Chicago, Illinois, USA
1895 - Chicago

Chicago, she-kah'go, the largest city of Illinois, and second in point of population in the United States, is situated at the mouth of Chicago River, on the southwestern bend of Lake Michigan. Lat. of city hall, 41° 53' 3" N.; lon. 87° 37' 30" W.

The name "Chicago" is of Indian origin, signifying the widely-varying titles of a king or deity, a skunk, and a wild onion. It was also applied to a valiant line of chiefs, and to the voice of the Great Manitou. The first Europeans Known to have visited the site were two French fur-traders in 1654. In August, 1673, the two explorers Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette passed down the river to the lake, and for a time this region was in the possession of France. In 1795 the Indian residents ceded to the United States an area of six miles square, on which, in 1803, Fort Dearborn was erected. The first permanent white settler was John Kinzie, a Canadian, who came to Chicago in 1804. The fort was burned by the Indians in 1812, and most of the white people, about 50 in all, were massacred, Four years later the fort was rebuilt, and two years after wards the surrounding territory was organized into the State of Illinois. In 1831 the county of Cook was created, with Chicago as the county seat. It was incorporated into a town on August 10, 1833, at which time there were about a dozen families settled around the fort. In the same year the first newspaper, known as the Chicago Democrat, was established.

The city was formed in 1837, with a population of 4170. This was followed with 4853 in 1840,29,993 in 1850, 112,172 in 1860,298,977 in 1870, 503,185 in 1880, 1,099,850 in 1890, and 1,450,000 at the close of 1892.

Chicago is a port of entry, and the most important centre of commerce in the Northwestern states. The business portion of the city stands approximately 600 feet above sea-level, and about 15 feet above the level of the lake. The length of the city from N. to S. is 24 miles, breadth E. to W. about 10 miles,—covering an area of about 181 square miles. Chicago is divided by the Chicago River and its branches into 3 parts, called the N., S., and W. divisions, which are connected by 53 bridges, besides which are 2 stone cable-cur tunnels built under the river-bed, one 1890 feet long, under the main river, the other 1608 feet long, under the South Branch. The city is well laid out. the streets being in the main so arranged that those parallel to the river are intersected at regular intervals and at right angles by the others. Thus the buildings, especially in the business portion, are grouped and separated into convenient blocks. There are, owing to recent annexations, over 2426 miles of streets and alleys, the former being principally 80 feet wide, of which over 868 miles are paved, mostly with granite and wooden block paving. There are over 400 miles of horse and cable street railways, extending to all parts of the city and its suburbs, besides 3 steam elevated railways. The sewers make a total of 978 miles. The streets, and public and private buildings, mammoth office structures, stores, and dwellings, are well lighted by gas and electricity. The city has a superbly appointed fire department, with a complete system of fire-alarm stations, and steam fire-engines, chemical engines, river fire-boats, &c., operated by about 1100 men and 450 horses. The water supply is ample, and the water pure, the supply being obtained from Lake Michigan through five brick tunnels running parallel under the lake, with a total capacity of 480,000,000 gallons of water per day. Chicago has also a system of parks, 9 in number, covering nearly 2600 acres, and boulevards which afford a drive of about 95 miles. It is one of the healthiest of the large cities of the country. The rate of mortality for 1892 was 19.93...

The greatest event in the history of Chicago was the Great Fire, as it is termed, which broke out on the evening of October 8, 1871. The total area of the land burned over was 2100 acres. Nearly 20,000 buildings were consumed. The lives lost were 200, and the grand total of values destroyed is estimated at $200,000,000. This was followed, July 14, 1874, by another conflagration, in which 600 houses were devoured, the loss aggregating $4,000,000...

The buildings for the World's Fair Columbian Exposition, occupying, with the grounds, 664 acres in Jackson Park and Midway Plaisance, were dedicated October 12, 1892 and opened to the public on May 1, 1893.

Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World Containing Notices of Over One Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand Places ... Joseph Thomas January 1, 1895 J.B. Lippincott

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