WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD. Ferry Street in Eau Claire's Shawtown neighborhood.

Watch out Chippewa Valley! The Shawtown Neighborhood on Eau Claire’s West Side will be experiencing a rebirth, or perhaps “renaissance” might be a better word via the Shawtown Neighborhood Plan, which was approved in late January by the City Council and the City Plan Commission.

And, it’s not because of UW-Eau Claire’s Sonnentag Event Center and Fieldhouse nearing completion on nearby Menomonie Street, nor the redevelopment of the former Mount Washington Residence nursing home into apartments.

Many people recognize Shawtown, a neighborhood of about 1,700 residents, because of the Flying Eagles Ski Club’s 55-meter high ski jump, others because of the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant. 

One of the oldest and most historic neighborhoods in Eau Claire, Shawtown is named after the Daniel Shaw Lumber Co. which was established there along the banks of the Chippewa River in 1856. Shawtown has long endured a somewhat negative perception by those not living there, according to lifelong and sixth-generation resident Brad Candell, president of the Shawtown Neighborhood Association.

“Shawtown has a phenomenal history and tremendous potential. Our hope is the plan will set the guiding principles of the things we have to celebrate, and the things we need to work with the City and our association to better.”

BRAD CANDELL

SHAWTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

“Shawtown has gotten a bad rap in Eau Claire, perhaps by our tire-burning Halloween bonfires or way back when, a murder at the corner store,” he said. “Some consider us the Wild West. Yet I grew up here, and it’s a great place to raise a family. We are a community. It’s home, and we love it here.”

The rebirth/renaissance is due to the residents who love living there, in particular, 11 Shawtowners who volunteered to serve on the Shawtown Plan Steering Committee. Over a three-year period of research and outreach – the SNA initially filed a request to create a neighborhood plan with the City in 2020 – these 11 caring citizens rolled up their sleeves and spent their time and energy to create the Shawtown Neighborhood Plan in conjunction with City staff, primarily the Planning Department, the City Council, and the City Plan Commission.

A map of the Shawtown Neighborhood. (Image via City of Eau Claire)

The plan is a first for the neighborhood. “Shawtown has a phenomenal history and tremendous potential,” Candell continued. “Our hope is the plan will set the guiding principles of the things we have to celebrate, and the things we need to work on with the City and our association to better.”

City of Eau Claire Planning Manager Ned Noel had high praise for the Shawtown Neighborhood Association and its plan steering committee. “They’re a group that’s really passionate about their neighborhood, not only for its history, but also what’s current,” he said. “They see opportunities in addressing livability issues for their residents, so it’s been great as the City to work with them.”

Aram Whitcombe, neighborhood association vice president, spearheaded the neighborhood plan for the SNA. He moved to Shawtown seven years ago, because there was a home for sale that was affordable and close enough to the university where his wife works. “My No. 1 motivation for starting up and getting involved in the Shawtown Neighborhood Association was to get the neighborhood plan process started and finished,” he said. “Having a neighborhood plan is how a neighborhood gets to share the voice of its people with the city government in the most lasting and impactful way. I wanted to have the voice of Shawtown heard and noticed.”

Amber Wright, a neighborhood association member-at-large, was raised in Shawtown and returned later with her husband Michael to raise their four children. “Traffic was one of the most important aspects to myself as a mother of kids who are out and about and will soon be learning to drive,” she said. “Shawtown has always had its own ‘small-town’ feel, and I think that is something that drives the importance of addressing traffic. With such a large amount of traffic from Clairemont Avenue headed to the Short Street Bridge because people use it as an alternative route, it takes away our sense of safety. I’m hopeful that the neighborhood plan will help our city leaders to be able to take action on the things that are shown to be so important to Shawtown’s future.”

BACK WHEN IT WAS SHAW’S TOWN. Workers posed at the Daniel Shaw Lumber Co. shingle mill in this circa 1880s photo taken in the Eau Claire neighborhood known then (and now) as Shawtown. (Photo via Chippewa Valley Museum)

Other proposals include allowing redevelopment along the Menomonie Street and Clairemont Avenue corridors, improving public parks in the area, and creating more sidewalk connections.

Kathy Boone, a member of the plan committee, has lived in Shawtown for 15 years. She has no intention of leaving anytime soon. “I love living here,” she said. “Walking down to the Chippewa River and up Mount Washington every day with my Yorkie, Tucker, is good for him and my legs and back. Like others, I’m concerned about traffic, especially at Menomonie and Ferry streets. That corner is dangerous. I walk it every day with Tucker so I can tell you it’s scary.”

Boone summed up her experience: “I’m really happy to look forward to all the changes we’re going to have. I was excited to see us all work so well together as neighbors and showing our children and grandchildren – since we are their mentors – how to be kind, helpful, and joyful to our neighbors.”

Candell concluded by paying tribute to Noel and his team: “We are so very grateful to them for all the countless hours they spent to make sure we received the plan we deserved.”

View the Shawtown Neighborhood Plan here. Learn more about the Shawtown Neighborhood Association on its website and Facebook.