Peoria County, Illinois - Modern Chicago, 1880

Modern Chicago

Chicago of "Long Ago" - Wonderful Growth - Situation - Divisions - Bridges - Tunnels - System of Water Supply. - A Great Undertaking - Triumph of Engineering Skill - The Great Fire - Generous Sympathy and Liberal Contributions - The City Rebuilt - Grandeur of Architecture - Commerce - Railroads and Shipping Facilities - Exposition - Exposition Building - First and Last Census.

A sketch of Chicago is embraced in the History of the Northwest Territory, which forms the first part of this volume. That sketch relates, for the most part, to the Chicago of the " Long Ago," when it was only a remote frontier trading post, and its commerce confined to traffic with the Indians. This chapter will be devoted to the magiclike growth of the old trading place into a city that is the wonder and admiration of the civilized and commercial world, the home of nearly half a million people, and whose architectural elegance is without a parallel.

In comparing Chicago as it was a few decades ago, with Chicago as it is now, we recognize a change the magnitude of which we would be inclined to doubt, were it not an acknowledged, indisputable fact. Rapid as is the customary development of towns and cities, as well as of country districts in the United States, the growth of Chicago is without a rival in this or any other country.

The city of Chicago is situated on the west shore of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Chicago river. It extends north and south along the lake about ten miles, and embraces an area of something more than forty square miles. To the eye of an observer. Chicago seems to be situated upon a level plain, but in reality the height of the natural surface above the lake varies from three to twenty -four feet, and the grade of the principal streets has been raised from two to eight feet above the original surface. A complete system of sewerage has been established. The surrounding prairie for many miles is apparently without much variation of surface. Though it can not be observed by the eye, yet the city really stands on the dividing ridge between the two great rivers that drain half the continent, and is about six hundred feet above the ocean. Chicago river, before being widened, deepened, and improved, was a very small stream. It has but very little perceptible current, and for several miles is very nearly on a level with tlie Like. It is formed by two branches, one from the north and the other from the south, which unite about a mile from tlie lake. From this junction the stream flows due east to tlie lake. These streams divide the city into three parts, familiarly known as the North Side, South Side, and West Side. Bridges constructed upon turn-tables, or pivots, are thrown across the streams at many places. By swinging the bridges round, vessels are allowed to be toweit up and down the river by steam tugs, so that there is very little difficulty in the way of passing from one division of the city to another. The stream has been made navigable for several miles for sail vessels and propellers, and immense warehouses and elevators have I)een constructed along its banks, where vessels are loaded and unloaded with great rapidity.

Besides the numerous bridges, there are two tunnels under the river, which were constructed to facilitate travel and avoid delays in consequence of open bridges. Each of these tunnels are provided with wagon and foot-ways. One of them connects the North and South Sides at the LaSalle Street crossing. The other tunnel connects the West and South divisions via Washington Street. The LaSalle Street tunnel was commenced in 18ti0, iind completed in 1871, at a cost of §510,000.

The first great public improvement projected by Chicago enterprise was the Illinois and Michigan Canal, to connect Chicago and the lake with the Illinois river, at LaSalle, the head of navigation on the river. The canal is one hundred miles in length, and was completed in lS4h.

System Of Water Supply

The greatest local engineering feat was the construction of tiie present system of water supply and the tunnels under the river. Owing to the fact that the water in the lake, near the river, was polluted with filtii from the river, a plan was devised and carried iuto execution in IbO.j, for bringing the supply from far out in the lake. To accomplish this a sliaft was sunk on the lake shore at the old water works on the North Side, from which a tunnel was cut under the lake to a water crib that was sunk in the lake two miles from the shore. The tunnel is thirty-five feet below the bed of the lake, is iive feet tw(j inches in diameter, and is walled with fire brick and then covered willi a thick coat- Hig of water cement. Tlie work of digging the tunnel was commenced at l)olh ends, and was so accurately prosecuted that wlien the workmen met there wjis but a few inches variation in the respective lines. The contract price for building it was f:n5,l;]9. This tunnel can deliver 50,000,000 gallons of water per day. A second tunnel was afterwards constructed, seven feet in diameter, six miles long, extending four miles under the city, with a capacity of 100,000,000 gallons per day. This water is distributed through over 410 miles of water mains, and the closest analysis shows it free from impurities. Thus

General History Of Illinois The Great Fibe

The 8th and 9th days of October, A. D., 1871, will ever be memorable, not only in the history of the " City of the Unsalted Sea," and the great State of Illinois, but in the entire country and throughout the civilized world. At that time this city was the scene of the greatest conflagration ever known in the history of the world, far surpassing that which occurred in London, in 1G66, when thirteen thousand buildings were destroyed. In this great Chicago fire, seventeen thousand four hundred and fifty buildings were swept away by the devouring element, and ninety-eight thousand five hundred people rendered houseless and homeless. Miles of magnificent business blocks, palatial residences and costly ornamentations were laid in ashes, the devastation covering an area of 2,004 acres, or three and one-third miles.

The sensation conveyed to the spectator of this unparalleled destruction, whether through the eye, the ear or other senses or sympathies, can not be adequately described, and any attempted description would only test the povertj- of language. As a spectacle, it was, beyond question, the grandest, and at the same time the most appalling, ever witnessed by mortal eyes. " From au elevated standpoint," said an eyewitness, "the appearance was that of a vast ocean of flame, sweeping in mile-long billows and breakers over the doomed city." Brick and stone buildings melted away like snow. The flames lapped from street to street, and large l>uildings perished at their touch. Added to the spectacular elements of the conflagration - the intense and lurid light, tlie sea of red and black, and the spires and pyramids of flame shooting into tlie heavens - was its constant and terrible roar, drowning even the voices of the shrieking multitude of almost a hundred thousand human beings that were driven into the streets and from place to place - even into the lake - to find safety and refuge from the irresistible, unconquerable burning. With that terrible, unmistakable roar of tlie fast-spreading flames, there fell upon the ears of the lielpless thousands the loud and rapid detonations of explosions - or falling walls. In short, all sights and sounds that could terrify tlie weak and unnerve the strong, held supreme dominion. But tliey were only the accompaniment wliich the orchestra of nature was furnisliing to tlie terrible tragedy tliere being enacted. But amidst all the devastation of property and the crowded life and death race of so many tens of thousands of men, women and cliildren, only two hundred of them are known to have [)erislied during the two days march of the destroyer.

It has been estimated thai tlie loss occasioned by this fire, not including tlie depreciation of real estate and the interruption to business, was 811*0,000,000, of wliich only $44,000,000 was recovered in insurance, leaving $146,000,000 disseminated in thin air or lying in smouldering ruins.

But the S3mpathy of the whole civilized world was awakened, and generous hearts and plethoric purses sent contributions by tens, and hundreds, and thousands, and tens of thousands of money (to say notiiing of jirovision and clotliing that were Cdutrilniti'd by the car-load from all parts of the country), as reported bj' the Relief and Aid Society up to Nov. 7, 1871, until the sum total readied in cash $2.0.")1,02."), and the estimated amount of provisions, clothing, etc., swelled the donations to the magnificent sum of f3,.")00,000.

Chicago was rclmiil. Like the fabled Phn-nix, the city rose again from the ashes of her ruin, mucli grander and more magnificent than before. The interruption to business was of sliort duration ; and witliin one year after tlie fire a large part of tlie burned district was reliuilt, and now there is scarcely a trace of the ilire disaster, save in the improved cluiracter of tlie new buildings over those destroyed, and the generally improved appearance cif the citv, wiiicli, in an architectural sense, is acknowledged by noted tourists and travelers to be the finest in the world.

Commerce Of Chicago

The trade of Chicago is co-extensive with the world. In all countries and in every clime, the trade marks of her merchants are seen. Everywhere Chicago stands prominently identified with the commerce of the continent. A few years ago, grain was carted to Chicago in wagons and exchanged for salt, groceries, etc., which, in turn, were carted back to prairie homes. Now more than 10,000 miles of raih-oad, with thousands of trains heavily laden with the products of the country center here. The cash value of the produce handled during the year 1878, was $220,000,000 ; its aggregate weight, 7,000,000 tons, equivalent to 700,000 car loads. The transportation of this great bulk of produce required 28,000 trains of ordinary capacity. These trains, if arranged in one continuous line, and one following the other in close order, would have reached from London across the Atlantic to New York, and from New York across the continent to San Francisco.

In the grain, lumber and stock trade, Chicago has surpassed all rivals, and is, indeed, not only without a peer, but in these branches of commerce excels any three or four other cities in the world. Of grain, the vast quantity of 134,851,193 bushels was received during the year 1878. This was about two-fifths more than ever received before in one year. It took 13,000 long freight trains to carry it from the fields of the Northwest to Chicago. This would make a continuous train that would reach across the continent from New York to San Francisco. Speaking more in detail, there were received of the various cereals during the year, 62,783,577 bushels of corn, 29,901,220 bushels of wheat, 18,251,529 bushels of oats, 133,981,104 pounds of seed. The last item alone would fill about 7,000 freight cars.

The lumber received during the year 1878 was, 1,171,364,000 feet, exceeded only in 1872, the year after the great fire. This vast amount of lumber would require 195,000 freight cars to transport it. It would build a fence, four boards high, four and one-half times around the globe.

ble. They are, however, from reliable and trustworthy sources, and must be accepted as authentic. There were received during the j'ear, 6,339,656 hogs, being 2,000,000 more than ever received before in one year. It required 129,916 stock cars to transport this vast number of hogs from the farms of the West and Northwest to the stock yards of Chicago. These hogs arranged in single file, would form a connecting link between Chicago and Pekin, China.

Of the large number of hogs received, five millions of them were slaughtered in Chicago. The aggregate amount of product manufactured from these hogs was 918,000,- 000 pounds. The capacity of the houses engaged in slaughtering operations in Chicago is 60,000 hogs daily. The number of hands employed in these houses is from 6,000 to 8,000. The number of packages required in which to market the year's product is enormously large, aggregating 500,000 barrels, 800,000 tierces, and 650,000 boxes.

There has been within the stock yards of the city, during the year 1878, 1,036,066 cattle. These were gathered from the plains of Oregon, Wyoming and Utah, and the grazing regions of Texas, as well as from all the Southern, Western and Northwestern States and Territories, and from the East as far as Ohio. If these cattle were driven from Chicago southward, in single file, through the United States, Mexico, and the Central American States into .South America, the foremost could graze on tlie plains of Brazil, ere the last one had passed tlie limits of the great city.

Not only does Chicago attract to its great market the products of a continent, but from it is distributed throughout the world manufactured goods. Every vessel and every train headed toward that city are heavily ladened with the crude products of the farm, of the forests, or of tiie bowels of the earth, and every ship that leaves her docks and every train that flies from her limits are filled with manufactured articles. These goods not only find tlieir way all over our own country, but into Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, Mexico and the Islands of the sea ; indeed, every nook and corner of the globe, where there is a demand for her goods, her merchants are ready to supply.

Wholesale Trade Miscellaneous

In 1852 the commerce of the city reached the hopeful sum of $20,000,000 ; since then, the annual sales of one firm amount to that much. In 1870, it reached $400,000,- 000, and in 1878 it had grown so rapidly that the trade of the city amounted during that year to $650,000,000. Iler manufacturing interests have likewise grown. In 1878, her manufactories employed in the neighborhood of 75,000 operators. The jirodiicts manufactured during the year were valued at 82:50,000,000. In reviewing the shij)ping interests of Chicago, we find it equally enormous. So considerable, indeed, is the commercial navy of Chicago, that in the seasons of navigation, one vessel sails every nine minutes during the business hours ; add to this the canal-boats that leave, one every five minutes during the same time, and one will have some conception of the magnitude of her shipping. More vessels arrive and depart from this port during the season than enter or leave any other port in the world.

In 1831, the mail system was condensed into a half breed, who went on foot to Niles, Mich., once in two weeks, and brought back what papers and news he could find. As late as 1846, there was often but one mail a week. A post-office was established in Chicago in 1833, and the postmaster nailed up old boot legs upon one side of his shop to serve as boxes. It has since grown to be the largest receiving of&ce in the United States.

In 1844, the quagmires in the streets were first pontooned by plank roads. The wooden-block pavement appeared in 1857. In 1840, water was delivered by peddlers, in carts or by hand. Then a twenty-five horse power engine pushed it through hollow or bored logs along the streets till 1854, when it was introduced into the houses by new works. The first fire-engine was used in 1835, and the first steam fire-engine in 1859. Gas was utilized for lighting the city in 1850. The Young Men's Christian Association was organized in 1858. Street cars commenced running in 1854. The Museum was

There is no grand scenery about Chicago except the two seas, one of water, the other of prairie. Nevertheless, there is a spirit about it, a push, a breadth, a power, that soon makes it a place never to be forsaken. Chicago handles the wealth of one-fourth of the territory of the American Republic. The Atlantic sea-coast divides its margins between Portland, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Savannah, but Chicago has a dozen empires casting their treasures into her lap. On a bed of coal that can run all the machinery of the world for five hundred centuries ; in a garden that can feed the human race by the thousand years ; at the head of the lakes, which give her a temperature as a Summer resort eqiuilled by no great city in the land ; with a climate that insures the health of her citizens ; surrounded by all the great deposits of natural wealth in mines and forests and fields and herds, Chicago is the wonder of to-day, and will be the city of the future.

The Exposition And Exposition Building

Another feature of this great city worthy of mention is the Exposition held annually. The ruins of the great fire were yet smoking when the Exposition Building was erected, only ninety days being consumed in its construction. The accompanying engraving of the building, the main part of which is one thousand feet long, will give the reader an idea of its magnitude and style of architecture.