Jim Falls is named in honor of James Ermatinger.[4] In 1840, he established a trading post near the falls, which were then called "Vermillion Falls". Later, he became very involved with public affairs of the village and county. In 1854, he was appointed by the county Board of Supervisors, along with Henry O'Neil, and Daniel McCann, to lay out a road from Chippewa Falls to Vermillion Falls.[5] In 1855, he acted as Justice of the Peace for Chippewa County.
Because of this connection, the reservoir behind the dam is named "Old Abe Lake." Moreover, in a park on the Old Abe State Trail, which runs through the town, a 10½ foot statue of Old Abe has been erected near the dam.[8]
A stretch of rapids and falls on the Chippewa River provided the focal point around which the town developed. They have been incorporated into a hydroelectric facility operated by Northern States Power Company.[9] However, many geological features of the river bed are visible below the dam.[10]
^Barkwell, Lawrence. "James Ermatinger. (1808-1866)". Coordinator of Metis Heritage and History Research, Louis Riel Institute. Scribd Inc. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
^Barrett, Joseph 0. (1865). History of "Old Abe". Chicago: Dunlop, Sewell & Spalding. Retrieved November 25, 2017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)