History of Chicago. From the earliest period to the present time, Part 63

Author: Andreas, Alfred Theodore
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas
Number of Pages: 1340


USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > History of Chicago. From the earliest period to the present time > Part 63


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137 | Part 138 | Part 139 | Part 140 | Part 141 | Part 142 | Part 143 | Part 144 | Part 145 | Part 146 | Part 147 | Part 148 | Part 149 | Part 150 | Part 151 | Part 152 | Part 153 | Part 154 | Part 155 | Part 156 | Part 157 | Part 158 | Part 159 | Part 160 | Part 161 | Part 162 | Part 163 | Part 164 | Part 165 | Part 166 | Part 167 | Part 168 | Part 169 | Part 170 | Part 171 | Part 172 | Part 173 | Part 174 | Part 175 | Part 176 | Part 177


H. Blaney, S. S. Williams, Charles Harpell, Matt Con- ley, H. C. Kelly, W. S. West, E. Grubb, J. Battery, Dennis Morris, John McGraw, James Barry, Hiram Scoville, Edward Flood, J. E. McGinnis, S. George, Patrick Barry and Samuel Scott. No. I was put into service by the Common Council, and its membership was limited, as were also its duties. It was disbanded for non-attendance at fires.


THE FIREMEN'S BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION was formed in October, 1847 ; S. F. Gale, president ; J. H. Kinzie, vice-president ; C. E. Griswold, secretary ; A. Gilbert, treasurer. 'The members (and the association included nearly the entire Department) were assessed at first an initiation fee of $1, with annual dues of fifty cents. In 1850 the initiation fee was abolished, and the fees reduced to twenty-five cents. The association was incorporated by the Legislature June 21, 1852, and a new constitution and by-laws were adopted. These con- fined the benefits of the association to the volunteer de- partment, and refused to recognize the "Citizen's Bri- gade as firemen of the city of Chicago." A life membership was acquired by paying three dollars into the treasury. After the great fire of October, 1857, the association undertook the erection of a monument in Rosehill Cemetery, in memory of the brave men who lost their lives in that casualty. It was not completed until seven years after the idea was conceived, but even then it was the first monument of the kind ever erected in the United States. In July, 1853, two physicians for each division of the city were appointed by the associa- tion to attend to firemen who should suffer injuries in the discharge of their duties-Dr. W. B. Herrick and Dr. J. V. Z. Blaney, North Division ; Dr. Philip Max- well and Dr. C. G. Smith, South Division ; Dr. V. L. Hurlbut and Dr. E. McArthur, West Division. The officers of the association up to 1857 were, Presidents- S. F. Gale, 1847-1850 ; C. E. Peck, 1851-1854 ; U. P. Harris, 1855 ; John T. Edwards, 1856-1863. Vice- Presidents, C. E. Peck, 1847-1850 ; U. P. Harris, (resigned before term expired,) 1851 ; P. L. Yoe, 1851- 1852 ; U. P. Harris, 1853-1854; J. M. Donnelly, 1855 ; J. M. Johnston, 1856 ; J. M. Donnelly, 1857. Second Vice-Presidents, J. H. Kinzie, 1847 ; C. M. Gray, (re- signed before term expired), 1848 ; James H. Rees, 1848-1849. (Office abolished in 1850.) Secretaries, C. E. Griswold, 1847-51 (resigned before the latter term expired); J. H. Rees, 1851-52 ; G. H. Rankin, 1852 ; T. W. Wadsworth, 1853-54; C. P. Bradley, 1855 ; Isaac Brown, 1856; P. P. Wood, 1857. Treasurers, A. Gilbert, 1847-55 ; H. Greenbaum, 1856; J. M. Johnston, 1857.


" Hope " Hose Company No 2 was organized March 24, 1848, by George R. Sloat, Hugh Dunlop, P. O. Donahue, Daniel Day, William Lull, Eben Lewis, James Thomas, D. E. Kelly, James S. Gibson, William Mix, Joshua White, J. R. Hamlin, A. P. Penny, George Pen- ny, Noah Sturtevant and W. H. Sadler. In January, 1849, the company resigned, but was re-organized again in October, 1850, with Samuel O. Eames as foreman. The members of the company again resigned but re-or- ganized in November, 1854, and were finally disbanded in 1859. "Hope" was considered the most perfect or- ganization of the kind in the West. S. A. Lowe, George Sloat, Noah Sturtevant and William James, Jr., were among some of the best remembered foremen. At its re-organization, November 27, 1854, the original mem- bers were R. S. Johnson, N. G. Tucker, W. W. Billy, H. Meyer, B. F. White, J. E. Martin, D. W. Jenkinson, B. E. Dye, A. Seligman, J. D. Davis and W. Stebbins. August 1, 1849, " Protector " Engine Company No.


.


VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT.


231


6 was formed; with Charles Morton, foreman; W. H. Hannahs, assistant; T. P. Plantz, secretary; Henry Nettleton, treasurer. Mr. Morton was succeeded in 1850 by W. H. Hannahs. Afterward came E. A. Web- ber, G. P. Groff, R. A. Williams (Chief in 1868), W. J. McMillan and Edward MIendson. Among the members who joined the first year were E. A. Webber, H. M. Nettleton, J. Mitchell, F. J. Hannahs, D. H. Neff, A. H. Dufer, J. Crawford. J. McGinn, L. W. Fish, H. Cook, J. McCafferty, MI. P. Coughran, C. Haysen, S. Baker, M. Lynch, B. Rum, J. Braily, H. Renney, E. Waggoner, E. Low, J. Curtiss, E. O'Rourke, D. W. Coney, J. M. Hannahs, H. B. Bacon, T. Santes, G. B. Stole, P. Willard, F. MI. Justice, G. W. Neff, O. Neff, Erwin Fowler, G. Kenderick, C. Hamlin. A. Warner, and B. Kurn. The company was disbanded June 10, 1859. Its house was then located on West Lake Street, between Clinton and Jefferson.


.


" Lawrence " Engine Company No. 7 was formed September 2, 1850. On January 6, 1852, it was re-organ- ized as the "Eagle." Matthew Conley was its first foreman, and C. E. Peck, Nicholas Gross and John M. Reis also had charge of the company. For a time its headquarters were on LaSalle Street, but afterward a house was built on State, near Harrison. As an efficient organization this company never took the lead, but among its members were several active men. As they were most decidedly " on the muscle," they were often prominently before the public. Once, to the surprise of everyone (themselves most of all), it is related that No. 7 captured the prize at the State fair. This puffed them up with pride and they demanded a new machine. The demand was refused. A few weeks later their en- gine house was burned to the ground, and the " old machine " was found chained to the floor. The point has never been definitely settled whether these circum- stances had any relation to each other, or whether they formed a mere coincidence. The " Eagles " disbanded July 9, 1859, numbering then about forty men.


"Wabansia " afterward " Phoenix " No. 8 was or- ganized December 22, 1851, among its original mem- bers being J. B. Sanford, E. B. McCagg, S. S. Durfee, C. Charleston, J. R. Hugunin, W. M. Larrabee, S. H. Kerfoot, H. A. Mitchell, F. Hathaway, W. E. and J. B. Doggett, F. A. Benson. W. Whitney, J. Magill, G. P. Rumsey, G. L. Hubbard and A. V. G. De Wolf. In June, 1853, the " Phoenix " disbanded and October 17, of the same year, "Cataract " was organized from its remains. Among the foremen of the two companies may be mentioned S. S. Durfee, Silas McBride and O. Dur- fee. "Cataract " went to pieces October 4, 1858.


Hose Company No. 3 was organized as the " Lone Star," December 23, 1851, moving into the house of No. 2 on Franklin Street. Among its original members were: H. Thiele, William Nemeyer, H. Wellmann, F. Busch, D. Tung, W. Sorgenfree, C. Flentze, C. Batz, A. Beck, F. Iselind and E. Kiesling. A. Meyers. A. Bal- som, J. Tyler and William Warlich were foreman. In 1859 the company numbered about fifteen members.


" Illinois " was one of the companies which opposed Mr. Swenie and the paid system, and was among those which turned over their apparatus to the city, and was disbanded by the Common Council on March 22. 1838. " New England " Engine Company No. 9 was or- ganized February 6, 1854, and disbanded March 5, 1855. Among its original members were N. Tryon, J. W. Boutwell. R. W. Sperry, C. Whitcomb, S. Parker. C. D. French, L. M. Emerson, A. P. Grover, N. Mc- Pherson. J. M. Caldwell, B. F. Davis, S. M. Marble, J.


P. Garland, H. P. Norton, H. L. Sweat and George Upson.


" America" No. 9 was organized August 24, 1857, and was disbanded in 1863. W. F. Beecher, W. D. Smith. D. S. Hadley, F. B. Clapp, G. W. Fuller, R. B. Hill, John Lawless, Ed Sanders, W. H. Eddy, W. B. Bateham, D. H. Curtiss, B. M. Green and J. T. Morris were some of its earliest members. The "America's " headquarters were at " Carville," a settlement composed principally of employés of the Illinois Central Rail- road Company. The company was organized by Mr. Bateham.


" Washington " Engine Company No. 10 was or- ganized January 8, 1855, John Schank, foreman. Sev- eral members of "No. 2" were taken into the ranks, but it was composed mostly of Germans. " Washing- ton's " house was located on Wells Street, near Polk, in . the locality of the old Bridewell. The early members of the company, those who joined January 8, were : John Schank, John McCue, John Hainlain, S. J. Noble, Henry Riners, R. Van Riper, Anton Berg, J. Murrita, Jacob Buck, Peter Moulter, John Cook, P. J. Bishop, J. Bear, F. Lubeky, Jacob Pool; F. Schoch, F. Lein- kenheld, G. Hartmann, A. Hackfelt, M. Hickey, John Collins. F. Hagemann, F. Shilthorn, W. Voltmer, R. Pannell, N. Kramer, G. Murray, C. Nickle, D. Baker, J. Brunst, G. Colkbrewer, N. J Kreigh, A. Kramer, J. Wayant, C. Leodding, H. Brinckman, W. Blanke, R. Slagle, A. Matress, W. Koch, C. Koch, F. Jacob- son, S. Caswell, S. Young, Frederick Jahn, Justice Jahn, T. Kiley, and P. Kehre. John Schank was fore- man of No. 10, which was one of the strongest com- panies in the Department. Tom Buckley was one of its best-known members, being its secretary for many years. L. J. North, the circus man, was also one of the company, and an honorary member of the hose company attached to it. No. 10 was disbanded by the Council March 22, 1858.


Next, September 10, 1855, came " Lafayette " Hose Company No. 4, a rival of "Hope ;" M. Powell was foreman. George Irvine held that office at a latter date. The company was stationed on the corner of Clinton and Washington streets. Its original members were: MI. Powell, J. Connell, I. G. Carter, George Haden. J. Powell, H. B. Carter, R. Hackett, J. Stevens, A. McFarlin, H. Taylor, H. Cole, W. D. Francis, T. Maddy and William Curlet. "Lafayette " was one of the last companies to go out of the service.


" Rescue " Hook and Ladder Company No. 2, was admitted to service November 20, 1855. Following is a list of the original members : H. Warlick, P. Lean- narde, C. Stroot, W. Fletcher, B. Weigselbaum, N. Schank, W. Tillman, R. Weiland, A. Hegnar, S. Davis, D. Tung, A. Dube, C. Neugart, H. Tias and O. Shel- meir. Mr. Warlick was the first foreman, and F. Lun- natz subsequently held the place. This company formed a portion of the paid Department.


"Neptune " Engine Company No. 11 was organized February 8, 1856, and was not disbanded until 1860. Original members : T. Scheiner, T. Bahr, F. Rabach, F. Gerbing, J. Rehm, W. Busch, B. Nitchman, J. Sebas- tian, P. Weber, F. Gebel, J. Kuhn and T. Schreiner. N. Siemon and H. Bebec were early foremen.


The house was on Dearborn Avenue.


"Wide Awake" Engine Company No 12 was or- ganized January 31, 1856, with headquarters on Liberty Street, at Third Avenue : John Wagner, foreman. Orig- inal members : George Walter, J. Doetsch, J. Pollak, F. Ross, N. Claris, P. Stevens, F. Miller, J. O'Brien, L.


-


232


HISTORY OF CHICAGO.


Allan, O. Swartz, H. Sudorf, J. Frantz, S. Harper, Charles Rose, H. M. Peters, A. Driz, P. Sullivan, J. Ryan, T Lyons, E. Hays, M. Doharty, and John McMurty George Ross, Charles Rose and Nicholas Claris also act- ed as foremen. It was disbanded August 15, 1859.


" Torrent " Engine Company No. 13 dated from January 31, 1856 ; headquarters on Third Street, near Milwaukee Avenue. It disbanded in April, 1859, but it was again organized. J. M. Lambien, F. Marcus, P. Lambien, H. Nash, M. Waller, George Hettinger, P. Eveling, H. Johnson, H. Nettleton, Peter Miller and E. H.Wagoner, were among its earliest members. J. M. Lambien was its first foreman No. 13 survived most of the volunteer organizations.


" Lady Washington " Hose Company No. 5 was or- ganized January 5, 1857 ; John R. Clark, foreman. Its house was located on the corner of Pacific Avenue and Harrison Street. Original members: J. R. Clark, J. P. Bishop, J. H. Clapp, G. D. Enis, D. Young, O. P. Hull, J. C. Pilot, W. E. Livingston, George Simmons, P. Ludwig, J. D. W. Howard, M. Grant, J. Comfort, J Hart, M. A. Seymour, N. H. Wadem, C. R. Cummings, A. Watt, W. H. Sears, S. Walker and W. Nowland. It was disbanded March 22, 1858.


Although organized previous to the " Lady Wash- ington," (December 5, 1856,) "Liberty " Hose No. 6 was not recognized until a few days afterward ; hence its number. The company had its house near the Un- ion depot, at the foot of Lake Street. Being so near the lake, the location was not conductive to distinctly catch- ing sounds of the fire alarms. Sometimes the boys


missed the bells altogether ; but when " the scouts " were out, and " Liberty " was duly notified of the alarm of the bells, they "made the dirt fly," and created a com- motion in the breasts of " Hope" and "Lafayette." The company remained intact until November, 1858. Its gallant foreman, John B. Dickey, lost his life in the fire of October, 1857. Original members : J. B. Dickey, W. R. Goodnough, M. B. Mills, H. C. Hatch, H. C. Doty, P. Somers, T. O. Wilson, Robert Gardner, C. P. Bower, E. A. Tillibine, A. Greer and J. Thomas. M. W. Shay, assistant marshal in the paid Department, join- ed the company in January, 1857.


"Red Rover " Engine Company No. 14 entered the service January 24, 1857 ; Thomas E. Courtney, fore- man. The headquarters were corner of Blue Island Avenue and Polk Street. The company was dis- banded March 22, 1858, by the Council. In that year James Ready was foreman. The engine was third- class, goose-neck, Wright's style ; the number of men forty-seven. Among its early members may be mention- ed T. E. Courtney, M. P. Ryan, J. H. McCarty, William Foley, J. Magee, George Powell, M. Scanlon, William Day, D. Hays, J. Laughlin, M. Hanley, M. Hays, J. Ready, J. Hogan, P. Walsh, E. Murphy and E. Casey.


"Empire " Hook and Ladder Company No. 3 was added to the Department March 9, 1857 : A Reary, fore- man. Its headquarters were on Clinton Street, corner of West Washington. The company went out of the Department, with other dissatisfied organizations, in March, 1858. No. 3 was the last organization to be ef- fected in the Department during 1857.


HARBOR AND MARINE.


· CHICAGO HARBOR.


Like other works of public utility the improvements and protection of Chicago harbor were accomplished only after many years of experiment and at great ex- pense. The canal and the harbor were twin enterprises. The former would be almost worthless if there were no clear way of exit into Lake Michigan; and without a good harbor to shelter vessels from the storms which raged over the lake, it was early seen that Chicago could never become a port of entry. Previous to the voyages of Joliet and LaSalle, the accretions which had fallen to the lake bottom as they rested upon the ice piled up in the river's mouth, added to the natural for- mations caused by the lake currents, had formed a large sandbar, and, at times, blocked navigation .* LaSalle, from his observations in 1682, fails to see how a shallow cut canal could supply navigable water for the Illinois River during the dry season, or if that should be ac- complished, how commerce would be benefited, since even in a rainy reason the surplus water which flowed over the portage from the Desplaines (the "Chicago," he calls it , would not cover the sandbar at the mouth of the channel.t It is reasonable to suppose that all the early travelers noticed and commented upon this im- pediment to navigation, but until Fort Dearborn became one of the most famous of the Government trading-posts no decisive movement was made for the improvement of the river's mouth. In 1805 the agent at the United States Indian Factory, which was established that year, suggested to the Government the necessity of clearing away the obstruction, in a limited way, from the mouth of Chicago River. But his idea of a harbor was just as limited as his dreams of what the location was destined to be. All that was necessary to insure a safe entrance to the river was a narrow ditch, which might permit the easy passage of a Mackinaw boat up to the very door of the trading house ; and, this effected, his conception of improvement was fulfilled. In a few years, however, keen observers traveling over the Western country saw the geographical advantages which this muddy point possessed, and realized and prophesied its future impor- tance. The canal enterprise was therefore not only pressed to public notice, but the ideas of the new gen- eration in regard to a harbor expanded prodigiously. In 1816 came Colonel Long, and he had something to say about the canal and the harbor. During the next year Samuel A. Storrow, Judge Advocate, traveled through the West, and like many another enterprising man since then, visited " Chicago" and talked about it. He admired the wonderful portage which separated the waters of the Great Lakes from the waters of the Great River, and said that the canal should be a matter of na- tional concern. The Judge also described the site of Fort Dearborn, and as all observers were beginning to do with unanimity bewailed the fact that " it had no ad- vantage of harbor, the river itself being always choaked, and frequently barred." Then, in 1818. William Darby,


. Pierre Margry, in Magazine uf American History.


a New York author, took a trip through the West, and by him there was further expatiating on the wonderful portage and the importance of the canal. The United States commissioners, with their surveyor, Mr. Sullivan, were then running their lines to mark the lands which had been ceded by the Indians in 1816 .* A map was The main


therefore made of Chicago and vicinity.


river flowed northeast and east, for about three-fifths of a mile, to a point nine hundred feet west of the parade ground. From that point it commenced to make a complete bend around Fort Dearborn, and entering upon its direct course south, flowed between the great sand-bank on the east and the marsh on the west, entering the lake (when it could), about eight hundred . yards south of a line drawn east from the present south- west corner of River Street and Michigan Avenue. Some two hundred and fifty yards from the confluence of the river and the North Branch a small creek entered the main channel from the north, while from the south, at a point north of the present Wabash Avenue, another stream entered the river. Opposite Fort Dearborn a smalt bayou stretched back from the river to the north- west. The entire length of the main river in 1818 was about one and a half iniles. No suggestion was made, however, to improve the harbor. It was reserved for H. R. Schoolcraft, secretary of the Indian commission which visited Chicago in 1821, to first call attention to the matter as a measure of general utility and humanity. It is observed that he expressed some doubt as to whether a harbor could ever be formed, but his plan was definite and bordered upon the prophetic :


" We allude," he says, " to the formation of a harbor on Lake Michigan where vessels may lie in safety while they are discharging the commodities destined for Illinois, or encountering the delays which commerce frequently imposes. It is well known that after passing the Manitou Islands there is no harbor or shelter for vessels in the southern part of Lake Michigan, and that every vessel which passes into that lake after the month of September, runs an immi- nent hazard of shipwreck. Vessels bound to Chicago come to an- chor upon a gravelly bottom in the lake, and, discharging with all possible speed, hasten on their return. The sand which is driven up into the mouth of Chicago Creek will admit boats only to pass over the bar, though the water is deep enough to allow vessels to lie above. Among the expedients which have been proposed for keeping the mouth of the river clear of sand, one of the most in- genious, and perhaps practicable, is that of turning the Konomic (Calumet), by a canal of sixteen miles, into the Chicago, above the fort, and by the increased body and pressure of water, drive out the accumulated sands. It is yet somewhat problematical whether a safe and permanent harbor can be constructed by any effort of hu- man ingenuity, upon the bleak and naked shores of these lakes, ex- posed, as they are, to the most furious tempest -. . And we are in- clined to think it would be feasible to construct an artificial island off the mouth of the Chicago Creek, which might be connected by a bridge with the main land, with more permanent benefit to the country at large, if not with less expense, than to keep the Chi- cago clear of sind. Stone for such a work is abundant near the entrance into Green Bay, and, if built on a .c.de sufficiently liberal, it would afford convenient sites for all storehouses required."


The Government breakwater, with the sandbars which it has been the means of forming, may be likened to Schoolcraft's bridge connecting the artificial island


* The map of 19ts wis presented in the case of George C. Puttes vs. lilimos Central Railroad Company, before the United States Circuit Court, Nunthere District of Illinois, in ftetuber, 15;y.


+ 1bid.


233


CHINH


234


HISTORY OF CHICAGO.


with the main land, and his storehouses to the huge ele- vators which now cover those convenient sites. But when Schoolcraft wrote, there was little to be seen but an old stockade fort and John Kinzie's block-house ; and although his general idea of protecting the river's mouth seems to have been the correct one, he did not see the necessity of forming an artificial channel, so that the river's course could be made more direct to the lake, and its current thereby strengthened. This idea, however, was left to be clearly brought out by the en- gineers who made the surveys for the canal route in 1830. In February of that year William Howard, U. S. C. E., proposed a plan for "improving the mouth of Chicago River." His idea was to close the original outlet, and cut 'a channel through the conformation of sand and gravel which prevented the river from flowing eastwardly, in nearly a direct course, north and south piers were to extend out into the lake, in a direction south of east ; the artificial channel being somewhat over one thousand feet north of the natural outlet of the river. The map, and a well-conceived correspon- dence between residents of the settlement and influen- tial members of Congress, caused general attention to be called to the improvement of the harbor, in connec- tion with the building of the canal. When in August of this year (1830) the town of Chicago was surveyed, pro- vision was made for a public levee on the general plan adopted by Western river villages, and extending along South Water Street. But the system applicable to the light-draught river boats was not applicable to the large lake craft. So the levee plan was abandoned, and the location became a part of the wharfing property, which, in later years, gave the corporation so much trouble. The continued efforts made to improve Chicago's har- bor bore fruit in 1833. For the purpose of obtaining an appropriation, a map was sent to Congress, designed to show what a growing town Chicago was. It indi- cated the course of the river, the platted sections of the town, and the contemplated subdivisions. This map, undoubtedly, assisted in securing the appropriation of $25,000, which was obtained from Congress, March 2, 1833. The works were immediately put in charge of Major George Bender, his assistant superintendent be- ing Henry S. Handy. Samuel Jackson was foreman of construction, and held the position for some time. A. V. Knickerbocker was appointed clerk, and continued so to act for a number of years .* Mr. Jackson arrived from Buffalo June 27, 1833, in company with Joseph Chandler and Morgan L. Shapley, and work was at once commenced on the south side of the river, in front of the fort. The first stone was procured about three miles up the South Branch. The ties and timber were cut upon the Calumet, and were rafted down the river into the lake and thence along its shore to the harbor, under the direction of Jones & McGregory, the con- tractors for the wood work. Major Bender resigned October 31, 1833 ; but under his direction between four hundred and five hundred feet of the south pier were


finished.t Lieutenant James Allen took charge of the works in January, 1834, serving until September, 1838. During this season the appropriation of $32,801 was ap-


. Morgan L. Shapley's letter to John Wentworth, May 1Q. 1879.


t Subsequently he was commissioned Captain of the First Dragoons, and died at Fort Leavenworth August 23, 1846.


plied chiefly upon the work of extending the north pier ; and, as a rule, for several years that structure was kept from two hundred to three hundred feet ahead of the south pier. The most of the stone was taken from the quarry opened up on the South Branch. Subse- quently ties and timber were procured in Wisconsin and Michigan, with the exception of a small lot taken from the North Branch in 1834-35. The appropriation of 1835 amounted to $32,Soo, and under Lieutenant Allen's energetic management the work progressed most favor- ably .* By the close of the season the north, or weather, pier had been extended one thousand two hundred and sixty feet into the lake, where a depth of twelve feet of water was found, and most of the structure had been completed to its full height of seven feet. The pier- head was not constructed, for the reason that a new bar commenced to form in the spring, at a point on the lake shore about half a mile from the pier, and was now run- ning obliquely, in a direction which threatened to form an obstruction across the harbor entrance, a short dis- tance from the end of the work. Already the depth of the water on the line of the pier had been reduced from ten and twelve feet to eight. It was therefore resolved to wait until winter was over, when it could be deter- mined whether it would be necessary to extend the pier across the new sandbar and shut out the threatened for- mation from the harbor entrance. It is to be remarked, however, that at the end of the north pier constructed in 1834, and for sixty feet beyond, nine feet of sand had been washed away, leaving a clear clay bottom, at a depth of eighteen feet from the surface. Many vessels had already found shelter there while discharging their cargoes. The south pier, in 1835, was extended five hundred feet, making its total length into the lake seven hundred feet. It will be remembered that during the season of IS33 a portion of it had been constructed across the river and bar. The two piers now enclosed a channel of two hundred feet in breadth, containing from three to seven feet of water, and all was ready for the dredging machines. Up to that time the current of the river had made no great impression upon the sand in the channel. Lieutenant Allen noticed that when the season's work was completed $6,900 of the S32,000 would remain to be applied in 1836, and that $6,000 had been reserved for dredging purposes. Since the opening of navigation until September, two hundred and twelve vessels had arrived and discharged their cargoes at the harbor. Concerning the effects of the "land craze" upon his workmen he said :




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.