Holcombe Logging Disaster
On July 7, 1905, sixteen loggers of the Chippewa Lumber and Boom Company attempted to break a log jam on the Chippewa River at Holcombe below Little Falls dam, one of the largest wooden dams in the world. The batteau boat they were riding in reached the log jam but got beyond the mens control in the wild current of the rapids. At 10:30 in the morning the boat capsized.
The following eleven men drowned:
Oscar Barquest - Cadott •
Max Billard - Drywood •
Saul Brackett - Eau Claire •
Henry Bryon Furgeson - Chippewa Falls •
Louis Gokey - Flambeau •
Andrew Gonyea - Jim Falls •
Ole Horne - Chippewa Falls •
Burt Larry - Anson •
Paddy Leyden - Drywood •
Joe Peloquin - Drywood •
Adolph Toutant - Cadott
These five men miraculously survived:
John Dressel - Chippewa Falls •
George Kaiser - Chippewa Falls •
Eddie Martin - Chippewa Falls •
William Smith - Drywood •
Emil Toutant - Cadott
Dressel, Kaiser, and Smith jumped onto the log jam itself when the boat struck it. Martin and Toutant were swept through the rapids and were picked up later a mile down the river nearly exhausted. Sixty other loggers of the Chippewa Lumber and Boom Company witnessed the accident from the shore and quickly launched another batteau to attempt rescue.
Chippewa County Historical Society
Marker Sign #4
Marker is at the intersection of 275th Street (Main Street) and 262nd Avenue (Spooner Avenue), on the left when traveling south on 275th Street (Main Street).
Courtesy hmdb.org
