August 2, 2011 will mark the 100^th Anniversary of the closing of the Chippewa Lumber & Boom Company Sawmill. The following Chippewa Herald article documents the end of the 75-year era of when lumber was king.

“BIG MILL SAWED LAST LOG TODAY When Big Whistle Blew at 11 o’clock it Settled for
All Time Fate of Chippewa’s Big Lumber Industry
Today at eleven o’clock the whistle of the big saw mill of the C. L. & B. Co. blew long
and strong, announcing the final closing of this important industry in the history of Chippewa
Falls. The mill has run this summer every working day and since July 5^th last sawing 1,000,000
feet of pine and hemlock. The last log sawed today marks the close of the lumber industry
in this city which has had a mill or mills in operation since 1836 when Jean Brunet, the
pioneer Frenchman first started a primitive saw mill.
With the saw mill plant now owned by the C. L. & B. Co., its executive force and
skilled men, all fully organized, it is a sincere regret that this big industry must abandon its
work for lack of material. The C. L. & B. Co. yet owns a great quantity of hard-wood and
hemlock standing timber. But present prices for this timber in the sawed product are so low
that it does not warrant logging and manufacturing it. So it is presumed that this hard-wood
and hemlock will be sold to smaller mill companies. So good by big saw mill which will now
be a memory of the past.”

The public is invited to attend the ceremony commemorating this centennial anniversary at 10:50 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, in front of Notre Dame Church, 117 Allen Street. (Overlooking the site of the Big Mill) Following the ceremony will be an Open House next door at the Chippewa County Historical Society.

Activities involved in the100th anniversary celebration include:

1.     Ceremony held overlooking the former C. L. & B. Co. sawmill site

o    11:00 a.m. Steam whistle (belonging to Dave Dam) will blow for about 60 seconds
o    Welcome, CCHS President, Dave Gordon
o    Overview of celebration and Sponsor Recognition, CCHS Vice President, Jim Schuh
o    Song written by Jerry Way – When Lumber was King
o    Mayoral Proclamation, Greg Hoffman
o    Welcome those in attendance to Open House

2.     Following ceremony Special Open House at Area History Center, 123 Allen Street. (Next door)

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      • Display lumbering artifacts and memorabilia from the big mill
      • New scale model of mill built by Don Bichner
      • Five large recently acquired exterior and interior photos
      • Extensive collection of lumbering tools displayed/explained
      • Sheet cake with picture of big mill will be cut and distributed
      • Guided tours of the museum offered