Property Record
50 COURT ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Chippewa Falls Water Works & Lighting Company |
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| Other Name: | Northern States Power Service Station |
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| Reference Number: | 38106 |
| Location (Address): | 50 COURT ST |
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| County: | Chippewa |
| City: | Chippewa Falls |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | public utility/power plant/sewage/water |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | Multiple door openings with brick lintels. A simple vernacular gabled roofed structure, this painted brick structure has no particular architectural significance. This building was constructed in 1896 by the Chippewa Lumber and Boom Company (C.L.&B. Co.) as a power house. The C.L.&B. Co. had a contract to supply the power for the Chippewa Falls Water Works & Lighting Company's electric plant. Originally, the building had a flume and water wheel on the south which drew water from the Chippewa River, and from the northwest end of the building a tailrace dispensed water into Duncan Creek. Power from this site was used to light the City of Chippewa Falls. In 1898, when the Chippwea Valley Electric Railway Company (C.V.E.R.C.) connected with Chippewa Falls, this plant supplied the power to operate the interurban cars in Chippewa Falls. In 1912 the C.V.E.R.C. puchased the holdings of the C.L.&B. Co. in Chippewa Falls. They, in turn, were absorbed by Wisconsin-Minnesota Power & Light in 1913. A flood in 1918 swept away the powerhouse flume, leaving the City of Chippewa Falls temporaily without electricity. It is likely that this portion of the building was never repaired as the City began drawing power, on an emergency basis at first, and later permanently, from the Wissota Dam. The architecture of the building reveals that an addition was made to the building following destruction of the flume, sometime between 1918-1924 (H). In 1924 Wisconsin-Minnesota Power & Light was absorbed by Northern States Power, the building's current owner. The building is presently used for storage, and is connected to the offices of the Northern States Power Service Station. Utilitarian and unassuming, this building is very significant, historically, to the City of Chippewa Falls. This power house supplied electricity to Chippewa Falls during the formative years of it public utilities programs. It is one of the only two extent buildings associated with the Chippewa Lumber & Boom Company, and it is one of the only two structures associated with the Chippewa Valley Electric Railway Company. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) The Daily Independent 20 October, 1896. (B) The Evening Independent 27 May, 1918. (C) The Daily Independent 22 September, 1896. (D) James C. Poulter, A HIstorical Study of the Chippewa Valley Railway, Light and Power Company (M.A. Thesis, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 1972), pp. 68-69. (E) Forrest McDonald, Let There Be Light: The Electric Utility Industry in Wisconsin, 1881-1955 (Madison: The American History Research Center, 1957, pp. 162; 256). (F) Sanborn-Perris Map Co., Inc. Insurance Map of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, 1903, 1924. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |