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1421 STATE ST

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Property Record

1421 STATE ST

Historic Name:
C.L. Tolles Residence

Other Name:

Reference Number:
41832

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Property Location

Location (Address)

1421 STATE ST

County

Eau Claire

City/Village

Eau Claire

Township

Unincorporated community

Town

Range

Direction

Section

Quarter Section

Quarter Quarter Section

Property Features

Year Built

1890

Additions

Survey Date

1981

Historic Use

house

Architectural Style

Cross Gabled

Structural System

Wall Material

Clapboard

Architect

Other Buildings On Site

Demolished

No

Demolished Date

Additional Comments

The Tolles residence, located on State Street, is a two-and-a-half story clapboard structure characterized by cross gables, a wrap veranda, and a Palladian window in the main gable. A balustrade originally ornamented the roof of the veranda (see photo at Chippewa Valley Museum). Charles L. Tolles (1859-1937), a native of the city of Eau Claire, was associated with the Phoenix Manufacturing Company, was founded in 1861 by Hiram P. Graham and his brother-in-law, Robert Tolles (father of Charles). The new company included a planing mill, foundry, and machine shop, and specialized in building and repairing saw mill machinery. Following a fire in 1875, the company was relocated and reorganized under the name of the Phoenix Manufacturing Company. Charles Tolles joined the firm in 1876 and served in various capacities, including the presidency, until 1925 when the corporation was dissolved. Tolles was instrumental in the development of the Phoenix Log Hauler, "a huge machine resembling a conventional steam engine with tank treads". The log hauler enabled lumbermen to haul larger loads and to enter and log previously inaccessible stands of timber. The Northwestern Lumber Company of Eau Claire purchased Phoenix's first log hauler. The company ultimately produced over one hundred of the machine's, some of which were sent to Alaska, Finland, and Canada.

Bibliographic References

(A) 1892 Eau Claire City Directory. (B) Photo Collection - Chippewa Valley Museum. (C) Eau Claire Leader, October 12, 1937. (D) File on Phoenix Mfg. Co. at Chippewa Valley Museum. (E) Live Steam, January, 1976.

National And State Register Of Historic Places Listings

National/State Register Listing Name

Third Ward Historic District (Boundary Increase)

National Register Listing Date

Sep 10, 2004

State Register Listing Date

Apr 16, 2004

Contributing

Yes

house Cross Gabled

Eau Claire
County

Eau Claire
Community

1890-1899
Decade

National and State Register Listing

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Attribution

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The Unique Identifier can be found at the top or bottom of the page for each item. The name of a downloaded file is NOT the unique identifier.

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