Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume I, Part 19

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Church, Charles A., 1857-
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 724

USA > Illinois > Winnebago County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume I > Part 19

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أيوب.

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بقطر

DAY AFTER CHICAGO FIRE.

CHICAGO TIIOROUGHFARES.

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

the public for purposes of reference under certain conditions. This list does not include the exten- sive library of the University of Chicago and those connected with the Armour Institute and the public schools, intended for the use of the pupils of these various institutions.

CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE, one of the leading commercial exchanges of the world. It was originally organized in the spring of 1843 as a voluntary association, with a membership of eighty-two. Its primary object was the promo- tion of the city's commercial interests by unity of action. On Feb. 8, 1849, the Legislature enacted a general law authorizing the establish- ment of Boards of Trade, and under its provisions an incorporation was effected-a second organi- zation being effected in April, 1850. For several years the association languished, and at times its existence seemed precarious. It was, however, largely instrumental in securing the introduction of the system of measuring grain by weight, which initial step opened the way for subsequent great improvements in the methods of handling, storing, inspecting and grading cereals and seeds. By the close of 1856, the association had overcome the difficulties incident to its earlier years, and the feasibility of erecting a permanent Exchange building began to be agitated, but the project lay dormant for several years. In 1856 was adopted the first system of classification and grading of wheat, which, though crude, formed the founda- tion of the elaborate modern system, which has proved of such benefit to the grain-growing States of the West, and has done so much to give Chicago its commanding influence in the grain markets of the world. In 1858, the privilege of trading on the floor of the Exchange was limited to members. The same year the Board began to receive and send out daily telegraphic market reports at a cost, for the first year, of $500,000, which was defrayed by private subscriptions. New York was the only city with which such communication was then maintained. In Febru- ary, 1859, a special charter was obtained, confer- ring more extensive powers upon the organization, and correspondingly increasing its efficiency. An important era in the Board's history was the Civil War of 1861-65. During this struggle its attitude was one of undeviating loyalty and gener- ous patriotism. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were contributed, by individual members and from the treasury of the organization, for the work of recruiting and equipping regiments, in caring for the wounded on Southern battlefields, and providing for the families of enlisted men. In

1864, the Board waged to a successful issue a war upon the irredeemable currency with which the entire West was then flooded, and secured suclı action by the banks and by the railroad and express companies as compelled its replacement by United States legal-tender notes and national bank notes. In 1865, handsome, large (and, as then supposed, permanent) quarters were occu- pied in a new building erected by the Chicago Chamber of Commerce under an agreement with the Board of Trade. This structure was destroyed in the fire of October, 1871, but at once rebuilt, and made ready for re-occupancy in precisely one year after the destruction of its predecessor. Spacious and ample as these quarters were then considered, the growing membership and increas- ing business demonstrated their inadequacy before the close of 1877. Steps looking to the erection of a new building were taken in 1881, and, on May 1, 1885, the new edifice-then the largest and most ornate of its class in the world -was opened for occupancy. The membership of the Board for the year 1898 aggregated con- siderably in excess of 1,800. The influence of the association is felt in every quarter of the com- mercial world.

CHICAGO, BURLINGTON & NORTHERN RAILROAD. (See Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.)

CHICAGO, BURLINGTON & QUINCY RAIL- ROAD (known as the "Burlington Route") is the parent organization of an extensive system which operates railroads in eleven Western and Northwestern States, furnishing connections from Chicago with Omaha, Denver, St. Paul and Minneapolis, St. Louis and Kansas City, Chey- enne (Wyo.), Billings (Mont.), Deadwood (So. Dak,), and intermediate points, and having con- nections by affiliated roads with the Pacific Coast. The main line extends from Chicago to Denver (Colo.), 1,025.41 miles. The mileage of the various branches and leased proprietary lines (1898) aggregates 4,627.06 miles. The Company uses 207.23 miles in conjunction with other roads, besides subsidiary standard-gauge lines controlled through the ownership of securities amounting to 1,440 miles more. In addition to these the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy controls 179 miles of narrow-gauge road. The whole number of miles of standard-gauge road operated by the Burlington system, and known as the Burlington Route, on June 30, 1899, is estimated at 7,419, of which 1,509 is in Illinois, all but 47 miles being owned by the Company. The system in Illinois connects many important commercial

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

points, including Chicago, Aurora, Galesburg, Quincy, Peoria, Streator, Sterling, Mendota, Ful- ton, Lewistown, Rushville, Geneva, Keithsburg, Rock Island, Beardstown, Alton, etc. The entire capitalization of the line (including stock, bonds and floating debt) amounted, in 1898, to $234,884,- 600, which was equivalent to about $33,000 per mile. The total earnings of the road in Illinois, during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1898, amounted to $8,724,997, and the total disburse- ments of the Company within the State, during the same period, to $7,469,456. Taxes paid in 1898, $377,968 .- (HISTORY). The first section of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was constructed under a charter granted, in 1849, to the Aurora Branch Railroad Company, the name being changed in 1852 to the Chicago & Aurora Railroad Company. The line was completed in 1853, from the junction with the old Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, 30 miles west of Chi- cago, to Aurora, later being extended to Mendota. In 1855 the name of the Company was changed by act of the Legislature to the Chicago, Burling- ton & Quincy. The section between Mendota and Galesburg (80 miles) was built under a charter granted in 1851 to the Central Military Tract Railroad Company, and completed in 1854. July 9, 1856, the two companies were consolidated under the name of the former. Previous to this consolidation the Company had extended aid to the Peoria & Oquawka Railroad (from Peoria to the Mississippi River, nearly opposite Burlington, Iowa), and to the Northern Cross Railroad from Quincy to Galesburg, both of which were com- pleted in 1855 and operated by the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy. In 1857 the name of the Northern Cross was changed to the Quincy & Chicago Railroad. In 1860 the latter was sold under foreclosure to the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and, in 1863, the Peoria & Oquawka was acquired in the same way -- the former constitut- ing the Quincy branch of the main line and the latter giving it its Burlington connection. Up to 1863, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy used the track of the Galena & Chicago Union Rail- road to enter the city of Chicago, but that year began the construction of its line from Aurora to Chicago, which was completed in 1864. In 1872 it acquired control, by perpetual lease, of the Burlington & Missouri River Road in Iowa, and, in 1880, extended this line into Nebraska, now reaching Billings, Mont., with a lateral branch to Deadwood, So. Dak. Other branches in Illinois, built or acquired by this corporation, include the Peoria & Hannibal; Carthage & Bur-

lington; Quincy & Warsaw; Ottawa, Chicago & Fox River Valley; Quincy, Alton & St. Louis, and the St. Louis, Rock Island & Chicago. The Chicago, Burlington & Northern -- known as the Northern Division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy - is an important part of the system, furnishing a connection between St. Louis on the south and St. Paul and Minneapolis on the north, of which more than half of the distance of 583 miles between terminal points, is in Illinois. The latter division was originally chartered, Oct. 21, 1885, and constructed from Oregon, III., to St. . Paul, Minn. (319 miles), and from Fulton to Savanna, Ill. (16.72 miles), and opened, Nov. 1, 1886. It was formally incorporated into the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy line in 1899. In June of the same year the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy also acquired by purchase the Keokuk & Western Railroad from Keokuk to Van Wert, Iowa (143 miles), and the Des Moines & Kansas City Railway, from Des Moines, Iowa, to Caines- ville, Mo. (112 miles).

CHICAGO, DANVILLE & VINCENNES RAIL- ROAD. (See Chicago & Eastern Illinois Rail- road.)

CHICAGO DRAINAGE CANAL, a channel .or waterway, in course of construction (1892-99) from the Chicago River, within the limits of the city of Chicago, to Joliet Lake, in the Des Plaines River, about 12 miles above the junction of the Des Plaines with the Illinois. The primary object of the channel is the removal of the sewage of the city of Chicago and the proper drainage of the region comprised within what is called the "Sanitary District of Chicago." The feasibility of connecting the waters of Lake Michigan by way of the Des Plaines River with those of the Illinois, attracted the attention of the earliest French explorers of this region, and was com- mented upon, from time to time, by them and their successors. As early as 1808 the subject of a canal uniting Lake Michigan with the Illinois was discussed in a report on roads and canals by Albert Gallatin, then Secretary of the Treasury, and the project was touched upon in a bill relat- ing to the Erie Canal and other enterprises, intro- duced in Congress in 1811. The measure continued to receive attention in the press, in Western Territorial Legislatures and in official reports, one of the latter being a report by John C. Cal- houn, as Secretary of War, in 1819, in which it is spoken of as "valuable for military purposes." In 1822 Congress passed an act granting the right of way to the State through the public lands for such an enterprise, which was followed,

EXCAVATION IN ROCK FOR DRAINAGE CHANNEL AND WATERWAY. (FULL DEPTH IN CENTER.)

SANITARY CANAL - CHICAGO

3 06.0

162.0

*** 35.5

160 0

202 0

MANCHESTER

172.0

1200

170.0

NORTH SEA - BALTIC -

-- 2962-

+476-87-

7216

NORTH SEA - AMSTERDAM -

200.08

82.0

SUEZ

328.0

190 0

22 16

78 72

WELLAND

ILLINOIS & MISSISSIPPI HENNEPIN -

160 0

- 800.

.....

100.0

ILLINOIS & MICHIGAN

ERIE

60.0

700

56 0

COMPARATIVE SIZE OF NOTED. CANALS.

720

PANAMA

- 1640

101.68

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

five years later, by a grant of lands for the pur- pose of its construction. The work was begun in 1836, and so far completed in 1848 as to admit of the passage of boats from the Chicago basin to La Salle. (See Illinois & Michigan Canal.) Under an act passed by the Legislature in 1865, the work of deepening the canal was undertaken by the city of Chicago with a view to furnishing means to relieve the city of its sewage, the work being completed some time before the fire of 1871. This scheme having failed to accomplish the object designed, other measures began to be considered. Various remedies were proposed, but in all the authorities were confronted with the difficulty of providing a fund, under the provisions of the Constitution of 1870, to meet the necessary cost of construction. In the closing months of the year 1885, Hon. H. B. Hurd, who had been a member of a Board of "Drainage Commission- ers," organized in 1855, was induced to give attention to the subject. Having satisfied him- self and others that the difficulties were not insurmountable with proper action by the Legis- lature, the City Council, on Jan. 27, 1886, passed a resolution authorizing the Mayor to appoint a Commission, to consist of "one expert engineer of reputation and experience in engineering and sanitary matters," and two consulting engineers, to constitute a "drainage and water-supply com- mission" for the purpose of investigating and reporting upon the matter of water-supply and disposition of the sewage of the city. As a result of this action, Rudolph Hering, of Philadel- phia, was appointed expert engineer by Mayor Harrison, with Benezette Williams and S. G. Artingstall, of Chicago, as consulting engineers. At the succeeding session of the General Assem- bly (1887), two bills-one known as the "Hurd bill" and the other as the "Winston bill," but both drawn by Mr. Hurd, the first contemplating doing the work by general taxation and the issue of bonds, and the other by special assessment- were introduced in that body. As it was found that neither of these bills could be passed at that session, a new and shorter one, which became known as the "Roche-Winston bill," was intro- duced and passed near the close of the session. A resolution was also adopted creating a com- mission, consisting of two Senators, two Repre- sentatives and Mayor Roche of Chicago, to further investigate the subject. The later act, just referred to, provided for the construction of a cut- off from the Des Plaines River, which would divert the flood-waters of that stream and the North Branch into Lake Michigan north of the

city. Nothing was done under this act, however. At the next session (1889) the commission made a favorable report, and a new law was enacted embracing the main features of the Hurd bill, though changing the title of the organization to be formed from the "Metropolitan Town," as proposed by Mr. Hurd, to the "Sanitary Dis- trict." The act, as passed, provided for the election of a Board of nine Trustees, their powers being confined to "providing for the drainage of the district," both as to surplus water and sew- age. Much opposition to the measure had been developed during the pendency of the legislation on the subject, especially in the Illinois valley, on sanitary grounds, as well as fear of midsum- mer flooding of the bottom lands which are cultivated to some extent : but this was overcome by the argument that the channel would, when the Des Plaines and Illinois Rivers were improved between Joliet and La Salle, furnish a new and enlarged waterway for the passage of vessels between the lake and the Mississippi River, and the enterprise was indorsed by conventions held at Peoria, Memphis and elsewhere, during the eighteen months preceding the passage of the act. The promise ultimately to furnish a flow of not less than 600,000 cubic feet per minute also excited alarm in cities situated upon the lakes, lest the taking of so large a volume of water from Lake Michigan should affect the lake-level injuriously to navigation; but these apprehen- sions were quieted by the assurance of expert engineers that the greatest reduction of the lake- level below the present minimum would not exceed three inches, and more likely would not produce a perceptible effect.

At the general election, held Nov. 5, 1889, the "Sanitary District of Chicago" was organ- ized by an almost unanimous popular vote -the returns showing 70,958 votes for the measure to 242 against. The District, as thus formed, embraces all of the city of Chicago north of Eighty-seventh Street, with forty- three square miles outside of the city limits but within the area to be benefited by the improvement. Though the channel is located partly in Will County, the district is wholly in Cook and bears the entire expense of construc- tion. The first election of Trustees was held at a special election, Dec. 12, 1889, the Trustees then elected to hold their offices for five years and until the following November. The second election occurred, Nov. 5, 1895, when the Board, as now constituted (1899), was chosen, viz .: William Boldenweck, Joseph C. Braden, Zina R.

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

Carter, Bernard A. Eckhart, Alexander J. Jones, Thomas Kelly, James P. Mallette, Thomas A. Smyth and Frank Wenter. The Trustees have. power to sell bonds in order to procure funds to prosecute the work and to levy taxes upon prop- erty within the district, under certain limitations as to length of time the taxes run and the rate per cent imposed. Under an amendment of the Drainage Act adopted by the Legislature in 1897, the rate of assessment upon property within the Drainage District is limited to one and one-half per cent, up to and including the year 1899, but after that date becomes one-half of one per cent.

The bed of the channel, as now in process of construction, commences at Robey Street and the South Branch of the Chicago River, 5.8 miles from Lake Michigan, and extends in a south- westerly direction to the vicinity of Summit, where it intersects the Des Plaines River. From this point it follows the bed of that stream to Lockport, in Will County, where, in consequence of the sudden depression in the ground, the bed of the channel comes to the surface, and where the great controlling works are situated. This has made necessary the excavation of about thirteen miles of new channel for the river-which runs parallel with, and on the west side of, the drainage canal -besides the construction of about nineteen miles of levee to separate the waters of the canal from the river. The following statement of the quality of the material excavated and the dimensions of the work, is taken from a paper by Hon. H. B. Hurd, under the title, "The Chicago Drainage Channel and Waterway," published in the sixth volume of "Industrial Chicago" (1896): "Through that portion of the channel between Chicago and Summit, which is being constructed to produce a flow of 300,000 cubic feet per minute, which is supposed to be sufficient to dilute sew- age for about the present population (of Chicago), the width of the channel is 110 feet on the bot- tom, with side slopes of two to one. This portion of the channel is ultimately to be enlarged to the capacity of 600,000 cubic feet per minute. The bottom of the channel, at Robey Street, is 24.448 feet below Chicago datum. The width of the channel from Summit down to the neighborhood of Willow Springs is 202 feet on the bottom, with the same side slope. The cut through the rock, which extends from the neighborhood of Willow Springs to the point where the channel runs out of ground near Lockport, is 160 feet wide at the bottom. The entire depth of the channel is substantially the same as at Robey Street, with the addition of one foot in 40,000 feet. The rock

portion of the channel is constructed to the full capacity of 600,000 cubic feet per minute. From the point where the channel runs out of ground to Joliet Lake, there is a rapid fall; over this slope works are to be constructed to let the water down in such a manner as not to damage Joliet."

Ground was broken on the rock-cut near Lemont, on Sept. 3, 1892, and work has been in progress almost constantly ever since. The prog- ress of the work was greatly obstructed during the year 1898, by difficulties encountered in secur- ing the right of way for the discharge of the waters of the canal through the city of Joliet, but these were compromised near the close of the year, and it was anticipated that the work would be prosecuted to completion during the year 1899. From Feb. 1, 1890, to Dec. 31, 1898, the net receipts of the Board for the prosecution of the work aggregated $28,257,707, while the net expenditures had amounted to $28,221.864.57. Of the latter, $20,099,284.67 was charged to construc- tion account, $3,156,903.12 to "land account" (including right of way); and $1,222,092.82 to the cost of maintaining the engineering department. When finished, the cost will reach not less than $35,000,000. These figures indicate the stupen- dous character of the work, which bids fair to stand without a rival of its kind in modern engineering and in the results it is expected to achieve.

CHICAGO GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY. The total mileage of this line, June 30, 1898, was 1,008 miles, of which 152.52 miles are operated and owned in Illinois. The line in this State extends west from Chicago to East Dubuque, the extreme terminal points being Chicago and Minneapolis in the Northwest, and Kansas City in the Southwest. It has several branches in Illi- nois, Iowa and Minnesota, and trackage arrange- ments with several lines, the most important being with the St. Paul & Northern Pacific (10.56 miles), completing the connection between St. Paul and Minneapolis; with the Illinois Central from East Dubuque to Portage (12.23 miles), and with the Chicago & Northern Pacific from Forest Home to the Grand Central Station in Chicago. The company's own track is single, of standard gauge, laid with sixty and seventy-five-pound steel rails. Grades and curvature are light, and the equipment well maintained. The outstand- ing capital stock (1898) was $52,019,054; total capitalization, including stock, bonds and miscel- laneous indebtedness, $57,144, 245. (HISTORY). The road was chartered, Jan. 5, 1892, under the laws of Illinois, for the purpose of reorganization of

VIEWS OF DRAINAGE CANAL.

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

the Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City Railway Company on a stock basis. During 1895, the De Kalb & Great Western Railroad (5.81 miles) was built from De Kalb to Sycamore as a feeder of this line.

CHICAGO, HARLEM & BATAVIA RAIL- ROAD. (See Chicago & Northern Pacific Rail- road.)

CHICAGO, HAVANA & WESTERN RAIL- ROAD. (See Illinois Central Railroad.)

CHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY, organized, April 24, 1856, for the purposes of (1) establishing a library and a cabinet of antiquities, relics, etc. ; (2) the collection and preservation of historical manuscripts, documents, papers and tracts; (3) the encouragement of the discovery and investi- gation of aboriginal remains, particularly in Illi- nois; (4) the collection of material illustrating the growth and settlement of Chicago. By 1871 the Society had accumulated much valuable material, but the entire collection was destroyed in the great Chicago fire of that year, among the manuscripts consumed being the original draft of the emancipation proclamation by Abraham Lincoln. The nucleus of a second collection was consumed by fire in 1874. Its loss in this second conflagration included many valuable manu- scripts. In 1877 a temporary building was erected, which was torn down in 1892 to make room for the erection, on the same lot, of a thoroughly fire-proof structure of granite, planned after the most approved modern systems. The new building was erected and dedicated under the direction of its late President, Ed- ward G. Mason, Esq., Dec. 12, 1896. The Society's third collection now embraces about twenty-five thousand volumes and nearly fifty thousand pamphlets; seventy-five portraits in oils, with other works of art; a valuable collection of mauuscript documents, and a large museum of local and miscellaneous antiquities. Mr. Charles Evans is Secretary and Librarian.

CHICAGO HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL COL- LEGE, organized in 1876, with a teaching faculty of nineteen and forty-five matriculates. Its first term opened October 4, of that year, in a leased building. By 1881 the college had outgrown its first quarters, and a commodious, well appointed structure was erected by the trustees, in a more desirable location. The institution was among the first to introduce a graded course of instruc- tion, extending over a period of eighteen years. In 1897, the matriculating class numbered over 200.

CHICAGO HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN, located at Chicago, and founded in

1865 by Dr. Mary Harris Thompson. Its declared objects are: "To afford a home for women and children among the respectable poor in need of medical and surgical aid; to treat the same classes at home by an assistant physician; to afford a free dispensary for the same, and to train competent nurses." At the outset the hospital was fairly well sustained through pri- vate benefactions, and, in 1870, largely through Dr. Thompson's efforts, a college was organized for the medical education of women exclusively. (See Northwestern University Woman's Medical School.) The hospital building was totally destroyed in the great fire of 1871, but temporary accommodations were provided in another section of the city. The following year, with the aid of $25,000 appropriated by the Chicago Relief and Aid Society, a permanent building was pur- chased, and, in 1885, a new, commodious and well planned building was erected on the same site, at a cost of about $75,000.

CHICAGO, MADISON & NORTHERN RAIL- ROAD, a line of railway 231.3 miles in length, 140 miles of which lie within Illinois. It is operated by the Illinois Central Railroad Company, and is known as its "Freeport Division." The par value of the capital stock outstanding is $50,000 and of bonds $2,500,000, while the floating debt is $3,620,698, making a total capitalization of $6,170,698, or $26,698 per mile. (See also Illinois Central Railroad.) This road was opened from Chicago to Freeport in 1888.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume I, Part 19

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Church, Charles A., 1857- Publication date: 1916 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 724

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Church, Charles A., 1857-
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 724