Eau Claire: 1850

In the 1850s Eau Claire began to grow because of the lumber industry. Eau Claire's natural log holding facilities in Dell's Pond and Half Moon Lake, coupled with the Chippewa and Eau Claire Rivers, and access to the northern White Pineries made Eau Claire an ideal location for a prosperous lumber industry. "Lumber barons", including Shaw, Bullen, Ingram, Kennedy, Buffington, and Thorp -- many of whom were Yankees from the East, financed this industry; and the largely ethnic, foreign-born workers, e.g. Norwegians and Germans, produced the wealth of the lumber era.
1850 Over half of the people living in Eau Claire have parents who were foreign born.
1851 The first post office for all settlements in the entire Chippewa Valley was erected in Eau Claire.
1854 The first Jews settled in the Chippewa Valley. A Jewish cemetery was established in 1885.

1855 About 100 people, mostly mill workers, lived in Eau Claire.

1856 Daniel Shaw, Charles Bullen, Orrin Ingram, Donald Kennedy, George Buffington, and J. G. Thorp arrived in Eau Claire -- who became members of the elite.
1856 Eau Claire consisted of two separate villages. One, the Village of Eau Claire, was located south of the Eau Claire River and west of the Chippewa River, and the other, the Village of Eau Claire City, was located between the Chippewa River and Half Moon Lake.
1856 The first bank, Bank of Eau Claire, was started in the newly platted Village of Eau Claire. The Presbyterian mission was also established and a year later a church by this denomination was built on the northeastern corner of South Barstow and Emery Streets. The earliest successful loggers, Chapman and Thorp, bought a mill, pine lands, and half the land of the village plat for $125,00, and created the Eau Claire Lumber Company.
1856 The first school in Eau Claire was constructed.
1856 Eau Claire had 758 men and 674 women which included 8 black men and 9 black women.
1857 The Eau Claire Times was established.
1857 An economic depression occurred in Eau Claire -- it became known as the Panic of 1857.
1857 The Shaw & Co. excavated a canal 1,200 feet long connecting Half Moon Lake with the Chippewa River and built a planing mill near the mouth of the canal.

Created by Ingolf Vogeler on 15 June 1996; last revised 15 June 2002.

1850	Over half of the people living in Eau Claire have parents who were foreign born.
1851	The first post office for all settlements in the entire Chippewa Valley was erected in Eau Claire.
1854	The first Jews settled in the Chippewa Valley. A Jewish cemetery was established in 1885.
1855	About 100 people, mostly mill workers, lived in Eau Claire.
1856	Daniel Shaw, Charles Bullen, Orrin Ingram, Donald Kennedy, George Buffington, and J. G. Thorp arrived in Eau Claire -- who became members of the elite.
1856	Eau Claire consisted of two separate villages. One, the Village of Eau Claire, was located south of the Eau Claire River and west of the Chippewa River, and the other, the Village of Eau Claire City, was located between the Chippewa River and Half Moon Lake.
1856	The first bank, Bank of Eau Claire, was started in the newly platted Village of Eau Claire. The Presbyterian mission was also established and a year later a church by this denomination was built on the northeastern corner of South Barstow and Emery Streets. The earliest successful loggers, Chapman and Thorp, bought a mill, pine lands, and half the land of the village plat for $125,00, and created the Eau Claire Lumber Company.
1856	The first school in Eau Claire was constructed.
1856	Eau Claire had 758 men and 674 women which included 8 black men and 9 black women.
1857	The Eau Claire Times was established.
1857	An economic depression occurred in Eau Claire -- it became known as the Panic of 1857.
1857	The Shaw & Co. excavated a canal 1,200 feet long connecting Half Moon Lake with the Chippewa River and built a planing mill near the mouth of the canal.