Little is known about the origins and early history of this district organization of the Wisconsin Nurses Association. The presence of record books (1903-1916) of the Madison Graduate Nurses Association and the Dane County Graduate Nurses Association, which were formed to provide general nursing information and social activities, suggests these organizations were the forerunners of the district organization. Annual reports make clear that an organization known as the Third District of the Wisconsin Association of Graduate Nurses was in existence at least by 1921. After the parent organization changed its name, the regional group became the Third District of the Wisconsin State Nurses Association in 1922.
Provision of a register of nurses for private duty was an important function of the early district organization. In 1909 a private duty nurses registry was founded in Madison. This registry provided 24-hour service and operated from a drug store and later from the homes of its registrars. During the 1930's this organization was known as the Graduate Nurses' Central Directory. A reorganization in 1942 moved the service into the Tenney Building with the Third District offices. The name was changed to the Nurses Official Registry, an officially sponsored service of the Private Duty Nurses Section of the Third District. World War II allowed the registry to function as a center for war services and civil defense needs. Later it provided an emergency telephone service for area medical personnel. The registry ended during the mid-1950's due to ongoing financial difficulties.
In 1951 the organization became known as the Madison District of the Wisconsin State Nurses Association, later the Madison District of the Wisconsin Nurses Association.
