Orrin Henry Ingram was a prominent lumberman and business man who built his fortune in the Chippewa Valley from 1857 to 1914. With his partners Donald Kennedy and Alexander M. Dole, Ingram built a sawmill operation that would merge with other companies to become the Empire Lumber Company in 1881. This industry was responsible for the employment of thousands of individuals in the Chippewa Valley, and thus vital to the growth of cities in the area, particularly Eau Claire. However, the lumber industry was also responsible for the rapid deforestation of the Chippewa Valley.

Orrin H. Ingram was a community leader with diverse business interests. He owned stock in over twenty other companies and became heavily involved in banking. He served as president of the Eau Claire National Bank and the Union National Bank. The Ingram family were known for their active and philanthropic involvement in the Eau Claire community. After his wife’s death in 1911, Orrin built the Cornelia Pierce Ingram Memorial Community House in her memory. The house was to serve as a meeting place for the entire community. Orrin died in 1918 and the reigns of the Empire Lumber Company passed to his son Erskine and his son-in-law Edward S. Hayes.