[2] By the late 1800s, it was becoming clear to some that North America's forests were not inexhaustible, so it was important to find ways to use them more efficiently.

[3] By 1908 the Forest Service had various labs scattered around the country: Purdue and Yale, Washington, California, Oregon, Colorado, and Boston.

The UW was chosen for its rail connections, for its access to America's timber-producing regions, and for its reputation for scientific research.

[4] For a few years the lab at Madison remained the world's only institution dedicated to research on wood and its uses.

During WWI, with Carlile Winslow as director, research on glues and plywood at the lab helped the aircraft industry.

During the 1920s the lab developed the "semi-chemical" process of reducing hardwoods to pulp for making paper, expanding the paper-making industry.

[2] This building housed the Forest Products lab until 1932, at which time operations were moved to a larger complex on Gifford Pinchot Drive.