RSS 2.0 FeedAutumn Drafts
Man-made Lake Experiencing a Renaissance
In the blockbuster movie “Titanic,” Leonardo diCaprio’s character reminiscences about fishing in a man-made lake near Chippewa Falls, Wis. That would have been Lake Wissota, located five miles east of town. The trouble is, Lake Wissota wasn’t filled with water until several years after the Titanic sank in 1912.
Chippewa Falls residents no doubt were amused by the reference. Lake Wissota was transformed from a small pond into a 6,024-acre lake when the Wisconsin-Minnesota Power Company built a dam on the Chippewa River for producing hydroelectric power. Thus the origin of the name Wissota – “Wis” for Wisconsin, “sota” for Minnesota.
Creativity was used in naming many other lakes in Chippewa County — from Ace in the Hole Lake to Axhandle Lake, Nut Lake, Picnic Lake, Fishpole Lake, Dog Island Lake, Burnt Wagon Lake, Knickerbocker Lake, Rat Lake and Odd Lake. Many are named after people, from Jim Lake and Jacks Lake to two Lake Mary Janes, Lake Dorothy, Lake Cindy, Ruby Lake, two Lake Rogers, Lake Jerome, Lake Stanley, Bob Lake, Little Bob Lake and even Old Abe Lake.
Another part of nature – woodlands – was critical to the region’s history. Lumbering was big business for decades. Frenchman Jean Brunet built the area’s first sawmill in 1836 at the falls of the Chippewa River. Within a year, it was described as one of the world’s largest.
Technology businesses are a main employer today. In fact, 17 percent of technology employment in the state can be found in Chippewa County. More than 40 manufacturing companies, including Cray, Inc., Leinenkugel, Mason Companies and W.S. Darley Pumps, employ more than 5,500 people.
When residents are finished with their work week, many visit the county’s 450 lakes and 21 trout streams. More and more out-of-towners have also discovered the treasure trove of lakes near Chippewa Falls.
‘A renaissance lake’ 
A couple of years ago, Twin Cities buyers found Lake Wissota, according to Bruce Hayhoe Jr., co-owner of Woods and Water Realty. As he described, “Lake Wissota is a renaissance lake right now.”
In 2003, there was not enough supply to meet demand. "People from the Twin Cities had been driving on clogged roads to their cabins in Alexandria, Nisswa-Brainerd and Hayward,” Hayhoe said. "Many started looking for other lakes and found Lake Wissota just 94 minutes from Minneapolis.
"I like to say that our hidden jewels are not so hidden anymore,” he continued. And they’re becoming more and more developed. Most of the homes on Lake Wissota are year-round homes, but he estimates that only about half are used that way. With few listings on Lake Wissota, buyers often look on the Chippewa River for available properties.
“Lake Wissota is still underused compared to other lakes, and it has so many different feels to it,” Hayhoe said. “There’s a lot of diversity. There are sandstone cliffs and several hidden bays. It’s big enough for big boats and great for sailing. When I show clients properties, I tell them that the house is secondary to the lake location. I try to get them on the water.”
Lake Wissota is the largest of 13 holding ponds on the Chippewa River. Clearer, spring-fed lakes tend be in the northern part of Chippewa County, he said.
“Chippewa Falls is a unique area,” Hayhoe said, “and a great place to raise kids. It’s a cosmopolitan small town and it is very close to the Twin Cities.” Eau Claire, Wis., is only 20 minutes away.
Hayhoe and his wife bought their home on Lake Wissota about 10 years ago. “I could never afford to get back on it today,” he said. Their home is only 50 feet and six stairs down to the lake. “We still wake up every morning thinking how lucky we are to be living on this lake,” he said.
Going home
Skip Thaler loves Lake Wissota but hates to talk about it. “It’s been a well-kept secret until now,” he said with a laugh.
He and his wife, Jill, grew up in Chippewa Falls but live in the Twin Cities. They bought a lake home with 300 feet of frontage on Lake Wissota about 20 years ago. Being close to family and friends is important to the Thalers, as is just going back to the familiar beauty of a region they have known since childhood.
While there are many homes on the lake, it’s not a crowded “people lake” like Lake Minnetonka, Thaler said.
Small town flavor maintained
Edna Bunn moved to Chippewa Falls in 1962 when her husband’s job at Control Data moved there. She joined Control Data herself and later worked with Seymour Cray at Cray Research in Chippewa Falls. She worked at Cray until her retirement in 1991.
“What I like the most about Chippewa Falls is that it has kept its small-town flavor,” she said. “
When we moved here, I remember the sign said the population was 13,000. It’s still about that today,” she said.
“It’s so handy to live in town and be able to walk to the bank, the dentist and the post office.” Besides the county’s many lakes, Bunn noted that Duncan Creek runs through town and eventually into the Chippewa River.
Bunn and friends often visit High Shores, one of two restaurants located on Lake Wissota. The other is the Dock (formerly the Water’s Edge). A third restaurant, Connell’s, is located near the lake.
Good place to raise a family
Les Davis and his wife also moved to Chippewa Falls in 1962 when his job at Control Data moved there. He later joined Seymour Cray at Cray Research when the company was formed in 1972.
He and his wife bought a home on Lake Wissota in 1968 and have lived there ever since. Having raised their four children there, they now enjoy entertaining their grandchildren at their lake home. Davis described Chippewa Falls as a good place to raise a family.
When their children were small, boating and waterskiing were regular activities. “The lake provides ample opportunities for fishing and other recreation,” Davis said. “It’s big enough for sailing and big enough to operate a power boat without bumping into somebody.” Davis said the lake is pretty quiet but certain areas are busy, especially during summer holidays.
Seymour Cray’s father was involved in building the dam that created Lake Wissota, Davis said. The elder Cray was the city engineer for a number of years.
Lake visitor since the 1930s
Ruth Jean “Jeannie” Crane still has vivid memories of visiting her parents’ summer cottage each summer while growing up. In the 1930s, her family lived there from Memorial Day to Labor Day. She remembers playing with the many other children who lived there in the summer and visiting with relatives who also maintained cottages on Lake Wissota.
One friend of her parents taught her how to “surfboard ride,” as they called it at the time. Sounding like a precursor to today’s wakeboards, the family friend pulled Crane and her brother on tow ropes as they balanced both feet on the board. She also remembers the days that she and her brother swam across “the small lake,” a smaller section of Lake Wissota. Her mother allowed them to do so only if one rowed while the other swam across. They took turns rowing and swimming. Her brother, a fighter pilot, was killed in World War II .
Crane’s first husband retired as president of Crane Lumber, a company with a long history in Chippewa Falls. Another well-established company is Premium Chippewa Spring Water. Because of her homes’ proximity to underground springs, Crane has been able to drink and use spring water for household and yard use her entire life. In fact, aside from time away at school, she has lived her entire life in four different homes in Chippewa Falls – and all were on the same piece of property. She recently moved to a new condominium but it is near the spot where she was born, raised and then lived her married life.
“I have all kinds of memories about Lake Wissota,” Crane said. “I miss it because I’m a water person, but it’s so much work to have a home in town and a lake home.” She understands why so many people today want to live in a lake home year-round to have the best of both worlds. Crane still is able to see Lake Wissota close-up when she visits her son’s home on the lake. It is located about one-quarter mile from the site of her parents’ former cottage.
Crane said that while the population inside the city limits of Chippewa Falls is not growing, many people are making homes in the country. She has heard that about 17,000 people live near Lake Wissota.
“In the early days, there were a lot of wealthy people in Chippewa Falls,” Crane said. Examples of that wealth can be seen today in the Cook- Rutledge mansion, a restored, historic High Victorian Italianate home, and in Irvine Park, donated to the city by the Irvine family. Crane described the lighting and decorating done in the park during the holidays as “one of the most beautiful spectacles you’ve ever seen.” Crane points to the Heyde Center for the Arts as a recent, positive addition to Chippewa Falls.
Quick Clicks