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Tourism Packet
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For more Chippewa County
tourism information
call 1-866-723-0331 or
fill out this
Online Request Form
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Rural Electrification Admisitraion Plant in Chippewa County WI
On Sunday, May 2, 1937, Wisconsin Power Cooperative was organized by an assembly
of farmers for the purpose of developing a generating and transmission facility to provide low-cost
electric service for the rural area of Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Pierce,
St. Croix, Taylor, and Trempealeau counties.
Loans from the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) financed construction of the original
station and transmission lines. Ground was broken on November 8, 1937, and
on March 12, 1938,the nation's first cooperative generating station
was ready for service.
Transmission of electric energy into Buffalo and Trempealeau counties began on
March 14, 1938,
and into the remaining six counties by the end of
that year. Additional generating units were added by late 1941, providing capacity
to serve rural membership in Barron, Burnett, Eau Claire, Jackson, Polk, Rusk,
and Sawyer counties.
On December 16, 1941, Wisconsin Power Cooperative was merged with Tri-State Power
Cooperative of Genoa to form Dairyland Power Cooperative of La Crosse.
This historic plant was retired from service and dismantled in 1975.
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