In 1855, Wisconsin's Chippewa County set the wheels in motion to divide itself into three parts. The southernmost section became Eau Claire County. With good forest, good farmland, and the confluence of two scenic rivers, it quickly established its own identity. Eau Claire County followed a classic American path. The county harvested its native natural resources (timber in this case) and started a strong agricultural tradition. In later decades, as its sesquicentennial approached, the county had developed a diversified economy, anchored by health care, retail, higher education, and high-tech manufacturing. But it is the interesting and ever-changing mix of people who built the county, and who have sustained it for 150 years. In 1890, seven of every ten people living in Wisconsin's Chippewa Valley, with Eau Claire County at its heart, were born outside the U.S. or had foreign-born parents. The area still welcomes new arrivals. Through scores of historic photographs, this book captures the hardworking, fun-loving people who have given the county its distinctive place in the American heartland.

Excerpt from History of Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, Past and Present: Including an Account of the Cities, Towns and Villages of the County The publishers of the history desire to acknowledge the cor dial and valuable assistance which has been accorded them in its compilation by many citizens of Eau Claire county. It has been a help deeply appreciated and deserves due recognition. Among those to whom special thanks are due is Hon. William F. Bailey, James H. Waggoner, Percy C. Atkinson, Marshall Cousins, Walde mar Ager, Reinhold Liebau, Miss A. E. Kidder, W. H. Schulz, W. W. Bartlett, L. A. Brace, J. P. Welsh, Frank L. Clark, C. W Lockwood, G. Caldwell, W. A. Clark. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

“The names of places lie upon the land and tell us where we are or where we have been or where we want to go. And so much more.”—From the introduction Fifty years ago, educator and writer Robert E. Gard traveled across Wisconsin, learning the trivial, controversial, and landmark stories behind how cities, counties, and local places got their names. This volume records the fruits of Gard’s labors in an alphabetical listing of places from every corner of Wisconsin, and the stories behind their often-unusual names. Gard’s work provides an important snapshot of how Wisconsin residents of a bygone era came to understand the names of their towns and home places, many of which can no longer be found on any map. Celebrated rural historian Jerry Apps introduces this reprint of Gard’s work, saying that in “some ways The Romance of Wisconsin Place Names is a reference book, a place where you can go to learn a little more about your home town. But in many ways it is much more than that, for it includes the stories of places throughout the state, submitted by the people who knew them. It is a book where story, people, and place all come together.”