Explore Chippewa Valley History

Take a trip and discover the bygone days of the great logging era in Wisconsin and the Chippewa Valley, the early history of Eau Claire and more through these historical videos.

The Wisconsin Loggers Malcolm Rosholt  (1907-2005), author of The Wisconsin Logging Book. 1839-1939 (1980) and Lumbermen on the Chippewa (1982) takes a nostalgic overview of the great logging era in Wisconsin from the last half of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century.

Part 1:  King of the Woods (1989) (44:33 min.)* Takes the viewer into the lumber camps and into the woods.  Includes a re-enactment of an actual logging operation staged in a pine forest of Marathon County featuring modern day lumberjacks using axes, crosscut saws, canthooks, sleighs and horses. Part 1A  (15:16 min.) Part 1B  (15:16 min.) Part 1C  (14:01 min.)

Part 2:  Rivers and Raftsmen (1990) (42:38)* Features log driving crews, dams and sorting works on the northern rivers concluding with the rafting of lumber to market on the Wisconsin, Chippewa an Mississippi Rivers. Part 2A  (15:16 min. Part 2B  (15:16 min.) Part 2C  (12:06 min.)

Part 3:  Sawmills and Sawdust (1990) (40:10 min.)* Takes the viewer into an authentic “up and down” sawmill of the type used before the advent of the circular saw.  Live footage also includes visits to modern sawmills at Neopit and Tigerton, Wisconsin and concludes with the making of a model lumber raft, built to scale, plus old photographs of the great rafting fleets en route to market. Part 3A  (15:15 min.) Part 3B  (15:16 min.) Part 3C  (09:38 min.)

The Fallin’ of the Pine:  Logging on the Chippewa River, 1850-1900* (Produced and written by Daniel J. Perkins and Richard L. Pifer) (1986?) (15:16 min.)  History of the Chippewa Valley told through vintage pictures.

Remembering the Valley (by Will Denson) (1993) (123:30 min.)* A musical based on the early history of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  (Presented at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire June 14-26, 1993) (Director:  Merlaine Angwall Thomson) Part 1  (31:34 min.) (Note:  a “fade from black” occurs during the first four and one half minutes of Part 1) Part 2  (31:34 min.) Part 3  (31:36 min.) Part 4  (28:46 min.)

Front Door, Back Door:  a History of Changing Attitudes in the Chippewa Valley (Chippewa Valley Museum, Produced and Directed by Harry Carnes, written by Sharon Hildebrand) (1998) (26 min.)* Part 1 (17:02 min.) Uses historical and contemporary photographs and on-site photography to present the history of the use of rivers and public attitudes about rivers in the Chippewa Valley. Part 2 (7:52 min.)

View all of our logging videos on YouTube.

*This work is covered under its original copyright and is not in the public domain.  The work is available for educational purposes only and any other use of the material by anyone is prohibited without the written consent of the copyright holder or subsequent holders.