Peter Truax (February 24, 1828 – March 18, 1909) was a philanthropist, businessman, farmer, and third-party[1] politician in the Chippewa Valley of Wisconsin.[2] Truax was a prominent figure in the Chippewa Valley and one of the richest men in the county. His acquisition of wealth was due to the many business ventures he took part in. Truax was one of the leaders of the Prohibitionist movement in the state and was nominated for state and federal office by organizations of that party on several occasions. He owned large stocks in the Bank of Eau Claire and the New Bank of Eau Claire.[3]
Truax owned Truax Switch, four miles west of Eau Claire.[4] He was featured in The Horse Review and frequently entered his horses in horse markets.[5] Truax developed one of the largest horse raising industries of the northwest. He was a breeder of thoroughbred horses and it was recorded that he paid $1,000 for a fine mare named Nellie Mason, which he had purchased from New York State.[6]
Early life and career
Cordella Avery
Peter Truax was born in Steuben County, New York in 1828. While he was a boy his parents moved to Allegany County, New York where he later married Cordella Avery on September 23, 1852. Truax and his wife came to Wisconsin in 1853, and settled in Walworth County, Wisconsin. They moved to Eau Claire, Wisconsin in 1855, locating on what later was known as Truax Prairie, where he engaged in farming until 1865 when he moved to town and engaged in general merchandising until 1873.
Truax worked in logging and in farming. He also dealt largely in timber lands and invested extensively in real estate. Truax was generally considered one of Eau Claire's millionaires. Truax held a large interest in sawmill property of the Cloquet Lumber Company, and he also held interest in an Electric rail transport system in the State of Idaho. In 1893, Truax purchased the National Electric Company for $7,500.
One of the largest buildings in the City of Eau Claire in its early days, Music Hall, was built and owned by Truax. It was replaced by the Kahn-Truax building which was destroyed by a fire in 1871. Truax also owned the Truax Building in Superior, Wisconsin.[7]
Truax died at 11:20p.m. on March 18, 1909, at his country residence on Truax Prairie.[10] The cause of death was ulceration of the stomach.
Legacy
Truax Boulevard is a street on the west side of Eau Claire named for Truax's contributions to the area.[11] Truax's Prairie Home (built in 1864) has been restored and is open for public tours from May through September. Threatened with demolition, the house was moved to the Mill Run Golf Course in the City of Eau Claire in 1984. Originally an L-shaped house, the present two-story structure retains its Greek Revival roof and door architecture.[12][13][14]
Truax is interred at Lakeview Cemetery in Eau Claire with a large memorial marker.
Eau Claire County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the population was 98,736. Its county seat is Eau Claire. The county took its name from the Eau Claire River.
Eau Claire is a city in Eau Claire and Chippewa counties in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located almost entirely in Eau Claire County, for which it is the county seat, the city had an estimated population of 68,802 in 2019, making it the state's eighth-largest city. Eau Claire is the principal city of the Eau Claire, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area, locally known as the Chippewa Valley, and is also part of the larger Eau Claire-Menomonie Combined Statistical Area.
The Chippewa River in Wisconsin flows approximately 183 miles (294 km) through west-central and northwestern Wisconsin. It was once navigable for approximately 50 miles (80 km) of its length, from the Mississippi River, by Durand, northeast to Eau Claire. Its catchment defines a portion of the northern boundary of the Driftless Area. The river is easily accessible for bikers and pleasure seekers via the Chippewa River State Trail which follows the river from Eau Claire to Durand.
The Eau Claire Bears was the primary nickname of the minor league baseball teams from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Eau Claire was a member of the Class C Northern League and were affiliates of the Boston Red Sox (1936), Chicago Cubs (1937-1939) and the Boston Braves (1947-1962). The team played its home games at Carson Park in Eau Claire. Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Hank Aaron, Joe Torre and Ford C. Frick Award recipient Bob Uecker played for Eau Claire.
North American telephone area codes 715 and 534 are Wisconsin area codes covering most of the northern part of the state.
John James Jenkins was an English American immigrant, lawyer, judge, and Republican politician. He served seven terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing northwest Wisconsin, and served one year as United States District Judge for the District of Puerto Rico.
Brunet Island State Park is a state park of Wisconsin, USA, featuring a 169-acre (68 ha) island in the Chippewa River. The remainder of the park's 1,225 acres (496 ha) are on the east bank of the river. It is noted for its numerous white-tailed deer and large eastern hemlock trees. The park is located just north of Cornell in Chippewa County in the Northern Highland region of Wisconsin. The Old Abe State Trail begins in the park and follows the riverbank south to the town of Chippewa Falls, with access to Lake Wissota State Park.
Thaddeus Coleman Pound was an American businessman from Wisconsin who served in both houses of the Wisconsin legislature, as the tenth Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, and as a U.S. Representative (1877–1883). His brother was Albert Pound, who also served in the Wisconsin Assembly. He was the grandfather of poet Ezra Pound.
The McCann brothers were three Irishmen who migrated from Ohio to Wisconsin in the mid-nineteenth century. They played an important role in the early phases of Wisconsin's lumber industry, and in the political and social organization of Chippewa County.
Henry Cleveland Putnam was a philanthropist and lumber baron in the Chippewa Valley of Wisconsin, also serving as a member of the Wisconsin State Forestry Commission. In Eau Claire he is known as H. C. Putnam and is regarded as one of the founders of the city. He donated the land for the eponymous Putnam Park in Eau Claire.
The Eau Claire Area School District (ECASD) is a school district in western Wisconsin and the eighth-largest district in the state.
John B. Kehl was an American merchant, miller, logger and banker from Wisconsin who served a one-year term as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from Dane County before eventually settling in Chippewa Falls.
Thomas Carmichael was an Irish-American lumberman and politician from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, who spent four discontinuous terms as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Adin Randall was a philanthropist, businessman, and politician in the Chippewa Valley of Wisconsin, who served as a first Treasurer of Eau Claire County, Wisconsin. He ran a ferry across the Chippewa, a planing mill, a sash and door factory, and invented the sheer boom to efficiently shunt logs into Half Moon Lake. He is regarded as one of the founders of the city. He donated the land for Randall Park, Lakeview Cemetery and the Eau Claire Area School District.
George Lewis Blum was an American jurist, attorney, and businessman.
George Augustus Buffington was a philanthropist, businessman, farmer, and politician in the Chippewa Valley of Wisconsin. Buffington was a prominent figure in the area and one of the wealthiest men in the city of Eau Claire.
Thomas A. Roycraft was an American farmer, businessman, and politician.
Julius G. Ingram was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Henry Cousins was an American lawyer and politician.
Benjamin Franklin Millard was an American businessman, politician, and pioneer of Alaska and Washington. He was the 21st mayor of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and represented Chippewa County in the Wisconsin State Assembly during the 1889 session.
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