Lake Holcombe, Wisconsin facts for kids

Lake Holcombe is also a popular name for the Holcombe Flowage.

Quick facts for kids Lake Holcombe, Wisconsin
Town
Town Hall
Location of Lake Holcombe, Wisconsin
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Chippewa
Area
• Total	30.6 sq mi (79.3 km2)
• Land	26.6 sq mi (69.0 km2)
• Water	4.0 sq mi (10.4 km2)
Elevation	1,056 ft (322 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	1,031
• Density	39/sq mi (14.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)	715 & 534
FIPS code	55-41550
GNIS feature ID	1583512
PLSS township	Most of T32N R6W and a bit of T31N R6W

Lake Holcombe is a town in Chippewa County, Wisconsin. In 2010, about 1,031 people lived there. The area known as Holcombe is also part of this town.

A Look Back: Lake Holcombe's Story

The land around Lake Holcombe was first mapped in 1852 by government teams. These teams walked through forests and rivers, measuring the land. They used special tools to mark important points.

After their work, a surveyor described the area. He noted some small cedar and tamarack swamps that were not good for farming. The land was mostly flat, and much of it could be farmed. The area was covered with trees like pine, hemlock, tamarack, cedar, and some maple and birch. The Chippewa River and Fisher River flowed through the area. Both rivers had fast currents, which was good for powering mills.

The community was first called Little Falls in the 1870s. It was started by the Union Lumbering Company along the Chippewa River. Later, it became known as Holcombe.

The Dams of Holcombe

The first Little Falls dam was built in 1878. It was made of wood and was very large for its time. It was about 625 feet wide and 16 feet high, with 32 gates. Its main purpose was to help float logs downstream. This was important even when the river's natural water levels were low. When the gates were fully open, the dam could raise the Chippewa River by 3 feet, even 100 miles downstream.

Parts of this dam were washed away by floods in 1880 and 1884. After the second flood, a dam-building expert named Billy "the Beaver" England rebuilt it. He and his team finished the dam in the winter of 1884–1885. This rebuilt dam lasted through many floods. The diary of the dam's keeper from 1882 to 1890 still exists. It talks about log drives, log jams, and the big flood of 1884.

In 1905, a sad accident happened. Eleven log drivers drowned while trying to clear a log jam near the dam. The dam was used until 1910, when logging stopped. It finally washed away in the 1920s.

The dam you see today was built in 1950. It was constructed by the Wisconsin-Minnesota Light and Power Company. This new dam created the Holcombe Flowage, which is also called Lake Holcombe. Today, the flowage is a popular spot for fun activities, and many homes and cabins are built along its shores.

Lake Holcombe's Location and Landscape

Holcombe Hydro Dam

The town of Lake Holcombe is shaped like a square, about 6 miles by 6 miles. However, the Chippewa River cuts off its western side. A few extra square miles are added in the southwest.

The Holcombe Flowage (also known as Lake Holcombe) is in the northern part of the town's western edge. It holds back the Chippewa River and also stretches east where the Jump River flows in. The town has a total area of about 79.3 square kilometers (30.6 square miles). About 69.0 square kilometers (26.6 square miles) of this is land, and 10.4 square kilometers (4.0 square miles) is water.

Who Lives in Lake Holcombe?

In 2000, there were 1,010 people living in Lake Holcombe. These people lived in 413 households, and 292 of these were families. The town had about 37.5 people per square mile. Most of the people living there (about 98.71%) were White.

About 26.9% of households had children under 18. Most households (61.0%) were married couples living together. About 24.5% of all households were single people living alone. About 10.7% of these single people were 65 years or older. The average household had 2.40 people, and the average family had 2.80 people.

The population was spread out by age. About 23.8% were under 18. About 30.2% were between 45 and 64 years old. And 17.0% were 65 or older. The average age in the town was 43 years.

The average income for a household in the town was $33,083. For families, the average income was $37,500. The average income per person in the town was $15,900. About 10.2% of the people in the town had lower incomes. This included 10.6% of those under 18 and 9.1% of those 65 or older.

See also

In Spanish: Lake Holcombe (Wisconsin) para niños