The David Drummond House was approved for demolition after sustaining extensive fire and water damage from a lightning strike in September 2025.

The decision to approve the building for demolition came after a unanimous vote by the Eau Claire County Landmarks Commission on Monday, April 20.

The Drummond House was built in 1888 by meat packer and influential Eau Claire area architect David Drummond. 

Ned Noel, Eau Claire’s City Planning Manager, said the building was significant not just for its age and historical relevance, but also its prominence.

“It’s a pivotal property,” Noel said. “This house was one of the best Queen Anne architectural style examples in Eau Claire. It was [also] on a prominent corner for campus students and the whole community to see.”

Ed Garlick, the co-owner of EDJ Rentals, who has owned the Drummond House for the past 25 years, said the building has served the UW-Eau Claire and greater Eau Claire communities outside of being a historical landmark.

“It provided good housing for the city,” Garlick said. “It was about 20 percent occupied by students. Most of the [occupants] of that building [were] young professionals.”

While plans were initially to rebuild the structure following the fire, the damages sustained to it quickly became too expensive to overcome.

“The fire department dumped an estimated one million gallons of water on [the Drummond House],” Noel said. “That filled up the basement. Over the next two months, the building owner had mentioned that it caused mold to spread, and it got infested throughout.”

Noel said the fire itself also caused internal damage, as the building’s floors and brick walls warped due to the heat.

EDJ Rentals took video of the Drummond House’s damage following the fire, available to view on their website. 

Despite the extensive damage, Garlick said EDJ Rentals tried to save the building after the fire was put out.

“Immediately after the fire, we paid a company and had anything that was damaged by water — tenants’ personal property, carpets, false ceilings — removed,” Garlick said.

While saving the building turned out to be too costly, the city and EDJ Rentals still want to preserve as much of the structure as they can, even if it’s just for historical records.

“The State Historic Preservation Office has 30 days to collect evidence of its final state of being [due to] state law,” Noel said. “They’ll want to have records of the damage to be able to tell the story of the [Drummond House’s] history.”

Garlick said EDJ Rentals also hopes to preserve parts of the building’s structure, possibly to be used on whatever takes up the Drummond House’s plot.

“[EDJ Rentals] is working with people in the restoration business to salvage things,” Garlick said. “One of the major things is the stained glass window on the north side of the building, and some decorative brick. Primarily exterior things, because the amount of water damage had a major impact on the inside of the building.”

While much of the building won’t be able to be preserved, Garlick said he planned for its demolition to be done in an environmentally friendly manner.

“Everything that can be recycled will be,” Garlick said. “All the brick and cement, some of the interior piping and radiators will hopefully be recycled. It’s all going to [be] done environmentally correct.”

Garlick said EDJ Rentals hopes to get something new built on the plot, though there aren’t any concrete plans in place. 

“EDJ Rentals is considering rebuilding as soon as the [Drummond House] is razed; it’s one of the premier locations in the city,” Garlick said. “Our hope is, whether it be us or someone else, [the constructor] would use the things that we salvaged on the new construction.”

Regardless of how much of the Drummond House is preserved, whatever takes its place is guaranteed to carry on the building’s legacy in some capacity.

“[The plot] is in the Third Ward local historic district, so with a new construction, they’re going to have to imitate some things that look historic,” Noel said. “It’s not going to be so ornate and the craftsmanship’s going to be different, but they are still subject to rules for new construction.”

Coleman can be reached at [email protected].