Special Collections & Archives
Local Government Records
The Eau Claire Area Research Center (ARC) in the Special Collections Department of McIntyre Library includes both public records and manuscript collections for six counties of the Chippewa Valley. The ARC houses county, municipal, and township records, including:
- state and federal censuses
- naturalization records
- circuit and county court case files aOctober 24, 2006rds
- probate records
- assessment and tax rolls
- county board minutes
- city council minutes
- bounty records
- school records (censuses, school board, grade books)
Inventories (registers) to many public records are now available through ArCat, the archives and manuscripts catalog of the Wisconsin Historical Society.
You may also request vital records directly from the State of Wisconsin.
The type and extent of our holdings of these records varies widely by county. All collections are cataloged in the McIntyre Library catalog. The table below presents a selection of frequently used public records.
| Buffalo | Chippewa | Clark | Eau Claire | Rusk | Taylor | |
| Naturalization | ||||||
| Declarations | 1853-1950 | 1850-1959 | 1907-1951 | 1854-1980 | 1901-51 | 1875-1952 |
| Petitions | 1858-1950 | 1870-1963 | 1895-1954 | 1906-1991 | 1885-1954 | 1865-1955 |
| Certificates | 1907-1929 | 1871-1923 | 1907-1927 | 1857-1928 | 1885-1954 | 1877-1927 |
| Probate | ||||||
| Cases | 1854-1901 | 1860-1900 | 1873-1918 | 1856-1953 | none | 1878-1946 |
| Circuit Court Cases | ||||||
| Criminal | none | 1854-1918 | none | 1857-1970 | 1901-17 | 1877-1925 |
| Divorce | none | 1854-1950 | none | 1857-1972 | 1901-17 | 1877-1925, 1931-1934 |
| Civil | none | 1854-1951 | none | 1857-1970 | 1901-17 | 1877-1925 |
| Vital Records | ||||||
| Birth | 1852-1907 | 1852-1907 | 1852-1907 | 1852-1907 | 1852-1907 | 1852-1907 |
| Marriage | 1860-1907 | 1869-1907 | 1858-1907 | 1864-1907 | 1901-1907 | 1875-1907 |
| Death | 1874-1907 | none | 1879-1907 | 1876-1907 | 1901-1907 | 1877-1907 |
| Population Censuses | ||||||
| Federal | 1860-1930 | 1850-1930 | 1860-1930 | 1860-1930 | 1910-1930 | 1880-1930 |
| Wisconsin | 1855-1905 | 1855-1905 | 1855-1905 | 1875-1905 | 1905 | 1875-1905 |
| Property Tax Records | ||||||
| Assessment rolls | 1858-1906 | none | 1859, 1861, 1870 | 1855-1879 | none | none |
| Tax rolls | 1856-1870 | none | 1861-1975 | 1864-1890, 1965, 1970, 1975 |
1901-04, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1980 |
none |
| Land Records | ||||||
| Deeds | 1854-1887 | 1854-1888 | none | 1856-1886 | none | 1872-1929 |
| Grantor/grantee | 1854-1892 | 1856-1885 | none | 1856-1889 | none | 1875-1899 |
