The Chippewa Valley is a valley in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, US.

History

The valley was first inhabited by the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

and colonized by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

n immigrants. The region also has a large Hmong community. While the term "Chippewa Valley" technically refers to the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of the Chippewa River and its tributaries, the name is more often applied to the

Eau Claire-Chippewa Falls metropolitan area Eau or EAU may refer to: * The French word for water * Eau (trigraph), a trigraph of the Latin script * EAU, the IATA code for the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Wisconsin, United States * East Africa University, a private university in Punt ...

and the surrounding area—including communities not located within the Chippewa River's

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

. From the 1850s to the early 1910s, lumber baron Orrin Henry Ingram was largely responsible for the deforestation of the valley and the subsequent establishment of many small towns in the area.Guide to the Ingram Family and Empire Lumber Company Papers, 1906-1934
, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire: McIntyre Library The population center of the Chippewa Valley is Eau Claire.

Menards Menards is an American home improvement retail company headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Menards is owned by founder John Menard Jr. through his privately held company, Menard, Inc. It has 335 stores in 15 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, ...

, an American home improvement retail company, is also headquartered there. They are also a major job provider due to their manufacturing sites located in the area. Other communities include Menomonie, Chippewa Falls, Durand, and Altoona. The region's agricultural products include milk, cheese, horseradish, kidney beans, apples, pumpkins, beef, and poultry. Much of the regional economy is service-driven, although there is also a significant light-industrial segment, especially in high tech (mainly computers). Historic sites include the Cook-Rutledge Mansion in Chippewa Falls, the

Caddie Woodlawn Museum In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives the player advice and moral support. Description A good caddie is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the ...

south of Downsville, the Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts in Menomonie, and a number of exhibits in Eau Claire's Carson Park. In addition, there are a number of sites listed by the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in the area.

References

External links

History of the Chippewa ValleyHistorical and Biographical Album of the Chippewa Valley, Wisconsin
Regions of Wisconsin Eau Claire, Wisconsin Geography of Eau Claire County, Wisconsin Geography of Dunn County, Wisconsin Geography of Chippewa County, Wisconsin Geography of Pepin County, Wisconsin {{Wisconsin-geo-stub