National Register of Historic Places listings in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin facts for kids

Have you ever wondered about the oldest and most special buildings in your town? The National Register of Historic Places is like a special list of important places across the United States. These places are recognized for their history, unique design, or what they mean to the community. In Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, there are 63 amazing buildings and areas on this list! Let's explore some of these cool historic spots.

Historic Places in Eau Claire County

These places tell stories about the past, from old homes and businesses to public buildings and parks. They show us how people lived, worked, and built their communities long ago.

Homes with History

Many of the buildings on the list are old houses, each with its own story.

Brady Anderson and Waldemar Ager House

This beautiful Victorian style house was built between 1892 and 1894 by a carpenter named Brady Anderson for his family. Later, in 1903, a famous Norwegian-American writer named Waldemar Ager bought the house. He wrote many of his stories and raised his family here.

James Barber House

Built around 1904, this Tudor Revival style house was designed by Harry Wild Jones. James Barber was a leader at the Northwestern Lumber Company and involved in other businesses in Eau Claire.

Martin Van Buren Barron House

This Carpenter Gothic style house was built in 1871 for Martin Van Buren Barron. He first ran a flour and feed store, then worked for a lumber company.

Einar and Alice Borton House

This unique home was built in 1949. It's a Lustron house, which means it was an inexpensive, prefabricated home made of enameled steel. Einar Borton worked as a teller at a local bank.

Orlando Brice House

Built in 1918, this Georgian Revival style home belonged to Orlando Brice. He was an executive at the Wisconsin Refrigerator Company.

Clarence Chamberlin House

Clarence Chamberlin came to Eau Claire in 1856 as a salesman for a lumber company. He built this house in 1881 in the Second Empire style. After a fire, he added Queen Anne and Classical Revival elements, making it even more unique.

Pearl and Eva Chambers House

This Colonial Revival home was built in 1928. Pearl Chambers was the vice-president of the New Dells Lumber Company.

Cobblestone House

Built in 1866, this house is special because its outside walls are made of local cobblestones. It was built in the Gothic Revival style for Bradley Marcy, who was a stonemason.

David Drummond House

This brick Queen Anne style house was built in 1888 by David Drummond. He started several businesses, including a meat-packing company and a real estate business.

Christine Eichert House

This Queen Anne style house was built between 1897 and 1898 for Christine Eichert. She was a partner in the John Walter Brewing Company and the sister of John Walter.

Gilbert Gikling House

Gilbert Gikling worked in a lumber mill and for a box company. He built this Queen Anne style house in 1895.

A. L. Kenyon House

This upscale bungalow style house was built in 1915.

Levi Merrill House

Built in 1873, this house mixes Gothic Revival and Classical Revival styles. Levi Merrill was a stonemason who owned a stone quarry nearby.

John S. Owen House

This Colonial Revival home was built in 1923 for John S. Owen, who was one of Eau Claire's important lumber businessmen.

Adin Randall House

This Upright and Wing style house was built in 1862. Adin Randall was an early settler who helped develop Eau Claire. He ran a ferry, a planing mill, and invented a special "sheer boom" to move logs efficiently.

Salsbury Row House

This wooden Victorian style row house was built in 1891. The owner lived in one part, and the others were rented out. It's the only remaining row house in Eau Claire.

William and Tilla Schwahn House

This Georgian Revival home was built in 1928 for William Schwahn. He was part owner of a saddlery (a place that makes horse saddles) factory.

Steven House

Built in 1909, this Prairie School style home was designed by Purcell & Feick. J. D. R. Steven was a part-owner of the Eau Claire Book and Stationary company.

Dr. Nels Werner House

This Georgian Revival home was built in 1929 for a local doctor, Dr. Nels Werner.

Roy Wilcox House

Roy P. Wilcox was a lawyer and state senator in Wisconsin. He built this home, which combines Prairie School and Georgian Revival styles, around 1915.

George F. Winslow House

This Queen Anne style house was built in 1889 and designed by architect George Franklin Barber. George F. Winslow published a journal for lumbermen and sold medicines.

Important Public Places and Businesses

These buildings show how the community grew and what was important to its people.

Barnes Block

This Romanesque Revival style building was constructed in 1893. It was also known as the Chippewa Valley Bank and the Cameron-Drummond-Slagsvold Building.

Sarge Boyd Bandshell

Designed by Alex Garnock, this bandshell was built in 1938 by the WPA. The WPA was a government program that created jobs during the Great Depression. The bandshell was built for the popular Eau Claire Municipal Band. It was named in 1992 after Donald I. "Sarge" Boyd, who was a musical leader in the area for 50 years.

California Wine and Liquor Store

This brick commercial building was constructed in 1896 in Fairchild.

Carson Park Baseball Stadium

This stadium was also built as a WPA project in 1936. It's made from sandstone from Downsville, Wisconsin. Famous baseball player Hank Aaron played here when he was young for the Eau Claire Bears.

Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad Depot

This brownstone train station was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style by Charles Sumner Frost and built in 1893. It was a busy spot for the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway. This building has since been taken down.

Christ Church Cathedral and Parish House

The Episcopal church built the Tudor Revival style parish house in 1910. Then, in 1916, they built the main church building in the Gothic Revival style, designed by Purcell & Elmslie.

City Hall

This building is Eau Claire's second city hall. It was built in 1916 and features Classical Revival and Beaux-Arts styles.

Community House, First Congregational Church

This church hall was built in 1915 in the Prairie School style, with some Gothic Revival touches. It was funded by Cornelia Ingram, whose husband was a local lumber baron.

Dells Mill

This old gristmill was built in 1864 on Bridge Creek, near Augusta. Back then, wheat was a very important crop in Wisconsin, and mills like this were essential for grinding it into flour.

Drummond Business Block

These buildings were constructed between 1879 and 1884. They used to house a meat-packing company, a wholesale grocer, and later, the Farmers Store.

Eau Claire High School

This Collegiate Gothic style school was built in 1925. It was the only public high school in Eau Claire until 1957. Since 1982, it has been used for school district offices.

Eau Claire Masonic Temple

Built in 1899, this building was once the Eau Claire Masonic Temple. Today, it's known as the Antique Emporium.

Eau Claire Public Library

This library was built in 1903 and is a Carnegie library, meaning it was funded by Andrew Carnegie. It was designed in the Classical Revival style by Patton & Miller.

Eau Claire Vocational School

This 3.5-story factory was built in 1891. The Eau Claire Trunk Company used to make suitcases here. In 1941, the city turned it into a vocational school.

First Methodist Episcopal Church

This Neo-Gothic style church was built in 1911. It still has its original pipe organ from Kimball and Company.

James Stephen Hoover and Elizabeth Borland Memorial Chapel

This Neo-Gothic cemetery chapel was built in 1936 in Lakeview Cemetery.

John Johnson Saloon

This wooden "Boomtown" style tavern was built in 1882. It has since been taken down.

Kaiser Lumber Company Office

This brick office building was built in 1905. The Kaiser Lumber Company was the last lumber company started in Eau Claire. They operated sawmills, planing mills, and a box factory until 1939.

Oatman Filling Station

This gas station, built in 1931, was designed to look like a house. This helped it blend in with the neighborhood.

Ottawa House

This wooden building with a "false front" was built after a fire in 1882. It was a saloon and home, and may have served French-Canadian workers from the nearby lumber mills.

Pioneer Block

This block of brick stores was built in 1882 in the Gothic style.

Jane E. Putnam Memorial Chapel

This Neo-Gothic style chapel was built in 1908 in Forest Hill Cemetery. It was built in memory of Jane's husband, Henry Cleveland Putnam, who was a land agent and helped many people in the community.

Sacred Heart Church

This Romanesque Revival style church was built in 1928 by the Catholic congregation. It replaced older church buildings that had been on the site since around 1875.

Saint Edward's Chapel

This Neo-Gothic mission church was built between 1889 and 1896 by the local Episcopal congregation. It was later converted into a home between 1923 and 1926.

Schofield Hall

Built around 1916, this building was originally called "Old Main" and housed the Eau Claire State Normal School. It's built in the Collegiate Gothic style. Today, it's the main administration building for UW-Eau Claire.

Second Ward School

This Collegiate Gothic school was built around 1916. It was renamed "Boyd School" in 1951 and operated until 2002. Now, it has been turned into apartments.

Soo Line Locomotive 2719

This historic train locomotive was located in Carson Park. In 2006, it was moved to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth, Minnesota.

St. Joseph's Chapel

This Gothic Revival chapel was built in 1896 in Sacred Heart cemetery.

St. Patrick's Church

This Catholic church was built in the Gothic Revival style in 1885. It is the oldest church building still standing in Eau Claire.

Temple of Free Masonry

Built in 1927, this building is also known as the Masonic Center or Temple. It was primarily used as a meeting place for Masonic organizations. Since the mid-1990s, it has also been used by the Eau Claire Municipal Band for rehearsals.

Union Auto Company

This building, constructed in 1917, was an auto showroom on the ground floor. It had an elevator to lift cars to the upper floors. Its reinforced concrete structure was a new technology at the time, strong enough to hold cars on all three levels.

Union National Bank

This Art Deco style building was constructed in 1930. The Union Bank had a long history in Eau Claire, with roots in local banks going back to the 1870s.

US Post Office and Courthouse

This Classical Revival style building was built in 1907. It served as both a courthouse and a post office and is also known as the Eau Claire Federal Building.

Walter-Heins House

This Queen Anne style house was built in 1897 for John Walter. He was famous for brewing Walter's Beer just a few blocks away.

Historic Neighborhoods and Districts

Some entire areas are recognized for their historical importance.

Confluence Commercial Historic District

This district is the very beginning of the city of Eau Claire. It's located where the Eau Claire and Chippewa rivers meet. It includes buildings like the 1861 Kneer House hotel and the grand 1893 Drummond-Cameron building.

Eau Claire Park Company Addition Historic District

This district includes 38 homes built in various styles. You can see homes from 1907 in the Dutch Colonial Revival style, a 1936 house in the International Style, and even Ranch-style houses from the early 1950s.

Emery Street Bungalow District

This neighborhood has many well-preserved bungalow style homes. These middle-class homes were built between 1915 and 1930.

Randall Park Historic District

This was an early residential neighborhood in Eau Claire. Both business owners and workers lived here, close to the lumber mills on Half Moon Lake.

Roosevelt Avenue Historic District

This district features a group of five houses built between 1929 and 1941, located along Little Niagara Creek.

Third Ward Historic District

This was a fancy residential neighborhood. It includes many important homes and buildings.

Water Street Historic District

This small business district started as a steamboat landing on the Chippewa River in the 1850s. Today, it's a lively area that serves the university community.

Former Listings

Sometimes, a building that was once on the National Register of Historic Places is removed from the list. This can happen if the building is demolished or changed significantly.

Phoenix Manufacturing Company

This company was started in 1861 to build and fix sawmill machinery. Later, they made bandsaws and a special "Phoenix steam hauler," which was like a locomotive on bulldozer tracks used to pull logs through the woods. The site has since been redeveloped into Phoenix Park.

Kline's Department Store

This department store was built in 1926, combining elements of Commercial Gothic and Art Deco styles. It was taken down in 2014.