Property Record
218 10TH AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Kaiser Lumber Company Building |
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| Other Name: | Knight's Transfer |
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| Reference Number: | 41814 |
| Location (Address): | 218 10TH AVE |
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| County: | Eau Claire |
| City: | Eau Claire |
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| Year Built: | 1905 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1981 |
| Historic Use: | industrial building |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
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| Wall Material: | Wood |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | Two brick and frame industrial buildings located on the shore of Half Moon Lake. An old railroad spur runs east of the structures. These structures originally served as the planing mill and box factory of the Kaiser Lumber Company. The Kaiser firm, organized in 1905 by John H. Kaiser, "was the last of its kind to begin operation sin the city, writing a final chapter to the story of logging in the Chippewa Valley which began during the days where Wisconsin was a territory" (B). Although the company originally focused on the milling of lumber, gradually box-making became the business' primary concern. Reflecting this change, Kaiser founded the Eau Claire Box and Crating Company in 1917 and built a new factory on Menomonie Street (no longer standing). The company was sold in 1931 but two years later with the repeal of prohibition providing a new market for beverage cases, John Kaiser reopened the box factory which he oeprated until his death in 1939. The VanGorden Boat Factory moved into the building following Kaiser's death. See site at 1004 Menomonie Street, 23/29, which is the former Kaiser Lumber Company office. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) 1931 Sanborn-Perris Map. (B) Kaiser, B. "Logs and Boxes: The John H. Kaiser Lumber Company of Eau Claire." Thirtieth Star, Jan. 1959. (C) Conversation with S.H. VanGorden. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |