State Capitol. General George E. Bryant, superintendent of public property, oversaw the project.

The Memorial Hall served as the headquarters for the Wisconsin Department of the GAR, a meeting space, and “a depository for such war relics, literature and pictures as may teach the sons and daughters of our republic the value of our free institutions.” It is a “modest memorial hall…consecrated to the teaching of lessons of patriotism” where everyone is welcome. – H.W. Rood, Wisconsin State Journal, September 3, 1901.