Vintage Big Falls Photo Print

Relaxing at Big Falls on the Eau Claire River, Town of Seymour, Eau Claire County, about 1924. Courtesy of the Chippewa Valley Museum. The public made use of Big Falls as a scenic attraction long before it was officially designated as a county park. The Eau Claire River, which runs over Big Falls, serves in part as the southern boundary for the 1837 Treaty-Ceded Territory. In 1837, the signatory Ojibwe bands ceded lumbering rights to the U.S. Government but reserved rights to hunt, fish, and gather wild rice on lands, rivers and lakes included in the territory. Lumberman John S. Owen acquired a large parcel of this land, including Big Falls, from the U.S. Government. It wasn’t until 1966 that the Eau Claire County Resource Development Committee acquired the spot from its latest owners, Verene and Seymour Cray, Jr. for Big Falls County Park. The park is located within the 52,000-acre Eau Claire County Forest.