Our Story, Vol II - Sawmills cluster along river banks

Sawmills cluster along river banks

There were dozens of sawmills in the Chippewa and Eau Claire area from the 1850s through 1900. Some lasted only a few years as they were burned or flooded out. After the 1870s smaller mills went out of business and larger ones dominated the scene.

Locations of mills on the Chippewa:

Jim Falls mill was built at the foot of the falls by Adin Randall in 1861. He operated it for several years then sold to French, Leonard Co., storeowners in Eau Claire. The mill closed in 1869. It was operated by others for a few years before burning in 1874. It was never rebuilt.
Chippewa City Mill was built by Henry and Alexander O'Neill and a man named Lockhart from Prairie du Chien about 1850 on O'Neill Creek about six miles above the Falls. In 1854 the O'Neills, after whom O'Neill Creek is named, sold out to B. F. Manahan and A. C. Fair, who in turn sold to the Stanley brothers in 1880. The mill closed shortly thereafter.
Confrontation with log drivers
Bateman Mill was built by M. P. Bateman sometime in the early 1850s on Paint Creek south and east of Chippewa Falls. He later held off log drivers who threatened to cut his boom to let their logs pass without paying a fee. A compromise was reached.
Yellow River Mill was located near where the river goes into the Chippewa. Men by the name of Cotton and Moses built a small mill there in 1850. Later it moved into the hands of a Gilbert Hedge Co., Burlington, Iowa. The firm operated for about 10 years until all the pine timber on the river had been sawed.
Joe Duncan constructed a saw mill on Duncan Creek about two miles up from Chippewa. Other owners included G. P. Warren and Daniel McHab and later Dr. W. T. Galloway of Eau Claire. The mill burned in 1871 and was rebuilt by S. M. Newton in 1874. Later A. E. Pound owned the mill and ran it until it failed in 1877.

Mill built in 1836-37

The first sawmill at the rapids in Chippewa Falls was built in 1836-37 by H. L. Dousman and Jean Brunet under a treaty with the Indians. Dousman, who was with Astor Fur Company later was the man who built Villa Louis at Prairie du Chien. .

H. S. Allen followed Brunet in owning the mill and organized Chippewa Lumbering Co. The mill had cut 10,000 board feet of lumber a day until the panic of 1857. Allen had to start over.

The mill changed hands often in the 1860s. It was later organized as Union Lumber Company with a number of Chippewa men holding stock. In 1874 the company folded during the crash and the following year the city was having financial difficulties.

Irvine mill saws 40 million feet

The interior of the "Big Mill" at Chippewa Falls was spread over three floors. Ownership frequently changed hands during the years before final closing in the early 1900's. During these years billions of feet of lumber were sawed and the mill was the center of economic activity.

The company was reorganized and William Irvine, the man who later donated land for Irvine Park, was named manager. That year the mill sawed 40 million feet of lumber. The following year the mill closed again.

However, in 1879 Frederick Weyerhaeuser purchased the mill from Chippewa Lumber and Boom Co. for $1,250,000, a huge transaction in that day. With control of Beef Slough and the Chippewa firm, Weyerhaeuser gained almost complete control of the Chippewa River logging operations.

The mill for years was considered the largest under one roof in the world. The building had three stories.

The mill which cut its last log in 1911 stood where the Northern States Power plant is now on the north bank.

Frenchtown Mill was built in 1868 by James Mitchell and Edward Coleman. It changed hands five times before being washed out in 1880.
Gravel Island Mill was built in 1857 by Martin Daniels and Ephraim Shaw, both of Eau Claire. The problem was holding logs and the first sheer boom was built here. However, on account of log holding troubles, it was closed and dismantled.
First Eau Claire area mill
Blue Mills and Badger State Lumber Co. This was the site of the first mill of the Eau Claire area built in 1843 by Arthur McCann and J. C. Thomas. The first builders sold the mill to Thomas E. Randall. It was purchased by H. C. Williams and John Barron of Eau Claire, was later operated as Badger Mills and Barron sold it to Badger State Lumber Co. The mill closed in the 1890s when it could no longer obtain logs. The area is known as Lake Hallie today.
LaFayette Mill was built about two miles below upper Dalles by Charles Coleman in 1863. He sold it to M. F. Hodgins and John Robson in 1866. It closed in 1875 and the mill was so damaged by the 1880 flood it was never operated again. In 1869 a boiler blew up and killed one man and injured several others.
Run by steam
Wheaton Mill was built by Ira Mead in 1869 and was run by steam, cutting five million feet a year. In 1878, Northwest Lumber Company operated the mill. It was washed out in the 1880 flood and never rebuilt.
Leonard W. Farewell operated a small mill at this point in the middle 1860s. It sawed around two million feet a year.
Barron Brothers mill was located across the river from the current Riverview Drive. It was owned by John Horton and Martin Barron and H. Clay Williams. It later became the Newton, Hunter Co. It quit operating after 1871.
Prescott Burditt and Co. built a mill here in 1867-68 and it was rebuilt and enlarged in 1873-74. It cut from 10 to 15 million feet a year. It was organized in 1879 as Dells Lumber Company and operated until 1899, when it cut nine million-feet of lumber.
Brothers operate mill
Big Eddy Mill was built by Arthur and John S. Sherman and was located northeast of Mount Simon on the Chippewa River. The brothers served in the Army during the Civil War and the building of the mill lingered until it was purchased by Ingram and Kennedy in 1869.
Pioneer Lumbering Company was formed in 1891 by a group led by R. F. Wilson and they built a sawmill on the west bank of the Chippewa River. The firm was hit by a fire in 1883 and a larger building was damaged by the 1884 flood. It did not resume operations and William Wilson of Knapp, Stout and Co. Company was the primary financial loser.
This is the location of the Eau Claire Lumber Company. and later part of the Mississippi River logging Company. It was organized by J. C. Thorp and N. C. Chapman. In later years, W. A. Rust joined in the enterprise. In 1887 Thorp sold his interest to Frederick Weyerhaeuser. At one time the company owned Sterling Corners mill a few miles east of Thorp. The company controlled logs cut on the Eau Claire River and had three dams on it at one time. It was regarded among the top companies in Eau Claire, cutting 81 million feet in 1880 and 95 million in 1884. The firm also had mills at Meridean and Alma.
40 employed at Mayhew mill
O. F. Mayhew Lumber Company, which employed about 40 men, was located almost across from the Eau Claire River on the west bank of the Chippewa.
L. W. Pound and John C. Rose built one of the few mills on the east side of the river, nearly across from the Mayhew Mill in 1866. Both mills suffered the same fate as they were destroyed by fire and neither was built. The Mayhew mill burned in 1872 and the Pound-Rose mill in 1878.
Stephen Marston, a successful merchant and owner of a furniture store, purchased one of Adin Randall's mills at this point. It was later sold to the H. O. Ingram and Donald Kennedy firm. It burned in 1873.
Philander Ball and Fredrick Smith purchased this mill from Adin Randall in 1856. It was located on what is today known as Menomonie Street. Ball dropped from the partnership and was succeeded by George A. Buffington. Later William Carson purchased the Smith interest. It was incorporated in 1893 as Valley Lumber Company and that year the company sawed 25 million feet of lumber.

Shingle mills on Half Moon Lake
Several shingle mills were located around Half Moon Lake in Eau Claire. They were owned by men named Mean and Angle in 1867, Wilcox and Parker and Wilson and Foster. The mills were not a success financially and were abandoned. In 1889, West Eau Claire Lumber Co. had a sawmill on the north end and the T. S. Sherman mills were located on the east bank.
This was the location of Chippewa Lumber Co. organized in 1867 by S. M. Bangs, R. F. Wilson and Ira Mead. Two years later it had built up to sawing seven million board feet of lumber.
O. H. Ingram and Donald Kennedy and earlier A. M. Dole had two mills along the west side of the river between the Chippewa Lumber Co. and Daniel Shaw and Company mills.
After Dole dropped out, the tow men purchased Marston Mill and later purchased Big Eddy Mill at the top of Dells Pond. This mill had been built by Josh S. Sherman and his sons in 1860. After Kennedy sold out to Daniel Dulaney, Dulaney and Ingram formed Empire Lumber Company.

The firm sawed 36 million feet of lumber in 1880.
John P. Pinkum during the early 1860s built a mill near the original Ingram and Kennedy Mill and cut about 30,000 feet of lumber a day.
Shaw mill consistent
Daniel Shaw Lumber Company during the years ranked as one of the most consistent operations in the valley. It was formed by Daniel Shaw, and later when he needed some capital, he brought in C. A. Bullen, who succeeded Shaw as president when the founder died in 1881. The firm averaged around 20 million feet a year for many seasons. It was one of the lst mills to quit operating in Eau Claire, sawing its last log Oct. 25, 1912. The next year John H. Kaiser Company took over and operated until 1824.
These are sites of mills owned and operated by Alexander Boyd and W. B. Eastabrook around 1866.
Westville Lumber Company was incorporated in 1882 with capital of $100,000 for manufacturing and marketing lumber. It was organized by Aloney J., John and Ralph E. Rust, and W. A. Rust, a half-brother, and John S. Owen and John Riggs. The group purchased the Eastabrook-Schulenberg mill and sawed 7.3 million feet in 1884. Owen later operated a saw mill in the Owen area.
Gilbert Porter and Delos R. Moon owned the Portersville mills in the Town of Brunswick. At one time they had three mills there, a sawmill, planing mill and shingle mill. The mill closed around the turn of the century. The company also had a large mill at Stanley. Northwest Lumber cut 39 million feet of lumber in 1884 and 47 million in 1889.
Almost across from the Portersville mills, the Gorton brothers, A. W. and L. P. and John Stillman built a mill in 1866. It operated for four years but did not show a profit.

- Arnie Hoffman

Extracted from the Eau Claire Leader Telegram
Special Publication, Our Story 'The Chippewa Valley and Beyond', published 1976
Used with permission.