Phoenix Park

The Phoenix Manufacturing Co. was founded along the banks of the Chippewa and Eau Claire Rivers in 1875 as a sawmill and logging industrial site that facilitated the lumbering economy of the Chippewa Valley. The company was preceded by the Grahams and Tolles company in 1861, with its situation on the river and national rail lines that quickly expanded the company’s influence more widely.  

In 1903, the Phoenix Manufacturing Co. invented the Phoenix log hauler, operated by a steam engine. This industrial development contributed to the lumbering industry of the area and influenced lumbering in countries as far away as Finland. Despite the success of the log hauler, the Phoenix Manufacturing Co. declared bankruptcy in 1925, in part due to disputes over patent rights. 

The winning bid for the Phoenix plant and equipment was submitted by buyers from outside Eau Claire; however, the Roswell H. Hobbs Realty company of Eau Claire purchased the property from them, fearing that out-of-town interests would demolish the plant. Hobbs used the property for various purposes, including the manufacturing of 9-ton steel sections for cargo ships as part of the World War II effort. In 1951, a newly-organized corporation, Phoenix Steel, bought the property to serve as the site of their production and continued to use it until the Landy Packing Company turned it into a warehouse in 1976.

The City of Eau Claire purchased the property along the Chippewa River in 1981 and decided to transform the former industrial center into a recreational public space, demolishing the buildings in 1985. In the early 1990s the Eau Claire Farmers Market Association found a new home here. With the development of Phoenix Park, named for former Phoenix Manufacturing Co., diverse communities of Eau Claire share a central location to relax, buy and sell produce, float down the river, listen to a concert, and enjoy the city’s rivers.

Property Record: SW Corner of Forest and Wisconsin Sts, Wisconsin Historical Society. Accessed July 28th 2020. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/HI27171.

History, Eau Claire Downtown Farmers Market. Accessed July 28th 2020. https://www.ecdowntownfarmersmarket.com/history/.

"Phoenix Plant and Equipment Bought by Hobbs." Eau Claire Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wis.) November 18th 1925, 6.

"Eau Claire Concern Building 9-Ton Steel Sections for Ocean-Going Ships." Eau Claire Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wis.) December 3rd 1943, 5.

"Old Building Being Razed." Eau Claire Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wis.) December 4th 1951,13.