Eau Claire ( ; lit. "clear water") is a city in

Eau Claire Eau Claire (French for "clear water", ''pl.'' ''eaux claires'') is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare". Place names (Canada) Communities *Eau Claire, Calgary, a n ...

and Chippewa counties in the U.S. state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. It is the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

of Eau Claire County. It is the seventh-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 69,421 at the 2020 census. The Eau Claire metropolitan area, known locally as the

Chippewa Valley The Chippewa Valley is a valley in Wisconsin, US. History The valley was first inhabited by the Ojibwe and colonized by German and Scandinavian immigrants. The region also has a large Hmong community. While the term "Chippewa Valley" technic ...

, has approximately 176,000 residents. Eau Claire is at the confluence of the

and Chippewa rivers on traditional

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

, Dakota, and

Ho-Chunk The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hocąk, Hoocągra, or Winnebago are a Siouan languages, Siouan-speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois ...

land. The area's first permanent European American settlers arrived in 1845, and Eau Claire was incorporated as a city in 1872. The city's early growth came from its extensive

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, truckstimber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

industries. After Eau Claire's lumber industry declined in the early 20th century, the city's economy diversified to encompass manufacturing and Eau Claire became an educational center with the opening of the

University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire The University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (UW–Eau Claire, UWEC or simply Eau Claire) is a public university in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers Bachelor's degree, bachelor's and ...

in 1916. Eau Claire is known regionally for its arts and music scenes and is the hometown of

indie folk Indie folk (also called alternative folk) is an alternative genre of music that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Characteristics The staff of '' Paste Magazine'' said in 2020: "No music genre ...

band

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Vernon had originally formed Bon Iver as a solo project, but it eventually became a band consisting of Vernon (vocals, guit ...

, whose lead singer

Justin Vernon Justin DeYarmond Edison Vernon (born April 30, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best-known as the primary songwriter and Lead vocalist, frontman of indie folk band Bon Iver. He is also a member o ...

co-curated the city's annual Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival. Eau Claire is also a regional commercial and business center and home to the headquarters of home improvement store chain

Menards Menard, Inc., doing business as Menards, ( ) is an American big-box home improvement retail chain headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It is the third-largest home improvement retailer in the United States (behind Lowe's and Home Depot), wit ...

. Eau Claire is the second-fastest growing major city in Wisconsin after Madison, with 5.4% population growth between 2010 and 2020.

Etymology

Eau Claire took its name from Eau Claire County. "Eau Claire" is the singular form of the original French name, "Eaux Claires", meaning "Clear Waters", for the Eau Claire River. According to local legend, the river was so named because early French explorers journeying down the rain-muddied Chippewa River, came upon the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

with the Eau Claire River, and excitedly exclaimed the contrast: ''"Voici l'eau claire!"'' ("Here is the clear water!"). Now the city motto, this appears on the city seal.

History

The Eau Claire area was first visited by Europeans in the late 17th century. It had been occupied for thousands of years before European fur traders began settling there for trade with local Native American tribes. The First Treaty of Prairie du Chien, signed in 1825, established the Chippewa River "half a day's march below the falls" as the boundary between the

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

and Chippewa, and the "Clear Water River, a branch of the Chippewa" as the boundary between the Chippewa and Winnebago. The first permanent European-American settlers arrived in 1845, and the city was officially incorporated in 1872. Extensive timber was harvested and logging was the major industry during this time; many sawmills were built as part of the lumber industry. Sawmills and other manufacturing made Eau Claire an industrial city by the late 19th century. The city was founded near the confluence of the

and Chippewa rivers as three separate settlements. The main section of downtown is on the site of the original European-American village, where Stephen McCann, in partnership with J. C. Thomas, put up three buildings in 1845. Although these structures were erected primarily to establish a claim to the land site, the McCann family moved into one of them and became the first permanent settlers. West Eau Claire, founded in 1856, was across the river, near the site of the current county courthouse, and was incorporated in 1872. Between a mile and a half and two miles downstream, the Daniel Shaw & Co. lumber company founded Shawtown, beyond the west end of what is now the Water Street historic district. Shawtown was annexed to the city of Eau Claire by the 1930s. By the 1950s, the entire city had spread far enough to the east to adjoin Altoona. In 1916, the

was founded, which marked the turn from a mostly lumber production based economy into one centered around manufacturing, education, and healthcare. In 1917, Gillette Safety Tire Company built a large factory in Eau Claire along the Eau Claire River less than a mile where the rivers meet. The factory mainly created rubber tires and tubing. It had about 1,600 workers in 1920, producing almost 500 tires and 500 rubber tubing everyday. These numbers have increased every year since it opened in 1917. In 1931,

United States Rubber Company Uniroyal, formerly known as the United States Rubber Company, is an American manufacturer of tires and other synthetic rubber-related products, as well as variety of items for military use, such as ammunition, explosives, chemical weapons and op ...

agreed to purchase Gillette, a sale not completed until 1940 owing to the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Due to the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the US War Department brought the facility in 1942 to use as an ammunition plant. At the height of the war effort, the plant had over 6,000 employees. Toward the end of the war, the government sold the building back to its original owners, and it was quickly converted back to manufacturing tire products. Throughout the decades after the war, the plant received multiple expansions and was renamed Uniroyal in 1967. In 1991, Uniroyal, one of the largest factories in Eau Claire at the time, announced it would shutter the facility, ultimately causing 1,358 workers to lose their jobs. Although this factory shutdown was detrimental to Eau Claire's economy, the unemployment rate fell from 1991 to 1992. Today the complex, now named Banbury Place, is used as a small

business incubator A business incubator is an organization that helps startup companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a fullscale range of services, starting with management training and office space, and ending with venture ...

and leased to existing businesses and organizations.

Geography

2012-09-27_Water_Street_Historic_District

Eau Claire is about east of

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

and

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

, on the northern fringes of the Driftless Zone. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water. The city's terrain is characterized by the river valleys, with steep slopes leading from the center to the eastern and southern sections of the city. The lands into which the urban area is expanding are increasingly hilly. There are two lakes in the city, Dells Pond and Half Moon Lake. Dells Pond is a reservoir created by a

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

, and was formerly used as a holding pool for logs. Half Moon Lake is an

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

created as part of the former course of the Chippewa River.

Climate

In the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Eau Claire is classified as a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfb'' bordering on ''Dfa''), usually termed as the subtype of warm, sometimes hot, summer. Its climate is due to its latitude and interior location in North America. The average annual temperature is only . Although the extremes exceed upwards and −40 °F, which demonstrates the four well-defined seasons of the year, with severe winters generally colder than the winters of

European Russia European Russia is the western and most populated part of the Russia, Russian Federation. It is geographically situated in Europe, as opposed to the country's sparsely populated and vastly larger eastern part, Siberia, which is situated in Asia ...

south of Moscow at a much lower latitude. The amount of annual snowfall (47") exceeds the amount of annual rainfall (31"), the total precipitation is greater than other major cities in

such as

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

and Madison. July has an average temperature of and January an average of , where temperatures below

freezing point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state of matter, state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase (matter), phase exist in Thermodynamic equilib ...

can remain for a long duration.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 69,421. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 29,987 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 5.7% Asian, 1.5%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.6% Native American, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.1% from other races, and 5.1% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 3.3%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. The 2020 census population of the city included 147 people incarcerated in adult correctional facilities and 3,556 people in student housing. According to the

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimates for 2016–2020, the median income for a household in the city was $59,705, and the median income for a family was $82,851. Male full-time workers had a median income of $48,978 versus $39,147 for female workers. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $31,510. About 4.9% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over. Of the population age 25 and over, 95.5% were high school graduates or higher and 33.9% had a bachelor's degree or higher. Of the 69,421 people living in the city, 67,238 were living in Eau Claire County, and 2,183 were living in Chippewa County.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 65,883 people, 26,803 households, and 14,293 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 28,134 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.4%

, 4.6% Asian, 1.1%

, 0.5% Native American, 0.5% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races.

or Latino people of any race were 1.9% of the population. There were 26,803 households, of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 46.7% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age in the city was 29.8 years. 19.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 22.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.2% were from 25 to 44; 21.7% were from 45 to 64; and 11.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.5% male and 51.5% female. As of 2010, there were 1,981 persons within the city limits in Chippewa County and 63,902 in Eau Claire County for a total of 65,883.

Metropolitan area

The city forms the core of the

's Eau Claire Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties (composite 2010 population: 161,151). Together with the Menomonie Micropolitan Statistical Area (which includes all of Dunn County) to the west, the Eau Claire

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

, forms the Census Bureau's Eau Claire-Menomonie Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a consolidated 2010 population of 205,008.

Religion

The Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire was based in the city from 1928 until it reintegrated into the Diocese of Wisconsin in 2024. Christ Church Cathedral is one of three mother churches of the Diocese of Wisconsin. The city is also within the Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse and is home to Sacred Heart Church and St. Patrick's Church. Additionally, Community House, First Congregational Church, First Methodist Episcopal Church and the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd are in Eau Claire.

Ethnic communities

As of 2017,

Hmong Americans Hmong Americans ( RPA: ''Hmoob Mes Kas'', Pahawh Hmong: "") are Americans of Hmong ancestry. Many Hmong Americans immigrated to the United States as refugees in the late 1970s, with a second wave in the 1980s and 1990s. Over half of the Hmong ...

were Eau Claire's largest ethnic minority and have been described as the city's "most visible ethnic group".Christian, Moua, and Vogeler, p. 1 (internal document page number) Per the 2022

five-year estimates, the Hmong population was 2,868, comprising over 90% of the Asian population. While the Hmong population is smaller in Eau Claire County than in

, the Hmong are a higher percentage of the population in Eau Claire County and are more prominent in the smaller Eau Claire metropolitan area.Christian, Moua, and Vogeler, p. 3 (internal document page number) In some Eau Claire neighborhoods, up to 30% of the residents are Hmong. Per the 2022 American Community Survey five-year estimates, the

German American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

population was 25,676, comprising roughly 30% of the population. Per the 2022 American Community Survey five-year estimates, the

Norwegian American Norwegian Americans () are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 milli ...

population was 11,672, comprising roughly 16% of the population.

Economy

Eau Claire styles itself as the "horseradish capital of the world", due to the presence of Silver Spring Foods, the world's largest grower and producer of

horseradish Horseradish (''Armoracia rusticana'', syn. ''Cochlearia armoracia'') is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes Mustard plant, mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and us ...

. The climate, with its cold winters, is conducive to the horseradish crop. Other significant crops grown in the area are apples, pumpkins and plums.

, a

Midwestern The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

chain of

home improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...

stores owned by Wisconsin native John Menard Jr., is headquartered in Eau Claire. The city is home to Menards General Offices, 2 stores, and the flagship distribution center. Other companies based in Eau Claire include

National Presto Industries National Presto Industries is a company founded in 1905 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Originally called "Northwestern Steel and Iron Works" the company changed its name to the "National Pressure Cooker Company" in 1929 and then National Presto Industr ...

. Oakwood Mall is Eau Claire's main mall. It has been open since 1986 and has 91 stores and services. Downtown Eau Claire and Water Street also include a variety of specialty shops, including bike shops, arcades, record shops, and antique stores.

Arts and culture

Performing arts

Eau Claire has a modest but active theater community. No professional theater groups make their home in the region, but amateur and community theaters have a significant presence; the most visible of these are the Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild (CVTG) and the Eau Claire Children's Theatre (ECCT). In addition, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has a robust theatre program, and traveling professional shows frequently make stops in the city. The Pablo Center at the Confluence and Haas Fine Arts Center are the primary indoor performing arts venues, although both CVTG and ECCT have established their own independent venues, in 2006 and 2010 respectively. The Pablo Center at the Confluence was opened in downtown Eau Claire on September 22, 2018. It was built to replace UW-Eau Claire's Kjer Theater as the primary venue for performing arts. Facilities include a 1,200-seat theatre, three rehearsal rooms, visual arts galleries, labs for sound and lighting, set and exhibit design, recording arts, multimedia production, and costume design.

Music

, songwriter and frontman of indie folk band

, was born and lives in the city.

Eaux Claires Eaux Claires, also known as the Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival, was a two-day music and arts festival that took place for four years in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The festival took what was to be a year-long hiatus in 2019 but was expected to r ...

was a two-day music festival that took place in the city in the 2010s, founded by Vernon and

Aaron Dessner Aaron Brooking Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American musician. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band The National (band), the National, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums; a co-founder of the indie rock duo Big ...

. The Blugold Marching Band is a notable part of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's music program, as well as a fixture of the Eau Claire community. The 475-member ensemble is the largest marching band in the Midwest. The band has gone on multiple tours across the Midwest, and had many performances on the world stage.

Sculpture tour

The Sculpture Tour Eau Claire is an ongoing outdoor sculpture exhibit along the streets of downtown Eau Claire. There are 53 sculptures, making this tour the second-largest of its type in the nation.

Farmers market

The Eau Claire Downtown Farmers Market is in Phoenix Park. It is open from May to October and offers a variety of produce and products.

Sports

Baseball

Eau Claire has four amateur

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

teams. The Eau Claire Express play in the

Northwoods League The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur, and players are not ...

, an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

-sanctioned summer baseball league. Its home games are at Carson Park. The Eau Claire Cavaliers also play home games at Carson Park. In addition to the Cavaliers, the Eau Claire Bears and the Eau Claire Rivermen play in the Chippewa River Baseball League. Three of Eau Claire's high schools have baseball teams. Eau Claire North H.S. won the 2011 and 2019 state championship. Eau Claire also has a large youth baseball program, including a summer parks and recreation league, Little League (Nationals, American, Lowes Creek and Seymour). Eau Claire Little League teams have twice won the state championship (1998 Eau Claire Americans and 2012 Eau Claire Nationals) and advanced to Regional play in Indianapolis. A Babe Ruth League (13- to 18-year-olds) won state tournaments at ages 13, 14 and 15 in 2012. Those teams all went on to win 3rd place at their regional tournaments.

Football

The Eau Claire Axemen are an

indoor American football Arena football is a variety of gridiron football designed to be played indoors. The game is played on a smaller field than American football, American or Canadian football, Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standa ...

team in

The Arena League The Arena League (The AL or TAL) is an indoor American football league in the United States. The league launched in 2024 with four teams playing six-on-six football, but expanded to six-teams and started playing regular 7-on-7 indoor football i ...

and begin play in 2025 as an expansion team. The Axemen play their home games at the Sonnentag Event Center. The Chippewa Valley Predators

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team competes in the Northern Elite Football League and plays its home games at Carson Park. The team was established in 2001. The Northern Lights Cowboys compete in the Champions Amateur Football League and play their home games at Carson Park. As of 2023, the Eau Claire Cowboys

team competes in the Northern Lights Football League and plays its home games at Carson Park It is also home to the two high school football teams along with the university.

Horseshoes

Eau Claire hosted the 2003 World

Horseshoe A horseshoe is a product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toenail, altho ...

Championship and the 2019 Wisconsin State Horseshoe Tournament. Silvermine 04

Parks and recreation

LitTennisCourtInOwenParkAB-crppd-byVernBarber

There are several large parks in the city: Owen Park, along the Chippewa River, is home to a large bandshell, where open-air concerts are held throughout the summer; Putnam Park, which follows the course of Putnam Creek and Little Niagara Creek east from the UWEC campus; Carson Park, situated in the middle of an oxbow lake (better known as Halfmoon Lake); and

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park () is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since ...

on the site of the old Phoenix Steel plant at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers. Phoenix Park hosts a weekly farmers market and open-air concerts during the summer. Riverview Park is a common summer swimming destination and one of the local boat landings. It has picnicking areas, grills, and public restrooms. There are also two dog parks in Eau Claire: Otter Creek Off-Leash Dog Park and Sundet Off-Leash Dog Park. The City of Eau Claire also operates Fairfax public pool and Hobbs Municipal Ice Center, an indoor ice center. Eau Claire is at the head of the Chippewa River State Trail, a biking and recreation trail that follows the lower course of the Chippewa River. Eau Claire is sometimes called the City of Bridges. There are three road bridges and seven pedestrian bridges over the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers. Eau Claire is also home to the Eau Claire Marathon, a Boston Marathon qualifier.

Government

In November 1909 a movement to change the city government from the

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

ic to the commission form was launched by the West Side Boosters, the forerunners of the Water Street, Eau Claire Business Men. The campaign that preceded the February 15 election was heated. Local rallies and mass meetings were held. The 20 members of the common council were about equally split about the change. The final vote was 1,867 for change and 995 against. Since switching from a mayoral system in 1948, Eau Claire has had a

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

form of government. The city council is a nonpartisan 11-member governing council consisting of five members elected from aldermanic districts in odd-numbered years, five members elected at large in even-numbered years, and an elected city council president, elected at large in odd-numbered years. The council's legislative meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.

Public hearing In law, a hearing is the formal examination of a case (civil or criminal) before a judge. It is a proceeding before a court or other decision-making body or officer, such as a government agency or a legislative committee. Description A hearing ...

s are held on the Monday evenings before legislative sessions. All meetings are held in the City Council Chambers at

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

in downtown Eau Claire. Meetings are televised live on

public-access television Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is Narrowcasting, narrowcast through cable tele ...

channel 97 and digital cable channel 994 and simulcast on radio station WRFP 101.9 FM. Eau Claire is represented by

Derrick Van Orden Derrick Francis Van Orden (born September 15, 1969) is an American politician, actor, and retired United States Navy SEAL who is the U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party. Early ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, and by

Ron Johnson Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American businessman and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Rep ...

and

Tammy Baldwin Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party (United Stat ...

in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. Jeff Smith represents Eau Claire in the

Wisconsin Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those ...

, and Jodi Emerson and Christian Phelps in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

Education

Eau Claire schools are part of the Eau Claire Area School District. The city has two public high schools: Memorial High School and North High School; and two public charter high schools: McKinley Charter School and Technology Charter School. There are 13 elementary schools and three middle schools in the Eau Claire Area School District. In addition, there is the Chippewa Valley Montessori Charter School, which follows the teaching of

Maria Montessori Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori ( ; ; 31 August 1870 – 6 May 1952) was an Italians, Italian physician and educator best known for her philosophy of education (the Montessori method) and her writing on scientific pedagogy. At an early a ...

. Eau Claire also has two private high schools: Regis High School and Immanuel Lutheran High School. Eau Claire is home to two public colleges (

and the Chippewa Valley Technical College) and a private college ( Immanuel Lutheran College). Eau Claire is home to two libraries: McIntyre Library on the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire campus and L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library. L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library holds many events, such as children's storytimes, book clubs and makerspace labs.

Media

Print

The ''

Eau Claire Leader-Telegram The ''Leader-Telegram'' is a daily newspaper published in Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire ( ; lit. "clear water") is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, Eau Claire and Chippewa County, Wisconsin, Chippewa counties in the U.S. state ...

'' is published five days a week (the Friday edition has extra weekend content), and dates to 1881. ''Volume One'' is a biweekly magazine with a circulation of 15,000 and an estimated readership of 45,000.

Television

Nielson Market Research lists Eau Claire/ La Crosse as the 127th largest television market area.

Cable

Radio

FM AM

Transportation

Airports

Eau Claire is served by the

Chippewa Valley Regional Airport Chippewa Valley Regional Airport is a public use airport in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, United States. Chippewa Valley Regional Airport (EAU) is a non-hub primary commercial service airport owned by Eau Claire County and located three miles no ...

(IATA: EAU, ICAO: KEAU).

Mass transit

* Eau Claire Transit bus lines

Intercity bus

Flixbus FlixBus (; styled FLiXBUS) is a German brand that offers low-cost Intercity bus service, intercity coach services in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. It is owned by , which also operates FlixTrain, FlixCar, , and Greyhound Lines. F ...

(Chicago to Minneapolis via I-94) *

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

(Chicago to Minneapolis via I-94) * Megabus operated by Wisconsin Coach Lines (Milwaukee to Minneapolis via Green Bay)

Major highways

Rail

Eau Claire is on freight rail lines owned by the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

, formerly owned by the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway (Omaha Road), and later part of the

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of t ...

. C&NW operated passenger trains from Chicago through Eau Claire to the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

area until 1963, when the ''

Twin Cities 400 The ''400''Chicago & North Western Railway Route of the "400" The Streamliners and the Challengers ime Table Rand McNally, January 15, 1939. Chicago, IL (later named the ''Twin Cities 400''Chicago & North Western Railway Through Passenger Sche ...

'' ended service. Eau Claire station opened in 1893 and closed with the end of C&NW service. It was demolished in 1987. Passenger rail service to Eau Claire is seen as critical by the

Minnesota Department of Transportation The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT, ) oversees Transportation in Minnesota, transportation by all modes including land, water, air, rail, walking and bicycling in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Cabinet (government), cabinet-lev ...

and

Wisconsin Department of Transportation The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Wisconsin responsible for planning, building and maintaining the state's highways. It is also responsible for planning transportation in the sta ...

, and they plan to return trains to the city by 2030. In March 2021, Amtrak unveiled plans to bring a passenger service to Eau Claire as part of a larger route that would connect Eau Claire to Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison and Milwaukee-to-St. Paul.

Healthcare

Mayo Clinic Health System's Eau Claire location, which has a level 2 trauma rating and serves as the regional trauma center, offers a family medicine residency program. It was also named the #4 best hospital in Wisconsin and recognized as a Best Regional Hospital in northwestern Wisconsin. Eau Claire also has one other hospital which has a level 3 trauma rating, Marshfield Medical Center. Both hospitals offer various specialty care units and services.

Notable people

Sister cities

Eau Claire's

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...

are: * Lismore, Australia * Miramar District, Costa Rica

References

External links

General

*

* ttp://www.visiteauclaire.com Eau Claire Travel Bureau

History

Eau Claire Historic Preservation Foundation

Eau Claire Landmarks Commission photo collection

University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire Special Collections and Archives

L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library Local History Resources
* Sanborn fire insurance maps
188318851889
{{Authority control Cities in Wisconsin Cities in Chippewa County, Wisconsin Cities in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin County seats in Wisconsin Eau Claire–Chippewa Falls metropolitan area

Etymology

History

Geography

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

Metropolitan area

Religion

Ethnic communities

Economy

Arts and culture

Performing arts

Music

Sculpture tour

Farmers market

Sports

Baseball

Football

Horseshoes

Parks and recreation

Government

Education

Media

Print

Television

Cable

Radio

Transportation

Airports

Mass transit

Intercity bus

Major highways

Rail

Healthcare

Notable people

Sister cities

See also

References

Further reading

External links

General

History