 The region also has a large Hmong community.While the term "Chippewa Valley" technically refers to the drainage basin of the Chippewa River and its tributaries, the name is more often applied to the Eau Claire-Chippewa Falls metropolitan area and the surrounding area—including communities not located within the Chippewa River's watershed.From the 1850s to the early 1910s, lumber baron Orrin Henry Ingram was largely responsible for the deforestation of the valley and the subsequent establishment of many small towns in the area.