USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Discovery and conquests of the Northwest, with the history of Chicago, Vol. II > Part 25
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Looking north, I saw the whitewashed buildings of Fort Dearborn sparkling in the sunshine, our boats with flags flying, and oars keeping time to the cheering boat song. I was spellbound and amazed at the beautiful scene before me. I took the trail leading to the fort, and, on my arrival, found our party camped on the north side of the river, near what is now State street. A sol- dier ferried me across the river in a canoe, and thus I made my first entry into Chicago, October 1, 1818.
We were met upon landing by Mr. Kinzie, and as soon as our tents were pitched, were called upon by the officers of the fort, to all of whom I was introduced by
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Old Mackinaw in 1818.
Mr. Deschamps as his boy. I presented my letter of introduction to Mr. Kinzie, and with it a package sent by his son. In the afternoon I called at Mr. Kinzie's house, and had the pleasure of meeting his family- consisting of Mrs. Kinzie; their eldest daughter, Mrs. Helm; their youngest daughter, Maria, now the wife of Major-General David Hunter, of the United States army, and their youngest son, Robert, late paymaster of the United States army, all of whom extended to me a cordial welcome. As I had so recently seen John, and had been so intimate with him, I had much of interest to tell them.
I was invited to breakfast with them the next morn- ing, and gladly accepted. As I sat down to the neat and well ordered table for the first time since I left my father's house, memories of home and those dear to me forced themselves upon me, and I could not suppress my tears. But for the kindness of Mrs. Kinzie I should have beaten a hasty retreat. She saw my predicament, and said: "I know just how you feel, and know more about you than you think; I am going to be a mother to you if you will let me. Just come with me a moment." She led me into an adjoining room and left me to bathe my eyes in cold water. When I came to the table I noticed that they had suspended eating, awaiting my re- turn. I said to Mrs. Kinzie : " You reminded me so much of my mother I could not help crying; my last meal with her was when I left Montreal, and since then I have never sat at a table with ladies, and this seems like home to me." Mr. Kinzie's house was a long log cabin, with a rude piazza, and fronted the river directly opposite Fort Dearborn.
FORT DEARBORN.
Fort Dearborn was first established in 1804, on the south bank of the Chicago river, near where it then dis- charged into Lake Michigan.
It was evacuated August 15, 1812, by Capt. N. Heald, First United States infantry, who was then in
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Old Mackinaw in 1818.
command, and it was on the same day destroyed by the Indians.
It was rebuilt on the old site in June, 1816, by Capt. Hezekiah Bradley, Third United States infantry, and occupied by troops until October, 1823, when it was again vacated and left in charge of Alexander Wolcott, Indian agent.
Reoccupied, October 3, 1828.
Troops again withdrawn, May 20, 1831.
Reoccupied, June 17, 1832.
Again vacated, July 11, 1832.
Reoccupied, October 1, 1832.
And finally abandoned, December 29, 1836.
I have been unable to find from the records of the war department by whom this post was originally es- tablished, but find it to have been commanded, after its re-establishment, by officers as follows:
Capt. Hezekiah Bradley, Third United States in- fantry, from June, 1816, to May, 1817.
Brev. Maj. D. Baker, Third United States infantry, to June, 1820.
Capt. H. Bradley, Third United States infantry, to January, 1821.
Maj. Alexander Cummings, Third United States in- fantry, to October, 1822.
Lieutenant-Colonel McNeil, Third United States in- fantry, to October, 1823.
Fort not garrisoned from Oct., 1823, to Oct. 3, 1828.
Capt. John Fowle, Fifth United States infantry, from October 3, 1828, to December 21, 1830.
Lieut. David Hunter, Fifth United States infantry, to May 20, 1831, when the troops were withdrawn.
Maj. William Whistler, Second United States in- fantry, from June 17, 1832, to July 11, 1832, and from October 1, 1832, to June 19, 1833.
When I first saw Fort Dearborn it was a stockade of oak pickets fourteen feet long, inclosing a square of about 600 feet.
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Old Mackinaw in 1818.
A block house stood at the southwest corner, and a bastion in the northwest corner about 100 feet from which was the river.
In the first fort an underground passage was con- structed from the bastion to the river's edge, but this was not kept open during the occupancy of the second, but was kept in condition to be speedily reopened should occasion ever require it.
The officers' quarters were outside of the pickets, fronting east on the parade, and was a two-story build- ing of hewn logs. A piazza extended along the entire front on a line with the floor of the second story, and was reached by stairs on the outside.
The first story was divided into kitchen, dining and store rooms, while the second story was in one large room. The roof was covered with split clapboards about four feet long.
The soldiers' quarters were also of logs, and similar to the officers', except that both stories were finished off and divided into rooms.
In the northeast corner was the sutler's store, also built of logs, while at the north and south sides were gates opening to the parade ground.
On each side of the south gate were guardhouses, about ten feet square.
The commissary storehouse was two stories in height, and stood east of the guardhouse and south of the soldiers' quarters.
The magazine was constructed of brick and was situated west of the guardhouse, and near the block house. The stockade and all the buildings were neatly whitewashed and presented a pleasing appearance.
West and a little south of the fort was the military barn, adjoining which, on the east, was the fort garden, of about four acres, which extended so as to front the fort on the south, its eastern line of fence connecting with and forming a part of the field extending south about half a mile.
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Old Mackinaw in 1818.
Adjoining this fence on the east was the only road leading from the fort in either direction. The south line of the garden fence extended to the edge of the river, and a fence from the west end of the barn ex- tended north to the river, so that the fort was wholly inclosed by fence from river to river. The inclosure between the stockade and the outer fences was covered with grass and adorned with trees and shrubbery.
The well was in the outer inclosure and near the south gate, while about 200 feet from the north gate was the river, a stream of clear, pure water, fed from the lake.
On the east side of the fort the river was from 400 to 500 feet from the pickets, and a part of this distance was a low, sandy beach, where rude wash houses had been constructed, in which the men and women of the garrison conducted their laundry operations.
Just east of the road, and adjoining the fence run- ning east to the river, was the "Factor House," a two- story, squared-log structure, inclosed by a neat split picket fence. This building was occupied from 1804 to about the year 1810 by a Mr. Jonett, United States factor, and by the west side of the road, adjoining the government garden, in a picket fence inclosure, was the grave of his wife. At the second construction of the fort he was succeeded by John Dean.
For a distance of a quarter of a mile from the "Fac- tor House" there was no fence, building or other ob- struction between the government field fence and the river or lake. Another house of hewn logs stood 1,200 or more feet from the road, and back of it flowed the Chicago river, which, as late as 1827, emptied into Lake Michigan at a point known as "The Pines," a clump of 100 or more stunted pine trees on the sand hills about a mile from the fort. On the edge of the river, directly east of this house, and distant about 400 feet, stood a storehouse of round logs, owned by the Ameri- can Fur Co. and occupied by its agent, Mr. John Craft,
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Old Mackinaw in 1818.
who erected it. This house was surrounded by a rail fence, and after the death of Mr. Craft was occupied by Jean Baptiste Beaubien.
Adjoining this storehouse on the south was the fort burying ground. The east line of the government field extended to about this point, and thence west to the south branch of the river. These, with the addition of a log cabin near the present Bridgeport, called "Hardscrabble," a cabin on the north side occupied by Antoine Ouilmette and the house of Mr. Kinzie, com- prised all the buildings within the present limits of Cook county.
Between the river and the lake, and extending south to " The Pines," was a narrow strip of sand formed by the northeast winds gradually forcing the mouth of the river south of its natural and original outlet at Fort Dearborn.
In the spring of 1828 the Chicago river had a strong current caused by flood; and, taking advantage of this, the officer commanding at the fort ordered some of his men to cut a passage through the spit of land at the commencement of the bend and parallel with the north side of the fort. It was the work of but an hour or two to dig a ditch down to the level of the river, and the water being let in, the force of the current soon washed a straight channel through to the lake fifteen or more feet deep; but the ever-shifting sand soon again filled this channel, and the mouth of the river worked south to about where Madison street now is.
To Captain Fowle, however, are we indebted for the first attempt to make a harbor of the Chicago river.
The officers amused themselves with fishing and hunting; deer, red fox and wild fowl were abundant. Foxes burrowed in the sand hills and were often dug out, brought to the fort and let loose upon the sand bar formed by the outlet of the river. They were then chased by hounds, men being stationed so as to prevent their escape from the bar. These fox hunts were very
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Old Mackinaw in 1818.
exciting, and were enjoyed by Indians and whites alike. None of the officers were married, and as the sutler's store furnished the only means of spending their money, they were forced to be frugal and saving. They were a convivial, jolly set.
Fort Wayne, Ind., was the nearest postoffice, and the mail was carried generally by soldiers on foot, and was received once a month. The wild onion grew in great quantities along the banks of the river, and in the woods adjoining the leek abounded, and doubt- less Chicago derived its name from the onion, and not, as some suppose, from the (animal) skunk. The In- dian name for this animal is chi-kack, for the veg- etable, chi-goug; both words were used to indicate strong odors.
What is now known as the North Branch was then known as River Guarie, named after the first trader that followed La Salle. The field he cultivated was trace- able on the prairie by the distinct marks of the corn hills.
SETTLEMENT OF ILLINOIS. BY J. GILLESPIE.
It is difficult to draw a distinct line of demarcation between the different epochs, that is the French, the pioneer and the permanent settler's. They run into each other and become to a considerable extent blended, still in order to present a record of the early history of this state, they must be regarded as distinct eras. The object of the settlement of the French here was two- fold; one was to extend the theater of church opera- tions, the other was for commercial purposes. The first adventurers were ecclesiastical dignitaries, and they located missions wherever they went. Kaskaskia was the center of their field in this region. Afterward the government of affairs was placed under Crozat and the Company of the Indies-to subserve the commer- cial purposes. The people who were sent out were used as auxiliaries to these ends. They were located in villages to which were attached common fields of several miles extent, and each settler had his strip or arpent of land for cultivation, which was somewhat like a mathematical line, all length and no breadth. The residences of these settlers were clustered in the village within sound of the church bell or the violin of the musician. When these communities became over- crowded a new colony was established similar to the first, and so on. The control of affairs was entirely in the hands of the ecclesiastics. All marriages were authorized and solemnized by them. All entrances into, and exits from this world were under their peculiar
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Settlement of Illinois.
supervision. Conveyances of property and settlements of controversies were noted by and effected through their instrumentality. Grants of land and the regula- tions for their subdivision were ostensibly made by the king of France. But the real power was in the hands of the priesthood, but it seems to have been exercised by them with scrupulous regard to justice and to the satisfaction of the people. These people through the influence of the church and their natural amiability were kept on good terms with the aborigines. They had no ambition to found an empire, but were willing to live and die as Frenchmen in the service of their religious teachers. They had no desire for change. The country afforded them all they needed in the way of subsistence, and their civil and religious government was all they desired, but their hearts were in la belle France. The French colonies were mere municipalities, and they did not consider themselves as Americans, but as Frenchmen residing on this side of the Atlantic. This was the first stage of European settlement in the valley of the Mississippi. In 1763, the French posses- sions were ceded to England, but at that time no attempt had been made to establish English settlements on the great river. During the revolutionary war, the expedition of Gen. George Rogers Clark was fitted out by Virginia and succeeded in wresting these French settlements from England. The conquest of the coun- try, so far as the French people were concerned, was an easy task. The English military commandants had made themselves exceedingly obnoxious, and any change was looked upon by the people as for the bet- ter. It is true a considerable number of the French crossed the river into Spanish territory and settled in St. Genevieve, Corondolet and St. Louis. The govern- ment of Virginia could not pay her troops in money, and she provided that the soldiers under Clark should each be entitled to a tract of land in the conquered country in payment for their services. The country being rich
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Settlement of Illinois.
beyond anything they had ever thought of, most of them settled here upon their lands, and they were fol- lowed by their acquaintances who likewise settled in the country. The troops under Clark, although in the service of Virginia, were nevertheless gathered up about the falls of the Ohio where Louisville now stands, and were composed of Virginians, Kentuckians, Ten- nesseans, North and South Carolinians, and the people who followed them were from those states. These peo- ple differed toto ceolo from the French. They considered themselves as Americans, and hardly knew that they were descended from English stock. They were Indian haters and Indian fighters, and had fewer compunctions of conscience for killing an Indian than they would have for killing a wolf. They were not contented with a narrow strip of land in a common field, like the Frenchman. Nothing less than a big farm isolated from neighbors would suit them. They cared nothing for the protection or company that villages afforded; each man generally depended upon himself and his trusty rifle for protection. It is true, they assembled in squads to pursue Indian marauders, but generally they lived in solitude, except their families; they possessed greater individuality than any people on earth. These American settlers recognized no authority but that of law, and if they were beyond its reach they made it for the occasion. They had their regulating societies for punishing law breakers, before whom every offender was brought and duly charged, and no man was pun- ished without having an opportunity of being con- fronted with the witnesses againt him, and presenting his defense, if he had any. Generally he had a patient hearing and an impartial decision. These people had no priests like the French to expound the laws; they were natural government makers. Any one of them might be called upon to preside over the deliberations of one of these regulating companies. As soon as government was extended over them they settled down
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Settlement of Illinois.
into law abiding citizens. In 1783, Virginia ceded her rights in the northwestern territory to the United States, stipulating for the preservation of the rights of the old French inhabitants, and of her soldiers under Clark, which the government scrupulously carried out; and for the purpose of inviting settlers, an act of con- gress was passed giving to heads of families, who should settle in the country and reside a certain length of time, a tract of land. When the country was surveyed there were three classes of titles to lands, the location of which was not accurately known, to wit: The old French claims, then the military rights under the Vir- ginia regime, and lastly head rights under the act of congress. The government of the United States after the survey of the lands directed the land officers at Kaskaskia to take proof and make report as to the location of the above claims, and they appear as claims and surveys in our records as confirmed by congress to the settlers or their assignees, and are principally situated in the counties of Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, Randolph and Peoria. The early American emigrants located generally in the neighborhood of the French settlements, which extended along the river from Kas- kaskia to Cahokia, and the big mound in Madison. The southern part of Illinois was first settled by the Ameri- cans, as the current set in from the southwestern states. People generally emigrate upon the parallel of latitude in which they are raised, as nearly as prac- ticable. The emigration from the slave states extended about as far north as the latitude of Springfield, the wealthier going north and the poorer keeping down south. The Americans I have been speaking of I would class as the pioneers, although a large majority of them became permanent settlers. A great many of these people left the south to get rid of slavery, but many favored the institution and wished to see it introduced here. The state could not be admitted into the Union with a constitution repugnant to the ordinance of 1787,
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Settlement of Illinois.
which forever prohibited it in the northwestern terri- tory; but many believed that after the admission the constitution could be changed and slavery admitted, and as the settlers were mostly from the south it was thought a majority would favor it. In 1823, a terrific effort was made to adopt a slavery constitution, but it was signally defeated by southern people. Here, in 1823, the great battle of slavery was fought and won by people from the slave states. If Illinois had then enlisted under the pro-slavery banner Indiana would have followed suit, and these two states (or even Illi- nois) on the side of the south at the breaking out of the rebellion would have made the result, to say the least of it, doubtful. All honor to the men who de- feated slavery here in 1823. They builded more wisely than they knew. About 1830 the current of emigration began to set in from the northern states to northern Illinois. Since then the history is known to all men, and I need say nothing about it. I have endeavored to distinguish the epochs in the history of our state into the French, the pioneer and the permanent- three distinct eras, especially as to social conditions . which may with no impropriety be called the childhood, the youth, and the manhood of our state.
THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO
TRUSTEES . 1900-1901
MARTIN A. RYERSON
SAMUEL M. NICKERSON
WILLIAM T. BAKER
ADOLPHUS C. BARTLETT
CHARLES A. COOLIDGE
JAMES H. DOLE
EDWARD E. AYER
JOHN J. MITCHELL
JOHN C. BLACK
ALBERT A. SPRAGUE
JOHN J. GLESSNER
SAMUEL E. BARRETT
CHARLES L. HUTCHINSON
CHAUNCEY J. BLAIR
STANLEY MCCORMICK
R. HALL MCCORMICK
CARTER H. HARRISON, Mayor (Ex-Officio)
OFFICERS
CHARLES L. HUTCHINSON, President JAMES H. DOLE, Vice-President
LYMAN J. GAGE, Treasurer N. H. CARPENTER, Secretary WILLIAM M. R. FRENCH, Director
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
CHARLES L. HUTCHINSON JAMES H. DOLE ALBERT A. SPRAGUE CHARLES D. HAMILL JOHN C. BLACK MARTIN A. RYERSON WILLIAM T. BAKER
ART COMMITTEE
CHARLES L. HUTCHINSON
MARTIN A. RYERSON
JAMES H. DOLE R. HALL MCCORMICK
BRYAN LATHROP
WM. D. KERFOOT, City Comptroller (Ex-Officio)
MARSHALL FIELD
HENRY H. GETTY
CHARLES D. HAMILL
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Art Institute.
THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO.
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THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO.
It is a remarkable fact that a school of art practice, including work from the human figure, was established in Chicago in 1866-earlier probably than in any other city in the country except New York and Philadelphia. The society of which this class was the nucleus, was soon organized into the Chicago Academy of Design, an association of artists, which continued its active career, with many vicissitudes, until about 1882. For a considerable period it played a valuable part, and was the only important art center in the city. About 1878 an effort was made to promote the prosperity of the Academy of Design by adding to the artist mem- bership a board of trustees composed of business men; but in the course of a year difficulties arose, connected chiefly with former obligations of the academy, and the business trustees resigned, and formed an organi- zation called at first the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, subsequently (1882) changed to the Art Institute of Chicago.
The Art Institute was incorporated May 24, 1879, upon the application of Marshall Field, Murry Nelson, Charles D. Hamill, Ferd. W. Peck and George E. Adams, for "the founding and maintenance of schools of art and design, the formation and exhibition of col- lections of objects of art, and the cultivation and extension of the arts of design by any appropriate means." Its first president was George Armour, and at the expiration of his term of office of one year, L. Z. Leiter held the position for two years. He was
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Art Institute.
succeeded by Chas. L. Hutchinson, who has been re- elected each succeeding year, and to whose energy, business ability and artistic judgment the success of the institution has been in a great measure due. Wm. M. R. French, the present director, has had charge of the school and museum, and Newton H. Carpenter, the secretary, has been in the business department from the beginning. The following persons have been trustees during the whole history of the institution: C. L. Hutchinson, James H. Dole, Wm. T. Baker, N. K. Fairbank and S. M. Nickerson.
For three years the Art Institute occupied rented rooms at the southwest corner of State and Monroe streets. From the beginning an art school was main- tained, and the school is, therefore, now in its twenty- second year. Occasional exhibitions were also given. In 1882 property at the corner of Michigan avenue and Van Buren street, 54x172 feet, occupied partly by a three-story building, was purchased, at a cost of $45,- 000. The considerations which led to the selection of this locality have been justified by experience. The fine situation upon the lake shore and proximity to the heart of the city are overwhelming recommendations both of the former and present sites of the museum. During 1882 a substantial brick building, 72x54 feet, containing exhibition galleries and school rooms, and fronting upon Van Buren street, was built upon a part of this property. Up to this time the Art Institute had come into possession, by purchase or gift, of a very few good pictures, marbles and casts. During 1885 a collection of casts of antique sculpture, costing about $1,800, was imported and placed upon permanent exhibition. The cost of these purchases and improve- ments was met by subscriptions, membership dues and issue of bonds secured upon the property. In 1885 twenty-six feet of adjacent land was purchased, and in 1886 and 1887 a beautiful brown stone building, 80x100 feet and four stories high, Romanesque in design, and
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planned by John W. Root, architect, was erected, oc- cupying the southwest corner of Michigan avenue and Van Buren street. This building was opened Novem- ber, 1887. During the next five years the building was outgrown, and in 1892 the property was sold for $425,- 000 to the Chicago club, the present occupant. By this time the Institute had not only become possessed of valuable collections of casts of sculpture, pictures, metals, antique vases, etc., but had gained the favor of the community. It was prepared, therefore, to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the Columbian Exposition to obtain a footing upon the lake front.
By city ordinance, passed in March, 1891, permis- sion was given for the erection of a building upon the lake front, opposite Adams street, to be used for the world's congresses during the Columbian Exposition, and afterward to be permanently occupied by the Art Institute, the building to be the property of the city of Chicago. Between February, 1892, and May, 1893, the present museum building was erected after the plans of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, architects. The Art Institute thus, in effect, made a gift to the people of the city of the money expended by it upon the build- ing-about $450,000-and gained a public character very advantageous for the public service at which it aims.
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