BlockBack of the Yards, Illinois
26 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1997. It stands in Chicago City. It lies in ZIP code area 60609. It stands on Bubbly Creek (historical). The Survey maps it on the Englewood quadrangle.
On record in Back of the Yards
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register within a mile 4 records
The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.
Goldblatt Bros. Department Storelisted 2006 · 0.1 miles away
Davis Squarelisted 2003 · 0.4 miles away
Cornell Squarelisted 2005 · 0.4 miles away
Sherman Parklisted 1990 · 0.9 miles away
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 26 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1889 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:62500
- 1891 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:62500
- 1900 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:62500
- 1901 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1929 USGS Englewood quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1953 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1953 USGS Englewood quadrangle1:24000
- 1957 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Englewood quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1980 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:100000
- 1993 USGS Englewood quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1997 USGS Englewood quadrangle1:24000
What happened here
An account from the chapter on Chicago city. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.
Index To Content
Chapter I. - First Settler of Chicago, 5. Various Appellations of Chicago. .Garies' River, 6. The Main River Bed Changed. .Chicago in Virginia. .Treaty of Greenville. . Original Site of Chicago. .Illinois in Indiana Territory. .Fort Dearborn Established. .First Commandants of the Fort. .Massacre of 1S12, 7. Captain John and Lieutenant Wm.
In the county-history sources
902,150 words on this townshipPolitics and Politicians of Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois : Memorial Volume, 1787-1887; a Complete Record of Municipal, County, State and National Politics from the Earliest Period to the Present Time, published 1887; ... History of Chicago, Illinois, published 1895; Historical Review of Chicago and Cook County and Selected Biography. A.N. Waterman ... Ed. and Author of Historical Review, published 1908 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.
The chapter on Chicago City covers the township.
Read the chapter on Chicago City - 902,150 words.
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Back of the Yards: 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Union Lime Works Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Lyons Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Stearns Lime and Stone Co Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
3 since 2022Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Back of the Yards in 3 storm reports between 2022 and 2025: 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | Flood | Back Of The Yards | - | An underpass on 51st Street was flooded near Leavitt Street with stalled cars. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Back Of The Yards | - | Multiple tree limbs were blown down in the New City neighborhood of Chicago. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Back Of The Yards | - | Trees, tree limbs, power lines and light poles were blown down in a swath between 51st Avenue and 59th Avenue, in the Back Of The Yards neighborhood of Chicago. A large 2 to 3 foot diameter hardwood tree was blown down, taking down power lines and a fence in the 5100 block of Throop Street. |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| New City | 0.5 miles | 26 | |
| Armour Patch | 0.7 miles | 26 | |
| New Patch | 0.8 miles | 26 | |
| Whiskey Row | 0.8 miles | 26 | |
| Packingtown | 0.8 miles | 26 | |
| South Brighton | 1.3 miles | 26 | |
| Canaryville | 1.5 miles | 26 | |
| Mexico | 1.7 miles | 26 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1737389. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.