Hadley's ferry in Shawtown, about 1870.  Several ferries operated near lumber mills, but residents also used the ferries when bridges were washed away during the city's many floods.

Carryville ferry and newly constructed bridge, 1963.  Residents crossed the Chippewa River by ferry at this location until 1963.  Photo courtesy of Dick Feeney.

Boats and ferries were the first solutions to getting across the rivers.  Winter ice provided a natural but dangerous crossing.  Local papers reported men or horses falling through, especially on the Chippewa River where rushing currents prevented the build-up of thick ice.

During the 1860s and 1870s, J.D. Hadley operated a ferry at Shawtown for people, lumber and products.  Although early Eau Claire residents paid for this convenience, clergy and doctors on emergency calls could ride for free.  Even after Eau Claire became a "city of bridges" residents relied on ferries at some locations.

...across the lake was a dance pavilion... you had to take a ferry and the round trip was 10 cents... The bad feature about it, of course, was the paying of the ten cents, as there was no other way to get there unless someone took you across in a rowboat...

Anton Venski, in 1966, recalling transportation to the "island" of Carson park for Saturday night dances.