Lake Chippewa Flowage Vacation

One of the first available places of lodging to be built within the basin of what would eventually become the Chippewa Flowage was known as Kelly’s stopping place. It was also known as “West Bend” because of the way the river comes in sharply from the west about a mile upstream. Established in May of 1874 after Thomas Kelly and John Hall purchased the land for $100 from a wealthy Eau Claire land speculator named Henry C. Putnam, West Bend was located just upstream from the confluence of the East and West Forks of the Chippewa River. Here many a weary traveler was given shelter, rest, and food as they made their way up the Chippewa River from points south.

The stoppers came by canoe, dugout, and bateau or they coxed their tote teams and wagons over the frozen swamps & creeks and made their way over whatever rudimentary segments of trail were available during those early days. The few trails and tote roads that existed were best serviceable during the winter after the ground, swamps, and creeks were froze, so the Chippewa River was often the chosen route of travel during those days. Stopping places were spaced roughly a day’s journey apart alongside the river for the travelers who ventured up from Winona, Eau Claire, and Chippewa Falls.

In December of 1874, Kelly sold out to Hall for $200 and the following summer Hall sold to a George Barber for $777. In September of 1875, Barber sold a half interest in the place to Thomas Manwaring for $380 and, finally, on October 20, 1876 Manwaring purchased the other half for $800. It appears that during Manwaring’s first year of ownership, John Hall was still the person who was managing the stopping place. A detailed account of A. J. Hayward’s logging party’s journey up the Chippewa in November of 1876 stated that once “they reached the Kelly place…. they found the proprietor, Red John Hall, standing by the side of a barrel of whiskey, with a candle in one hand and a tin dipper in the other, treating the crowd. They had nothing to eat but a pan of baked beans and a pan of stewed apples. All of this was perfectly free, as was also the whiskey.”