USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Discovery and conquests of the Northwest, with the history of Chicago, Vol. II > Part 36
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death of Mr. Kennicott. These two were the only persons who have been elected to this high office.
The period from 1865 to 1871 was one of notable prosperity and success. During 1865 Dr. Stimpson twice visited Washington to select specimens at the Smithsonian Institution, and succeeded in obtaining very large collections in nearly all the branches of natural history. He also added largely from his private collections.
WILLIAM STIMPSON.
In October of that year it became evident to the board of trustees that they would soon have to provide more ample accommodations for the collections, which were being rapidly enlarged.
In December the trustees purchased ground at Thirtieth street, fronting on both Indiana and Prairie avenues. The depth of this lot on each of the avenues was 130 feet. At this time this area could be obtained at the very low figure of $35 a front foot, and it was thought that this would prove a good investment. It
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was not the plan to build a home for the Academy on this property.
About this time the trustees of the Douglas estate offered to donate to the Academy the necessary land for a building in the vicinity of the old University of Chicago, at Thirty-fourth street and Cottage Grove avenue. The following letter pertaining to this offer is of interest:
"CHICAGO, December 12, 1865.
"TO THE DIRECTORS OF THE CHICAGO ACADEMY OF SCIENCES':
"Gentlemen .- The proprietors of the Douglas estate will donate to The Chicago Academy of Sciences as a location for that institution that portion of said estate described as follows : In block number one (as per plat), lots one to eighteen (1 to 18), inclusive, fronting on the University square, and also all the lots in the rear of these extending from alley to alley and fronting on Lyon avenue, being a piece of ground 215 feet front with a rear of 143 feet and a depth of 270 feet. "Provided, that there shall be erected on said ground, within two years, a suitable building or build- ings for the use of said Academy of Sciences, and which building or buildings shall be occupied for the purposes of said Academy for not less than ten years after the completion of the same.
" Respectfully submitted,
"(Signed) R. GRIGG."
The board of trustees, before finally acting on this offer, decided to submit the proposition to the Academy. A majority of the members present at a meeting held December 12, 1865, voted to accept the offer. The dissenting members, however, formed so large a minority that the trustees decided to resubmit the proposition at a future meeting. The matter was again carefully considered at a meeting held April 10, 1866, and the following was adopted :
Resolved: That we recommend that, owing to the great distance of the proposed location at Cottage
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ELIPHALET W. BLATCHFORD.
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Grove from the center of the city, the offer of a lot at that place by the trustees of the Douglas estate be declined.
The Academy's board of trustees, acting on this recommendation, declined the gift.
On June 7, 1866, the collections and rooms of the society were seriously damaged by fire. The fire started in rooms of the Metropolitan block adjacent to those occupied by the Academy, but soon communicated with the museum hall. The collections, which were large and valuable beyond any moneyed compensation, were largely destroyed or seriously damaged.
Dr. Stimpson, in a report to the members, stated that, " Half the animals and birds were lost; the exten- sive collections of birds' nests and eggs were mainly consumed ; nearly all the insects were destroyed ; the dried crustaceans and echinoderms were all destroyed. The large herbarium was saved, with the exception of the plants of the northern Pacific expedition. The library was much damaged by water, but most of it was still in a condition to be used."
The Academy held $30,000 of insurance on its property. The making up of the proofs of loss involved a great deal of careful labor, and Mr. Blatchford and Dr. Stimpson deserved much credit for the able and faithful manner in which they performed the work. The damaged specimens, books and other property were taken to a room in a building, owned by Mr. Scammon and Mr. McCagg, at the corner of La Salle and Lake streets, where Dr. Stimpson devoted several months in an effort to preserve them, but the final result showed that comparatively little of the property was of value, and a considerable portion of the insurance was finally collected. Many of the specimens destroyed were ex- ceedingly valuable scientifically, and could not be re- placed, and were therefore a severe loss to the scientific world as well as to the Academy.
Feeling the importance of fireproof accommoda-
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tions for the museum and library, the board of trustees decided to fit up the old quarters, in the repaired build- ing, only for temporary use. They repaired the old wall cases and caused to be constructed several new cases for the storage of specimens. The room was put in order for taxidermy and for the arranging and labeling of specimens as they were received. But little attempt was made to prepare exhibitions for the public, and only a few additional cases for this purpose were provided.
On July 20, 1866, the board of trustees purchased from the Catholic bishop of Chicago a lot with frontage of fifty-five feet on Wabash avenue. This lot was north of Van Buren street, and included Nos. 263 and 265. A brick dwelling was situated on the south forty feet of this lot. This building the board repaired, and raising the roof they added another story. This struc- ture was soon rented for a term of five years at an annual rental of $3,000. The portion of the lot not occupied by the building was reserved. Upon the rear of this it was the intention to eventually erect a fire- proof building which should contain exhibition, library and work rooms and a suitable hall for the meetings of the Academy and for lectures. The selection of this central site for its future home was pleasing to all the members of the Academy.
The question of location having been settled, the board of trustees deemed it unwise longer to retain the property formerly purchased on Thirtieth street, and they therefore placed it in the market. In October, 1866, it was sold at a handsome advance over the pur- chase price, one-half to Mr. John W. Foss, and the remainder to Mr. Reuben P. Layton.
In the year 1867, at the request of the officers of the Smithsonian Institution, the Academy joined with them in sending Mr. Ferdinand Bishoff on an exploring expedition, for the purpose of conducting zoological investigations along the shores of the northern Pacific ocean, and of collecting specimens. The Academy was
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to pay one-half of the expenses and to receive one-half of the results.
During the same year a complete set of the game birds of Illinois was prepared and sent as an Academy exhibit to the World's Fair, to be held in Paris. This collection was greatly admired by visitors to the fair, and was finally exchanged for a fine collection of mounted European birds.
The plans for the new building to be erected by the Academy on the rear of its Wabash avenue prop- erty 'were prepared early in this year, but they were not fully developed and accepted until late in the spring, and work on the building was not commenced until in June. The details incident to the erection of the building were under the supervision of a committee of the board of trustees, consisting of Daniel Thomp- son, Eliphalet W. Blatchford and George C. Walker. These gentlemen gave much time and attention to this work, and carefully watched the construction at every step. The architect was W. W. Boyington.
The building, which was fifty feet wide by fifty- five feet in depth, and about fifty feet in height, was reached from Wabash avenue by a court eighteen feet in width. The building was finished throughout and contained a basement, a ground story, and above this a museum hall, containing two galleries. There is an interesting note in the records of the Academy to the effect that the building "Was fireproof throughout, and that no expense was spared to guard against an- other loss by fire."
The museum hall was filled with well constructed exhibition cases of several suitable designs, which were "Moth and dust proof." The first floor was arranged for the secretary, office, library and meeting hall. The exterior of the building was plain but sub- stantial, no attempt being made at ornate display.
The building was completed in January, 1868, and the first meeting of the society held in the new hall
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was the annual meeting of that year on January 28. During the month of December, 1867, the collec- tions which had accumulated since the fire of June 7 were removed from the old quarters in the Metro- politan block and placed in the new museum.
The supposed fireproof character of its new home, which was unique at that time in the construction of museum buildings, led many institutions, as well as private individuals, to send large and valuable collec- tions to the Academy. This was especially true of the Smithsonian Institution.
During the year 1868 many specimens were received from the Bishoff expedition, and some, including birds and plants, from the Kennicott expedition of two years before. Previous to this time the museum had been opened only to members of the Academy, students of natural history and invited guests; but numerous requests were received, asking permission to visit the collections. It became evident that the general public was interested; and on November 9, 1869, the following resolution was adopted by the board of trustees:
Resolved, That the museum of the Academy, located in their building, be opened to the public every Saturday from 9 o'clock A. M. to 5 o'clock P. M. On other week days members of the Academy, students of the natural sciences and strangers in the city will be admitted upon application to the secretary of the building.
This step tended to popularize the Academy, and was thoroughly appreciated by the public. It was the stepping stone to a greater freedom and a more gen- eral invitation to all to visit the museum, and finally resulted in throwing open the doors every day in the year, and all comers were admitted without charge. This rule holds to-day, and must continue in force so long as the Academy has a home in Lincoln Park.
Appreciating that the title, "Academy of Sciences," was a broad one, and that in the limited number of meetings possible in each year time would not permit
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the presentation of papers representing the work of the numerous special lines of investigation, it was deemed advisable to so modify the constitution as to permit the organization of sections. In January, 1870, such an amendment was adopted, and a "Section of Microscopy" and a "Section of Botany " were formed.
Thus the Academy advanced step by step. Each monthly meeting showed an increased interest. It was evident that the affairs of the society were ably managed, and that a strong foundation had been estab- lished, upon which could be built a future valuablea like to the lay and to the professional seekers after scientific knowledge. During the last five months of the year 1870, 2,058 people visited the museum. This was a gratifying number for that period in the history of Chicago. At the close of that year the total member- ship of the society numbered 139 life, sixty-nine resi- dent and forty-six corresponding members.
At the beginning of the year 1871 a brilliant future seemed assured. Choice material constantly flowed to its care, and the enthusiasm of the members steadily grew under the wise guidance of Director Stimpson.
But the evidences of the prosperity of the Academy were not measured solely by these material elements. It had a large hold upon public esteem. It was popular to be scientific and to foster those things which would aid and advance the investigation of the truths of nature. The display of specimens and apparatus and discussions of new theories were welcomed in the homes of our citizens. Many soirées were held, and largely attended by representative people.
The act which perhaps did more than any other to establish a reputation for the Academy and give it a recognized place as a scientific institution among the older societies, European as well as American, was the publication of its first volume of transactions. This was a royal octavo volume, containing eleven valuable papers and 337 pages. It was beautifully illustrated
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with thirty-four full-page plates and a number of text figures. The mechanical execution was above criti- cism. The papers represented original research, and were recognized as contributions of the highest value to science. The outlook was bright indeed, but the hopes and ambitions of all were doomed to disappointment, and the Academy was again destined to pass through severe trials.
On the night of October 9, 1871, the great fire, whose record is now a part of history, swept away a large part of the city of Chicago. The Academy's building was near the southern border of the burned district, and time would have permitted the removal of its most valuable contents, but it seemed more danger- ous to remove them than to allow them to remain, as the building was considered fireproof. Those present at the museum closed every avenue of attack by the fire, removed from the walls whatever would readily burn, piled the library and valuable manuscripts upon the floor, and departed to a place of safety, expecting on their return to find everything safely preserved, but, like all the other fireproof buildings in the city, many of which were constructed in the most perfect manner to which human art had yet attained, it went down in a fiery furnace, the magnitude of which the world had never before seen, and in an intensity of heat which even stone and iron could not resist. The lesson taught by our great disaster is that no building, however admirably constructed, can be considered fireproof, unless it is also isolated.
In the minute book of the board of trustees there is the following record:
"On the 9th of October, 1871, in that great con- flagration which swept away all the better portion of Chicago, the Academy building, with all its valuable contents, was burned. Hardly a vestige remained. It was the work of years laid low in an hour, and we might truthfully say that in some instances it was the
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destruction of all the results of the labors of a life- time. Many persons had labored faithfully for the Academy from its very organization. They had watched its steady growth month by month, and year by year, and felt a just pride in all it had accomplished. It was very dear to them, for their labor had helped to make it. Their work had been one for love of science, and they had acted from a heartfelt desire to benefit their fellow-man. In that building were the collections of the very founder of the institution, Mr. Robert Kennicott, who worked so faithfully, but died before he could see the great good he had done. There were also the collections, library, publications and valuable manuscripts of Dr. William Stimpson. His loss was beyond computation. It seemed as though all the labor of his life was gone. In a letter to the secretary he says in reply to some words of sympathy, he had, indeed, lost heavily -in fact his all - the product of days and nights of toil in many parts of the world for the past twenty years. He had looked forward to the publication of his own works by the government, and consoled himself with the thought that although he could not leave his children wealth, he could yet leave them this assurance, that he had nevertheless not been idle. But a fatality seemed to attend him. He had just completed, by his trip in August, the gathering in of all his materials - from his father's house, from Agassiz's, from Ilchester, and from the Smithsonian, just in time for the fire. 'But had I lost twice as much I shall never regret coming to Chicago, for I have found there noble and generous friends, not only to myself, but friends of science such as no other city in America can boast; and of more value to me than worldly possessions will be the memory of the friendly experiences I have had with yourself and the other trustees and the friends of the Academy, while we to- gether built up a monument which, though now leveled
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with the dust, will long live in scientific history. May our past be an earnest of our future.' "
As the record books of the museum were entirely consumed, a full statement of the losses cannot be made. No history of the Academy would be complete, however, without an enumeration of the more im- portant collections that had been placed in its care. Fortunately Dr. Stimpson was so familiar with the col- lections that he was able to spread on the minutes a very complete report of its past possessions. Some of these collections were of so much importance in the scientific world that even now inquiries are received asking as to their whereabouts. They had formed the basis of publications, for many of the specimens were types. Even though the time had been so short since the organization of the Academy, there was far more in the museum and library than was gen- erally understood or even suspected, for the building was filled from basement to attic with exhibits and specimens. The lack of room for the new accessions, which were constantly arriving, was so marked that the trustees had considered the necessity of acquiring a new location and the erection of a larger and more commodious building which should have a larger area for the ever increasing additions. Dr. Stimpson stated that, "The actual cost of the specimens, reckoning the cost of purchase or the expense of collection, was not less than $200,000."
The following are among the valuable special col- lections lost in this catastrophe:
1. The state collection of insects, which contained a large number of types.
2. The William Cooper collection of marine mol- lusca, which was one of the most complete in this country.
3. The Florida collection, which very fully illus- trated the zoology of the Florida coast in all its depart- ments.
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4. The splendid series of specimens illustrative of the natural history of Alaska, collected in 1865 to 1869 by Bishoff and the naturalists of the Western Union Telegraph expedition.
5. The Smithsonian collection of crustacea, un- doubtedly at that time the largest alcoholic collection in the world. This filled over 10,000 jars containing types of the species described by Prof. Dana and other American authors, besides hundreds of new species, many of which were described in manuscript lost by the same fire.
6. The invertebrates of the United States north Pacific exploring expedition, largely collected in the Japanese seas by Dr. Stimpson during the years 1853 to 1856. This collection included a large number of annelides, mollusks and radiates, many of which were undescribed except in manuscripts, which were also lost.
7. The Stimpson collection of marine shells, col- lected on the sea coast from Maine to Texas. This valuable collection represented the labor of twenty years. Nearly every species was illustrated by speci- mens from every locality in which it occurs, not only in our own shores, but also on those of Europe and the Arctic sea. There were about 8,000 separate lots of specimens.
8. The United States coast survey collection of deep sea crustacea and mollusks, dredged in the gulf stream by Mr. M. Pourtales in the years 1867 and 1868. This collection had been sent to Dr. Stimpson for description.
9. A large collection of the tertiary fossils from Virginia and Alabama.
10. The Dr. Franklin Scammon herbarium, con- sisting of over 6,000 species of plants.
11. The Scammon collection of ancient Central American pottery and implements.
12. The Arctic collection of Robert Kennicott, made during the years 1859 to 1861. These, though
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damaged by the fire of 1866, were still one of the most important collections of the museum.
The general collection contained about 2,000 mam- mals; 30 mounted skeletons, including two mastodons, an African elephant, sea otter and an elephant seal; 10,000 birds; 1,000 nests, with the eggs, and a great quantity of eggs without the nests; 1,000 reptiles; 5,000 fishes, including many large sharks and rays; 15,000 species of insects and other articulates; 5,000 species of mollusks, with a large number of duplicates; 3,000 jars of radiates, including several hundred corals; 1,000 jars of mollusks in alcohol; 8,000 species of plants; 15,000 species of fossils and 4,000 minerals. Besides these there were 1,000 specimens illustrative of Amer- ican archæology and ethnological collection, which embraced a very fine series of the clothing and imple- ments of the Esquimaux of the Anderson river, col- lected by Robert Kennicott and others, and presented to the Academy by the Smithsonian Institution.
The library contained about 2, 000 volumes, and over 5,000 pamphlets and maps. Besides these, there were in the building and destroyed with it the library of the Audubon club; the valuable conchological library of Mr. George C. Walker, which included colored copies of the works of Sowerby, Reeve, Philippi, Dunker, Romer and Kuster, Martini, Chemnitz and others; the library of works on the marine invertebrates belonging to Secretary Stimpson, which practically included all the extant works on this subject.
A number of valuable manuscripts, representing the study and investigation of the various collections, were destroyed. Some of these were to be published by the Smithsonian Institution, and some through other sources. There were several hundred accurate drawings, illustrating different forms, which had been made at a considerable expense, and belonged to the manuscript reports.
As the building was considered fireproof, no insur-
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ance was carried on either the structure or its contents. On the dwelling house there were two policies, each written for $5,000.
Thus in a few hours the Academy had lost all. Its buildings, its records, its valuable collections and its library were totally destroyed; yet ambition, hope, and above all, courage and will, still remained the domi- nant characteristics of its members. Within twelve days steps were taken looking toward its rehabilitation.
At a special meeting of the board of trustees, which was held October 23, 1871, and at which the future of the Academy was discussed, J. Young Scam- mon, Daniel Thompson and George C. Walker were appointed a committee on the disposition of the Wabash avenue property, and to consider the future location of the Academy building. Several offers of rooms, in which the Academy might establish a temporary home, were received. Before the last of the month of December, 1871, the debris on the Academy's lo's had been removed, preparatory to improving it, provided no sale was made; and it was deemed wise to remain in that locality.
The first meeting of the members after the fire was held on the evening of October 21, 1871. At this meet- ing steps were taken to build up the collections, and several donations were announced. At the regular November meeting President John W. Foster spoke of the prospects and hopes of the members for the Academy's future. He was full of faith that the Academy, like the private interests that had suffered, would be speedily restored, and he predicted that in five years there would be built as good a building with as great a collection as that which was lost.
During the few years of its existence, vigorous and well directed exertion had established for the Academy a worthy reputation, which proved a most potent factor in its rehabilitation. The foreign and domestic societies which were its correspondents and
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had received from it the important contributions to knowledge which it had issued, came to its aid with cordial and spontaneous assistance. These societies not only continued to send their exchanges, but in many cases gave complete files of their earlier issues, which under ordinary circumstances are obtained with exceeding difficulty. Thus the lost library was in a great measure restored. The museum also was simi- larly fortunate through the contributions of societies and individuals.
The kindness of societies and individual friends was constant and demonstrated that the Academy had not, after all, lost everything. The members were becoming reassured and the future again looked bright, when on May 26, 1872, its director and secretary, William Stimp- son, was removed from these offices by death. In the great fire,.Dr. Stimpson lost all the results of an earnest and prolific life. His extensive and unique collections had perished. The manuscripts in which they were described and illustrated, and which represented the patient and accurate research of years, were gone. Always feeble, this blow was too much, and his health was still further undermined. After he had made his report regarding the losses sustained by the Academy, he was granted an indefinite leave of absence. He went to Florida hoping that a milder climate would, as it had done before, restore him to reasonably good health. From this trip he never returned, and passed away at the home of his friends in Ilchester, Maryland.
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