Chicago in Early Days 1779 – 1857

Highlighting Chicago’s spectacular growth during the 19th century.

This incredible compilation of images representing ‘early Chicago’ was prepared and published locally in 1893 by the firm of Kurz & Allison. It was designed as a commemorative souvenir for sale during the Columbian Exposition, a World’s Fair held that year to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in the New World.

Progress and civilization were primary themes of the event and Chicago was rightly proud of its marvelous growth since the first non-native settled the area in the late 18th century. The home of that intrepid trader, Jean-Baptiste Point du Sable, is the second numbered illustration on the page, following the (first) Fort Dearborn of 1803. Other interesting border scenes include Wolf Point in 1830, the Water Works, and the Sauganash Hotel (Chicago’s first).

The two primary images show stylized aerial views of Chicago in 1830 (top) and 1853 (bottom). The obvious implication is that the introduction of European-style technology helped develop a backwater lakefront settlement into a hub of national industry in a remarkably short period of time. Even so, there is some historical revisionism with the inclusion of the paddlewheel steamer Chicago, a Great Lakes passenger ship that operated for the Columbian Expo, but not during the early 1850s. The publishers drew from a variety of historical sources when assembling the collage, including A.T. Andreas and Juliette Kinzie. The scenes are listed by their respective titles, below:

• No. 1 Old Fort Dearborn. Erected 1803.–
• No. 2. The first cabin, built 1779, by Jean Baptiste Point de Saible, (colored.) the first settler.–
• No. 3. Chicago in 1845. Population 12,088.–
• No. 4. First Rush Medical College. Incorporated in 1837. City population 4,170.–
• No. 5. Fort Dearborn, as re-built in 1816.–
• No. 6. The first court house. Erected 1835. Population 3,265.–
• No. 7. Water works. Erected 1853. Population 60,662.–
• No. 8. Chicago in 1830-from the lake. Population 96.–
• No. 9. Wolf Point in 1830.–
• No. 10. The Clybourne House.–
• No. 11. The Green Tree Hotel, cor. West Lake and Canal St. Built in 1833.–
• No. 12. The Old Kinzie Mansion, built 1832. Population 310.–
• No. 13. Chicago in 1853. Population 60,662.–
• No. 14. The Sauganash Hotel. Built in 1831.–
• No. 15. The old block house and light house in 1857. The last of Fort Dearborn. Population 93,000

Source.