Electric Park

In 1892, the idea was brought forward to create a park halfway between the cities of Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire. The purpose of the park would be to bring both cities together and would also serve as a rest stop for travelers upon the Omaha and Wisconsin Central railroads.1 In time, the park would become an important cultural center for both cities. As was hoped in 1892, the park that came to be known as Electric Park really did bring the cities and people of Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls together.

Ure’s Midway Park.

In 1895, the idea of such a park became reality when John Ure, Jr.—president of Badger State Lumber Company and owner of the land surrounding Badger Lake (now called Lake Hallie)—prepared 400 acres of land for Midway Park (a.k.a. Badger Mills).2 The park contained both a pavilion and railroad depot.

A steam-powered boat, dubbed “Lorraine”, offered rides for 10 cents and was the highlight of the park.3 Numerous orchestras and other musical groups entertained at the park. Dancing, fishing, and other forms of recreation were also popular. Eventually, moving pictures were introduced at the park4 as was a baseball field and new pavilion.5 In 1899, John Ure, Jr. decided not to allow or sell beer on the premises of his park.6 However, he apparently changed his mind when it was found out he would sell beer at the beer garden if a majority of the visitors were German.7

Lange’s Electric Park.

In 1902 and again in 1903, Lake Hallie was sold.8 Bob Lange was the new owner, and he continued to increase Lake Hallie’s reputation as an amusement park. According to Viola Bean Bremel, a resident of Hallie, “[t]he interurban electric line was a godsend to the people in the Hallie neighborhood as far as transportation was concerned.”9 Since the steam railroads did not stop for passengers in Hallie, the electric railway gave the residents a quick means of transit to either Eau Claire or Chippewa Falls. The electric railway was Hallie’s main link with the outside world. This is probably why they protested the loss of the interurban in 1926.10

In 1910, Orrin H. Ingram’s Chippewa Valley Railway, Light & Power Company worked with Bob Lange to turn the former Midway Park into Electric Park. By this time, amusements included ice skating in the winter and a host of summer activities including fishing, dancing, listening to live bands, watching silent films, going for boat rides aboard the steamers, and playing baseball. Silent films were one of the many free activities that drew visitors to the park, to the pleasure of the C.V.R.L.P.C.

Lake Hallie Remembered.

The electric railway began having financial problems in the early 1920s that spilled over into other areas, one of which was Electric Park. When the electric railway was discontinued in 1926, the park suffered a major blow from which it would not recover. Viola Bean Bremel stated in her article in Memories of Gower & Hallie that, “[t]he electric line was discontinued about 1920 and that was the end of the amusement park [at Lake Hallie] as we knew it.”11 The park was eventually closed down and the land sold. The land on which the park stood is currently owned by the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram.

Little remains of the park today except the advertisements that ran in the newspapers of it's time.