Search Results for: Swing bridges

West Chicago Street Railroad Company

Chicago Cable Cars | North Chicago Street Railroad Company | West Chicago Street Railroad Company

On July 19, 1887, Mr. Yerkes and his associates were incorporated under the name of the West Chicago Street Railroad Company, with capital stock of $10,000,000. On October 20, 1887, this company took a lease * for nine hundred and ninety-nine years of the property of the Chicago West Division Railway Company, assuming the payment of interest on the bonded debt of that company, and of an annual 35 per cent dividend on its $1,250,000 of stock. By this lease the newly incorporated company also came into possession of $730,000 of the $1,000,000 stock of the Chicago Passenger Railway Company, and on May 15, 1888, took a lease of the property of the latter company for ninety-nine years, guaranteeing 5 per cent dividends on its stock and assuming the payment of the interest on its bonds.

These transactions gave the West Chicago Street Railroad Company entire control of street railway transportation on the West Side, and ushered in the period of mechanical traction in that part of the city.

Trackage of the Company
During 1890 the company laid seven and one-half miles of new track. Fifty miles of new track will probably be laid during the present year (1891), if the company and the city council come to an understanding regarding rights of way, etc.

Comparative Cost of Cable and Horse Propulsion
The average cost of running a horse car a mile has been 18 cents. Cable expenses are much less than that. The average number of miles traveled by a horse each day has been fourteen miles. The average feed required by the horses has been sixteen pounds of grain and ten pounds of hay.

Description of Cable System
The West Side system is the newest and most elaborate in the city and second to none in the extent of its resources, or the perfection of its general equipment, and for this reason whatever is said in a descriptive way must naturally be confined to it. This, as well as the North Side road, it will be borne in mind, reaches the South Side or business centre by way of tunnels under the Chicago river. These tunnels were built by the city, and prior to the companies in question using them were mere holes in the ground and represented the waste of so much public money. President Yerkes, however, saw how they could be utilized to abace the bridge nuisance, and otherwise serve the people, and was quick to move in the matter of obtaining their use. In consideration of the city allowing him to use the LaSalle street tunnel he built and donated to the public two double steel steam bridges across the river, one at Wells and the other at Clark street, at a cost of over $300,000. The Washington street tunnel was in a far worse condition when taken hold of—in fact, it had been abandoned —and before it could be used had to be rebuilt at a cost of nearly $200,000. Both tunnels are now totally unlike what they were a few years ago, and the public not only recognizes the wisdom of their present use, but finds in them the abolition of the former waits at the swing bridges, which is worth additional hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cily every year.

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West Chicago Street Railroad Mail Car

The Madison Street Line (July 16 1890)
The West Side cable system consists of two distinct lines—the Madison street line, which runs directly west, and the Milwaukee avenue line, which runs northwest. Both lines connect with the downtown ” loop” hereafter referred to, and in smoothness of trackage and comoleteaess of equinraent are prepared to invite the most rigid investigation and comparison. The power for the operation of the system is supplied from three distinct power-houses, all of which are supplied with the best machinery and appliances thatcould be obtained. The principal power-house is located at Madison and Rockwell sts. , being 210 x 225 feet. Itcontains two 1,200 horsepower engines, and one of these is going night and day (moving the cars on Madison st.), while the other is held in reserve in case of an accident. The cable running west t© Fortieth street is driven at the rate of fourteen miles an hour, while the one running east is driven ten and a half miles an hour ; the speed of either of them, however, can be increased at will. There is in addition a Corliss engine to propel a loop rope in the power-house, by means of which the cars can be reversed at Rockwell st. whenever it is necessary. The power-house itself is a neat and attractive structure, lighted by electricity, and surmounted by a smoke-stack 175 feet high.

Down Town Loop —
Fifth avenue, from Washington street to Madison street (single track).
Madison street, from Fifth avenue to State street (single track).
State street, from Madison street to Washington street (single track).
Washington street, from State street to Fifth avenue (single track).
Washington street, from Fifth avenue (through tunnel between Franklin street and Clinton street) to Jefferson street.
Jefferson street, from Washington street to Madison street.
Madison street, from Jefferson street to crawford avenue.

The Milwaukee Avenue Line (June 7 1890)
The Milwaukee avenue power-house, located at the corner of Cleaver st., in outward appearance and general equipment is very similar to the one on Madison st It is supplied with two Corliss engines of 1,200 horse-power each, which were built by Frazer & Chalmers, of Chicago. These two engines operate the entire Milwaukee ave. system, which extends from Jefferson and Washington sts. to Armitage ave. The west end rope is driven at the rate of twelve miles an hour, while the east end rope is moved at the rate of ten and one-half miles. As with the Madison St. ropes, their speed, however, can be increased or lessened at will.

East of Jefferson street — same as Madison Street Line.
Washington street, from Jefferson street to Desplaines street.
Desplaines street, from Washington street to Milwaukee avenue.
Milwaukee avenue, from Desplaines street to Armitage avenue.

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The Gripman
Chicago Cable Cars
Harper’s Weekly
February 25, 1893

South Halsted Street Line
The third power-house is located at the corner of Jefferson and Washington sts., and is where the company’s offices are to be found. This station is furnished with two five hundred horse-power Wetherell- Corliss engines, which are used to operates the Washington street tunnel loop. The cars of both the Madison st, and Milwaukee ave. lines are delivered to the cable at this station, and by it they are drawn through the tunnel and around the loop heretofore mentioned. The service of this particular cable is very exacting. At times the heavily loaded trains are but a few seconds apart, yet there is seldom, if ever, any cause for complaint, so perfect are all the details and so elaborate the machinery and appliances. The dynamos for lighting the tunnel are also located at this point, as is also the base of an electric signal system which extends along the several cable lines. By this system the conductor or gripman can communicate with the powerhouses and offices at any time, which is an adjunct of almost incalculable advantage in keeping the tracks clear and promptly stopping the machinery in case of accidents from any cause.

Down Town Loop —
Franklin street, from tunnel south (about 110 feet) to Van Buren street (single track).
Van Buren street, from Franklin street to Dearborn street (single track).
Dearborn street, from Van Buren street to Adams street (single track).
Adams street, from Dearborn street to Franklin street (single track).
Franklin street, from Adams street to tunnel (single track).
Tunnel, from Franklin street to Clinton street.
Clinton street, from tunnel to Van Buren street.
Van Buren street, from Clinton street to Halsted street.
Halsted street, from Van Buren street to O’Neiil street.
O’Neil street, from Halsted street into car barns at southwest corner Halsted and O’Neil streets.

Cabling Blue Island Avenue (1893)
It is expected by the company that the work of laying cable track on Blue Island ave., the great southwestern artery of the West Division, will be commenced during 1891. Powerhouses are at Jefferson and Van Buren and at Blue Island and 12th Streets.

North and east from intersection of Blue Island avenue with Halsted street same as Halsted street line.
Blue Island avenue, from Halsted street southwesterly to Western avenue and Twenty-sixth street.

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West approach to Washington Street Tunnel, between 1888 and 1906.

Chicago Tribune, March 8, 1899

The West Chicago Street railroad company posed in the attitude of an iconoclast yesterday, and the efforts of the Chicago River to beautify the Washington street tunnel passed unappreciated. Water, seeping through the crevices of the tunnel, had frozen into icy stalactites which studded the roof of the tunnel like dragons’ teeth.

Passengers who buttoned up their coats as they went down into the icy breath of the place thought at first the company had made the first step in an attempt to beautify Chicago, but their thoughts were soon proven groundless when a man in overalls, with a broom, started the work of destruction with desecrating sweeps. There was a small ice field on the floor of the tunnel.

“That’s what I call shabby,” said one man as he went home from work. “It isn’t often the river tries to do anything handsome, and when it does, this company has to spoil it.”

“I thought probably it intended to play electric lights on the ice and offer it as
an amusement to passengers,” said the man’s companion.

“Yes, or advertise ‘Skating in the Washington street tunnel,’ rejoined the
other.

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Chicago Harbor in February
Chicago Tribune
February 17, 1901

Water Entrance to Chicago’s Busy Mart.
1900

The Chicago Tribune stated that the 3 vessels, the Eclipse, of Racine, the Valetta of Canada, and the Fontanelle, of Milwaukee, which were lying at the Clark St. bridge, were pumped dry, and scow Evergreen, with a steam engine on board, having been towed alongside for that purpose, large tanks are to be placed in each vessel which, when pumped out were used to raise the vessels, it took about 3 weeks.

Washington Street Tunnel

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Washington Street Tunnel
Designer: William Bryson

Harper’s Weekly, May 11, 1867

The Chicago River, a narrow stream runs through the city of the same name. A number of bridges furnish the present means of transit across this river, the width of which is not more than 250 feet. To allow the numerous craft to pass up this stream, which is really the harbor of Chicago, on their way to and from Lake Michigan, the bridges are constructed so as to swing upon a pivot arranged in a pier of masonry built in the centre of the stream. These bridges are continually open, making the crossing of them uncertain that it seems strange that the inhabitants of the Western metropolis should have endured the nuisance so long a time. Tunnels are to be constructed to replace these bridges. The one already commenced at the foot of Washington Street, and which we illustrate on this page (below), it is expected will be completed before another year has passed. Our correspondent thus describes it:

A coffer-dam of pile is built half across the stream, the other half being left open for the convenience of passing vessels. Beneath this coffer-dam the tunnel is built, when that side of the river will be thrown open and the dam built on the other side. The estimated cost is $408,000.

Chicago. A Hand Book for Strangers & Tourists to the City of Chicago, 1869

One of the greatest curiosities to strangers visiting the city, is that gigantic undertaking in engineering science, the great pioneer sub-marine tunnel of the western hemisphere. The large number of vessels entering the port of Chicago, requiring the opening of bridges during the season of navigation every few minutes, greatly impeded the long lines of vehicles and pedestrians constantly passing over. The demand for a more eligible means of communication with the several divisions of the city became a necessity. A great public necessity in Chicago can never be long experienced; the people will have a remedy, regardless of cost.

On the 28th of October, 1864, the original ordinance for the construction of a tunnel under the Chicago river was passed by the city council. At this time the real magnitude of the undertaking was scarcely appreciated, and much valuable time was spent in discussing and considering the means and the location. It was at length determined to tax the entire city for the means, and Washington street was fixed on for the location and bids for the work advertised for.

On the 27th of July, 1866 nearly three years after the passage of the original ordinance ground was broken on Washington street for the tunnel, by Messrs. Stewart, Ludlam & Co., to whom the contract had been awarded. They, however, were unfortunate in their mode of procedure, and finally abandoned the work in May, 1867. The contract was then taken by Messrs. J. K. Lake, C. B. Farwell, and A. A. McDonnell, the contract price being $328,500; and they, by a vigorous prosecution of the work, brought it to a successful completion on the first day of the new year 1869, when it was formally opened to the public in an appropriate, though unostentatious manner, the severity of the weather preventing any general public celebration. Subsequently the tunnel was subjected to a practical test of its capacity as a thoroughfare. Five teams were driven through the tunnel loaded heavily as follows: 6,445 lbs., 6,500 lbs., 7,280 lbs., 8,685 lbs., and 9,165 lbs. The weight of the wagons averaged 2,600 lbs. each. The horses were not selected with reference to their drawing capabilities, but were considered as average teams used for that purpose. Those drawing the heaviest load arrived at the top of the grade without showing any symptoms of having been overworked, and all of them went through with apparent ease. Experienced parties gave it as their opinion that loads of 5,000 and 6,000 pounds can be drawn through the tunnel, by ordinary horses, with ease, and with less effort than at many of the bridges. The Board of Public Works were well pleased with the experiment, and entirely satisfied that in this, as in all other respects, the tunnel is a complete success.

1869 Annual Report of Chicago’s Board of Public Works

Tunnel

The tunnel is divided into two portions. That for vehicles dips from Franklin street on the east end, and Clinton street on the west end, forming an open passage way twenty-two feet wide in the middle of Washington street, for a distance of one block on each side of the river. For 332 feet from the entrance the tunnel comprises a single large chamber. It is 10 feet 6 inches at the entrance, and about 150 feet from the river center it increases to 23½ feet. From the invert to the top of the arch the height is 20 feet 6 inches. The invert itself is 20 inches thick, being the segment of a circle 47.66 inches in diameter. At the base the abutments are 8 feet broad, until they reach the height of 5 feet 2 inches, when they continue 6 feet thick for 7 feet more. The arch is 32 feet thick at the sides, and 24 at top ; is 9 feet above the springing lines, and has 3 centres, The spandrel backs are formed of rubble masonry. The chamber at 150 feet distance from the river centre is 18 feet high, the inverts 16 inches thick, the abutments 7 feet 2 inches at base for a height of 3 feet 4 inches, then 6 feet thick for another foot, and 5 feet thick at top. The height above the springing arch is 7¾ feet here. This section extends 364 feet on the west side, and has a corresponding section on the east side, which extends 269 feet. At 110 feet from the river centre, on either side, separate double wagonways begin. Each are 11 feet wide and 15 high. A thick wall divides them, and supports and strengthens the work directly beneath the river bed. The two ends of the passage correspond. Parallel with the carriage-way the foot-passage extends 11 feet high at the centre, and 6 at the sides of the arch. A flooring of white pine is laid on joists, making a good even surface. The lights are 40 feet apart here and 50 in the carriage-way. Entrances are pierced through the walls to the roadways and the other footway.

Neat passenger houses, of Tuscan style, each 22 feet long by 19 feet 4 inches wide, stand on either side of the river over the passenger entrance. Eighteen steps are in each house. Ventilation shafts are sunk 110 feet from the entrance, and by these and other arrangements the air of the tunnel will be kept fresh.

Tunnel

The following is a table of the dimensions and grades of the tunnel:

The visitor will better understand the magnitude of the enterprise by the following statistics:
From July, 1868, to December 31st, 1869, 600,000 hours of mechanics and laborer’s work have been expended in its construction; 45,000 cubic yards of clay excavated; 5,000 cubic yards of cement laid; 6,000 of brick, and 10,000 of stone masonry; 10,000 of broken stone and sand, and 20,000 barrels of Falls City cement. In addition to the manual labor, a large amount of horse and steam labor was used, and several stone quarries were engaged in getting out the stone for the abutments and arches, not to mention the manufacture of the brick, which of itself gave employment to a large number of workmen.

A few items of comparison with the celebrated Thames Tunnel in London, England, will be found interesting to the visitor. The Thames Tunnel was built for the purpose of effecting a ready communication for wagons and pedestrians between the Middlesex and Surrey sides of the river, at a point below London bridge, where it is inconvenient to erect a bridge on account of the width of the river and the heavy East Indiamen and other vessels passing up to the docks. The approaches have never been graded. Over each of these shafts a small house is erected, and the descent is by a winding staircase. Devised by Sir Isambart Brunei, it was commenced in tlie year 1825, but was not opened] until 1843, and has never yet been finished, and probably never will be. It consists of two arched avenues, 1,200 feet long, lighted by gas, and cost 500,000 sterling, or $2,500,000 in gold. Its income has never paid its incidental expenses. In every foot are 6,000 bricks, and its external dimensions are 37 feet 6 inches in width, and 22 feet in height. During its construction the river broke through five times, great loss of life resulting from the irruption of the water.

It seems Fate decreed that the construction of a successful tunnel should be deferred for the young city of the Western World!

Scientific American Supplement, September 19, 1891

State St

THE WASHINGTON STREET TUNNEL.
THE Chicago River and its branches constitute the harbor of Chicago, where all the business of the port by Lake craft is transacted. The arrivals and departures of vessels have reached the enormous aggregate of over 22,000 annually in a season of navigation of about seven months, making Chicago the first port in the United States as far as the number of arrivals and departures is concerned. Along this river are great lumber and coal yards, grain elevators, meat packing establishments, and generally all the means and appliances and paraphernalia of the great commerce by lake centering at Chicago, as well as facilities for transfer from rail to water transportation. The main river and its south branch cut off the business center of the city from the populous north and west sides, and it requires the most careful management by the city officials to accommodate the streams of pedestrians and vehicles and the passing vessels. The opening of a bridge blocks up the streets for long distances, and at certain hours of the day vessels are detained by closed bridges.

State St

This great inconvenience, in spite of quick turning bridges, is daily becoming
more burdensome and annoying to both land and marine interests, and means are eagerly sought to reduce this annoyance, even at a great expenditure of money. Besides the swing bridges, there are two traffic tunnels under the river, and a third one for street car service in progress of construction. The Washington street tunnel illustrated was built in 1869, at a cost of 512,700 dollars, and is 1,525¼ feet long. The bed of the river and the top of the masonry of the river portion are the same, but unfortunately it was built at that time to allow of but 14 feet depth at low water in the river; this depth has always been insufficient, and the tunnel, on this account, was a serious obstruction in the river.

A few years ago the West Chicago Street Railway Company got permission from the City Council to operate its cars through the tunnel, on condition that the level under the river should be lowered so as to have at least 17 feet of water over it at the lowest stage, or 19 feet at mean water, and also that they build a masonry center and end piers over the tunnels to accommodate a swing bridge, the city supplying the super structure. Mr. S. G. Artingstall, engineer, of Chicago, was intrusted with the work, and it was completed in the spring of 1890. For the river section one-half of the stream was closed by a cofferdam, the timber crib which was to Serve as the foundation for the masonry center pier serving as the head of the cofferdam; when this was pumped dry of water the arch of the old tunnels was taken up and a cover for the tunnels built with steel girders 20 inches deep and 2½ feet centers, with brick arches between the girders in four rings of brick, covered with a layer of asphalt and then with 12 inches in thickness of cement concrete. This girder construction was adopted because it required the least amount of lowering of the roadway of the tunnel, while at the same time the necessary depth of water was obtained in the river. For the portion under, the crib for the center pier, and also under the dock walls or end piers, a three-centered arch, built with five rings of bricks, was adopted. The part under the center pier was built by by the usual methods of tunneling under the cofferdam. This part has no only to serve the purpose of a roof over the tunnels, but also is now supporting the masonry center pier and swing bridge. he approaches and all parts of the tunnel at the time were put in thorough repair, the grade of roadway under the river lowered to correspond with the lowering of the roof and the grade of show the old tunnel before work was commenced, and the shaded lines the structure as it now exists.

The West Division Street Railroad Company are now building under the Chicago River, about ¼ mile south of Washington street, a tunnel for the exclusive use of their street cable cars. This work is being done under the direction of Mr. Artingstall, who is now chief engineer of the sanitary district of Chicago, and it is expected will be finished in the fall of 1892. The dimensions of the tunnel are very large, as the company are sparing no expense to make it light, airy, and pleasant for their passengers. The tunnel is 30 feet clear width inside by 16 feet high, and besides passing under the river, goes under two seven-story buildings and one five-story building, and also under all the railroad tracks entering the Union Depot. A large portion of this tunnel is built, and the part under the tracks is in process of construction; the tracks have been undermined and supported without interfering with the passage of a single train. The cost of this tunnel will be about $2,250,000.–Engineering.

Chicago Tribune, March 8, 1899

“That’s what I call shabby,” said one man as he went home from work. “It isn’t often the river tries to do anything handsome, and when it does, this company has to spoil it.”

“I thought probably it intended to play electric lights on the ice and offer it as
an amusement to passengers,” said the man’s companion.

“Yes, or advertise ‘Skating in the Washington street tunnel,’ rejoined the
other.

Electric Trolley Weekly, November 26, 1910

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The rebuilding of the three tunnels under the Chicago river and the preparation for their utilization by the cars of the Chicago Railways Company is coincident with the remarkable rehabilitation of surface traction facilities in Chicago under the direction of the Board of Supervising Engineers Chicago Traction as well as with the plans for an unobstructed river channel which, in response to popular demand, the federal government has insisted upon as an aid to Chicago commerce. The three tunnels, each of which accommodates two tracks, are as follows:

2 The Washington street tunnel extending along along the center line of Washington street, under the south branch of the Chicago river at \\ashington street, has a total length, with approaches, of 1,520 ft. between Franklin street, in the business district, and Clinton street, on the West Side.

3. The La Salle street tunnel, extending along the center line of La Salle street under the main Chicago river between Randolph street, in the business district, and Michigan street, on the North Side, has a total length of 1,887 ft., of which 1,170 ft. of the old tunnel was brick arch, about 180 ft. of iron girders, with brick arches between, and the remaining 537 ft. about equally divided between the approaches.

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Progress of the Work
As stated in Ekectric Traction Weekly, issue of October 22, 1910, the Van Buren street tunnel, which had been in course of construction since July, 1906 was on October 16 officially opened to traffic for small cars, and steps are being taken to remove certain steel columns supporting the elevated railway structure which now prevent the operation of the large through-route cars through this tunnel. As reported in our issue of November 19, 1910, the Washington street tunnel is nearly completed and the installation of car tracks is proceeding while the tunnel builders, George W. Jackson, Inc., are finishing the work at the east approach. The La Salle street tunnel work is well advanced. The War Department has issued a permit naming December 2 as the date upon which the river current may be shut off at Lockport and shipping may be denied passage and the work of pouring concrete about the twin steel tubes which have been constructed in a shipyard may be commenced and the tunnels to La Salle street then sunk into place. As it requires several days to float the tubes to La Salle street, they have been started on their journey.

History of The Tunnels
The Van Buren street tunnel was built between the years of 1890 and 1894 by the West Chicago Street Railroad Company to accommodate the cable line passed which was then being built on Blue Island avenue. The tunnel was a three-centered brick arch of 30-ft. span at the springing line and 20 ft. in height from the invert to the crown of the arch. The west 500 ft. of the tunnel is directly under the Pennsylvania Railroad Company’s yard, while the east 300 ft. support four seven-story brick buildings. The Washington and La Salle street tunnels, very similar in general form of construction, were built with the proceeds of city bonds, the former in 1867 and the latter between 1869 and 1871. In the late 80’s when the street railway companies were contemplating a change from horse cars to cable lines, the Washington and La Salle street tunnels were turned over to them for car operation on condition that the roof of the Washington street tunnel be lowered so as to provide a depth of water over it of 17 ft. instead of 14 ft. This work was done by the company in 1889. In September, 1901, the Secretary of War, in obedience to an act of Congress of April 27, 1904, notified the Chicago Union Traction Company to lower the roof of the Van Buren street tunnel to provide a depth of water over it of at least 22 ft. and also similarly notified the city of Chicago with regard to the Washington street and La Salle street tunnels.

The maximum depth over the tunnels in 1901 was but 18 ft. while the depth at mean water level was as low as 16 ft. The increase in the draft and tonnage of lake vessels made the tunnels a barrier to shipping and this was particularly noticeable when the river level was lowered by reversal of the current due to the opening of the Sanitary and Ship Canal.

The work of lowering the Van Buren street tunnel and removing the roofs of the Washington and La Salle street tunnels was begun by the receivers of the Chicago Union Traction Company in 1906. The Van Buren street tunnel was acquired by the Chicago Railways Company in 1907. On February 11, 1907. the city council passed an ordinance providing for the completion by the Chicago Railways Company of the the work of lowering the river section of the Van Buren street tunnel and the reconstruction of the Washington street and La Salle street tunnels.

The work on the Van Buren Street tunnel, as begun by the Chicago Union Traction Company, consisted of the building of a new steel girder and concrete roof in the river section, the building of bulk heads at each end of the new roof, the cleaning out of old tracks, cables, yokes, etc., lowering the invert and underpinning the old foundation for practically the entire length of the tunnel, rebuilding the pump chamber and well and removing the old roof in the river section. The completion of this work and the equipment of the tunnel for modern operation has been noted.

The work of removing the Washington street tunnel which, in order to comply with the act of Congress was begun under the direction of the receivers of the Chicago Union Traction Company, consisted of the building of a new steel girder and concrete roof over the river section, tearing out the south wall of the roadway, building new foundations in the old foot passage of the tunnel, building water tight bulkheads and finally removing the river section of the old tunnel roof and the center pier of the Washington street bridge, which rested upon the tunnel. This work was completed about October, 1907.

The New Washington Tunnel
About a year later plans were prepared for the construction of a new tunnel and the western approach, designated as section No. 1, was completed by George W. Jackson, Inc., in 1909. In January, 1910, the same company began work on section No. 2, which embraced the east approach and the river section. This work, which is now practically completed, has constituted not only an important but a novel engineering feat, a plan new in tunnel construction having been devised by George W. Jackson, Inc., and used for the first time in this work. When the old tunnel in the river section was torn out, a flat roof, consisting of steel girders supporting a concrete slab, was put in, mainly with intent of complying with the government’s requirements that the old arch be removed as an obstruction to navigation. It was at this time not determined in exactly what manner the flat roof built just above the old invert tunnel would be utilized in building the new tunnel. However, Mr. Jackson and his engineers decided that this roof, as built under the bed of the river, would serve satisfactorily for the roof of the new tunnel and that he would proceed to build concrete side walls under it to support it. An ac companying cross section shows how this was accomplished. Tunnel headings were started and the clay removed in the space represented by the base of the wall to be built. Forms were built, steel reinforcement rods placed and the concrete put in. When the walls had been completed at the base, excavation above this wall and up to the old foundation walls was carried forward. The work was done in sections and lagging at the sides of the walls left in place and all necessary provisions made for the proper support of the old wall until the new wall was ready to support its load. After the new walls had been built, the old invert and the core below were taken out, exposing the new concrete walls. About 200 ft. of this work was done under the main bed of the river.

There still remained 996 ft. of Section 2 to be built, including the east approach, and much the same process was pursued in building the concrete arch. Numerous headings were established, in the manner shown in one of the illustrations, and the clay and rock, removed by means thereof, corresponded to the mold which it was desired the new concrete wall and arch should occupy. The walls of the excavated arch were lined, as rapidly as headings were advanced, with the timbers constituting the forms for the concrete arch; reinforcement was laid and the concrete put in, as the excavation progressed. Later, the core of clay was taken out, exposing the forms, the removal of the latter revealing the finished arch, which has a width of 28 ft. The two tracks of the tunnel are separated up to within 100 ft. of the portals with a curtain wall which, except under the river section proper, was built at the same time as the remainder of the arch and in the manner above described, so that the removal of the core was in two bores as shown in one of the illustrations. The concrete invert for the new tunnel was then put in place. The Chicago Railways Company will proceed with the installation of car tracks as soon as material can be carried into the tunnel and while the tunnel builders are finishing the work at the east approach.

The Board of Supervising Engineers has carried out its intention to build the Washington street tunnel in harmonious accord with the future subway system. Accordingly the track in the present west approach is laid on a temporary grade of 9 per cent, and is, for present use, supported on temporary trestle work consisting of bents on 10-ft. centers with stringers between them to support the ties. The east approach is on a temporary 10 per cent grade. The rail now laid on the west approach is a low T-rail. A double flooring over the ties completes the approach. As will be noted from the profile drawing, the permanent track grade from the subway system into the tunnel is intended to be 2.9 per cent on the west approach and 3 per cent on the east approach. The permanent grade in the tunnel itself is 5.3 per cent. The track work in the tunnel proper will have no unusual features, the subgrade and ballast resting on the heavy concrete invert, which has a minimum thickness of 2 ft. 10 ins. The Board of Supervising Engineers expect the opening of this tunnel to have an immediate effect in relieving the traffic congestion, towards the accomplishment\ of which the efforts of the board have been directed during the past two years. With the Washington street bridge closed to traffic since the commencement of work on the tunnel and with the frequent interruptions to traffic due to the necessity of opening the other bridges over the south branch to permit the passage of vessels, the operating ingenuity of the company and the patience of the public have been severely taxed.
poster
La Salle Street Tunnel
The designs for reconstruction of the La Salle Street tunnel made in 1906 contemplated a new roof in the river section. But in November, 1906, water broke through the invert as the result of a leak and flooded the tunnel. After ineffectual attempts were made to repair the damage it was decided to abandon the old tunnel and to remove it by dredging a deep trench along the outside of the walls, then drilling the walls and roof and blasting. All work of removing the roof and side walls to provide the necessary depth of water required by the government, was completed by April, 1907. Various methods of reconstructing the tunnel were proposed. Owing to the fact that the United States government objected to the obstruction to navigation which would result from the construction of the river section by the open cut method, a double bore steel shell, to be erected in dry dock, floated in place, lined with concrete and sunk to position upon foundations previously prepared, was later designed and finally adopted.

Chicago Examiner, January 30, 1911

State St
Defying superstition, the Chicago Railways Company formally opened its new Washington street tunnel yesterday with car No. 313 on run No. 13, and not a mishap resulted.

Every seat in the car was filled, many being occupied by officials of the company, who rejoiced with the other passengers that there will be no more delays on the line because of traffic on the river keeping the bridges open.

According to Conductor William Lemke the trip was made in one minute and twenty seconds, and though this route takes the cars two blocks out of the old Madison street route the time gained in going from Franklin to Canal street more than overcomes the time lost on the old route by reason of vehicles and open bridges.

Simultaneous with the opening of the Washington street tunnel the La Salle street tunnel tube was towed from the Northwestern docks, foot of Kinzie street, to the north side of the river, between Clark and Wells streets.

A crew of 500 men will be set to work on March 1 and J. A. Green of the Ann of McCovern & Green, who have the contract, said last night that the tunnel will probably be opened for traffic not later than September 1.

Chicago Tribune August 28, 1938

BY HAL FOUST.
George Barton, engineer for the Chicago Motor club, yesterday completed an analysis of a proposal to convert street car tunnels under the Chicago river into automobile passageways. He concluded that money for such an improvement could be spent with more benefit to traffic by elevated highway construction.

There are three of these tunnels—in Washington, and in La Salle street, and near Van Buren street. The Van Buren tube lacks direct approaches from the east and from the west. Heavy motor trafic crosses the bridges over the other two tunnels. With no street car in sight and with a jam of automobiles ahead, drivers have looked covetously at the mouths of these subways as a possible avenue for easy entrance or exit to or from the loop.

Studies Washington Tunnel.
The worst automobile congestion is in Washington street, where the bridge is old and narrow. So Barton selected the tunnel there for detailed study. He found that 1,046 automobiles an hour creep across this antiquated structure during the morning rush at an average of eight miles an hour between Clinton street and Wacker drive.

The motor club engineer calculated that the tunnel, notwithstanding grades so steep as to require second gear driving, could handle 635 automobiles per hour per lane at a rate of twelve miles an hour. The subway has two separated passageways, each wide enough for one lane of motor cars. If both lanes were to be moved in one direction during the rush periods, the capacity would be 1,270 cars per hour, 21 per cent more trafic than is now able to crawl across the bridge.

This diagram shows alternate proposals for converting the Washington street car tunnel into a passageway under the Chicago river for automobile trafic. The estimates of costs and of benefits were prepared by the Chicago Motor club. The club s engineering studies favored the longer of these alternate plans, but rated both far below elevated highways in benefits per dollar of expenditure.

Bridge Opens for Ships.
Barton calculated non-rush hour trafic makes as good time over the bridge as it could make using the subway where grades of 9 and 10 per cent would slow the speed. However, the tunnel trafic would not be stopped by bridge openings. In May, the Washington street bridge was opened for ships and boats 175 times for an average of 3.1 minutes.

Summarizing these factors, it was deduced that 17,000 automobiles a day would use this tunnel if street cars were rerouted. Each auto would save an average of twenty seconds. The total saving, using a somewhat standard evaluation of 2.75 cents for vehicle minute, would amount to $48,600 worth of motorists’ time per year.

Would Return 5 Per Cent Interest.
This $48,600 saving a year, Barton figured, would return 5 per cent in- terest on an investment of $970,000. This is less than the $1,200,000 that he estimated would be required to pay the street car company for its equity In the tunnel and to illuminate, ventilate and pave the tube for automobile use.

It would be a better investment, according to this engineer, to spend $1,500,000 more, or a total of $2,700,000, and extend the tunnel east beyond La Salle street and west beyond Des Plaines street easing the grades to a maximum of 4 per cent. This would step up the driving pace through the subway from twelve miles an hour to twenty-five mines an hour.

Motorists Could Save Three Minutes.
Traffic on the surface and bridge of Washington street between Des Plaines and La Salle averages nine miles an hour In rush periods and fourteen miles an hour in nonrush periods. In the morning and evening rushes, motorists could save three minutes by using the tunnel. The average saving per trip throughout the day would be two minutes. Through east and west trafic would underpass the busy intersections at Jefferson, Clinton, Canal, Wacker, Franklin and Wells street.

The motor club estimated that, at 2.75 cents per vehicle minute, the time that would be saved by the elongated tunnel would amount to $228,175 a year, justifying a capital investment of $4,560,000, or $1,860,000 less than the actual cost of the improvement.

“From these figures,” said Barton, “it would seem that the state highway department or the city should develop the tunnel for automobiles. However, the proposition does not appear so favorably when it is compared with elevated highway construction, where a maximum of safety and convenience is obtained for each dollar invested.

Tunnel Might Prove Dangerous.
“For $1,200,000, the estimated price of the short tunnel, a four lane elevated highway could be built from Clinton street to Union park. For $2,700,000, the price of 3,600 feet of two lane tunnel, the state might build 5.45 miles of four lane elevated highway under Dr. Miller McClintock’s estimates of the cost of a light weight structure for passenger automobiles only.”

“Furthermore, an elevated highway is the safest trafic facility while the tunnel, if the 9 and 10 per cent grades were to remain, might prove prohibitively dangerous. In addition to these steep inclines on which automobiles would have to stop and start, there’s another hazard due to the fact that the tunnel’s two lanes are separated by a retaining wall. In event of a wreck or a fire or even a stalled car it would be difficult to evacuate the tube.”

Chicago Tribune, January 27, 1956

Newly installed fence blocking entrance to old street car tunnel beneath river at Washington and Clinton streets.

George De Ment, acting public works commissioner, reported yesterday that a new fence, barring the entrance of the old street tunnel at Washington and Clinton was erected primarily to keep derelicts from nearby Madison st. from entering the tunnel and possibly drowning in the water that partially fills it. It also deters motorists unfamiliar with the old entrance from driving into it.

AFTERMATH

By 2013 both approaches had been covered.

McCormickville

McCormickville,
Life Span: 1873-1949
Location:

Halpin’s Chicago City Directory for 1864

McCormick Leander J.

Bailey’s Chicago City Directory for 1867
McCormick Leander J. (C. H. McCormick & Brothers), h 78 Rush

Edwards’ Annual Directory in the City of Chicago, for 1870
McCormick Leander J. (C. H. McCormick & Bro.), r. 78 Rush

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1875
McCormick Leander J. (C. H. & L. J. McCormick), Blue Island av. cor. S. Western av. h. 126 Rush
McCormick Robert H. (C. H. & L. J. McCormick), Blue Island av. cor. S. Western av. house 124 Rush
McCormick William G. (McCormick Bros & Findlay) 155 Lasalle, house 157 Rush

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1880
McCormick Cyrus H. (McCormick, Adams & Co.) pres. McCormick harvesting machine co, 14, 120 Lasalle and 67 Dearborn, house 135 Rush
McCormick Cyrus H. jr. reapers 67 Dearborn, house 135 Rush
McCormick Leander J. (C. H. & L. J. McCormick) Blue Island av. se. cor. S. Western av. house 126 Rush
McCormick R. Hall (McCormick & Beebe) 5, 168 Washington, house 124 Rush

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1885
McCormick Cyrus H. jr. pres. McCormick harvesting machine co. 212 Market, house 135 Rush
McCormick Cyrus H. Mrs. house 135 Rush
McCormick Leander J. v, pres. McCormick harvesting machine co. 212 Market, h. 126 Rush
McCormick R. Hall (McCormick & Beebe) 71, 180 Lasalle, house 124 Rush
McCormick William G. (McCormick, Kennett & Co.) 237 Lasalle, home 157 Rush
Blair Edward T. (William Blair & Co.) 172 Lake, house 157 Cass¹

Chicago Telephone Directory, 1892
McCormick Cyrus Hall Residence 321 Huron Main-200
McCormick L. H. Residence 379 Ontario North-812
McCormick R. Hall Residence 124 Rush Main-4884
Blaine Emmons Residence 135 Rush North-703
Virginia Hotel Hotel Rush and Ohio North-92

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1904
McCormick Cyrus H President International Harvester Company, 6th floor, 7 Monroe St h 321 Huron St
McCormick Nettie F wid Cyrus H h 135 Rush
McCormick R Hall capitalist 411 Lasalle h Virginia hotel

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1911
McCormick Cyrus H pres International Harvester co, 14th fl, 606 S Michigan av h 50 E Huron St
McCormick Nettie F wid Cyrus H h 675 Rush
McCormick R Hall trustee Leander McCormick estate 332, S Michigan av h 660 Rush

Polk’s Chicago Numerical and Avenue Directory, 1928
Virginia Hotel, 600 Rush
McCormick Alister (Joan) 631 Rush
McCormick H F (Ganna) 675 Rush
McCormick C H (Alice) 50 E Huron

Chicago Tribune, August 22, 1915

The Chauncey McCormick are moving in this autumn to the house in Rush street that the Higginsons occupled for three years, the old William McCormick home where Chauncey McCormick was born. He has much sentiment for and many associations with the house, which is in a neighborhood which might properly be called McCormickville, as Mrs. Cyrus McCormick, the R. Hall McCormicks, the Cyrus H. McCormicks, the Robert H. McCormicks, the Hamilton McCormicks, and Mrs. Emmons Blaine (nee McCormick) all live within a stone’s throw. It is “the return of the native.”

Chicago Tribune, September 14, 1958

This location was regarded as desirabie as a number of members of the McCormick family chose to live here, between Ontario and Superior streets, which gave the name “McCormickville ” to this section.

78 Rush—Leander J. McCormick (1870), Virginia Hotel (1891)
124 Rush—R. Hall McCormick, capitalist
126 Rush—L. J. McCormack
135 Rush—Mrs. Nettie McCormick, widow of C. H. McCormick and her son Stanley McCormick, comptroller of the International Harvesting Machine Company;
157 Rush—W. G. McCormick of Schwartz, Dupee and McCormick, Board of Trade and
commission merchants
321 Huron—Cyrus H. McCormick, President of McCormick Harvesting Machine
Company.

Leander McCormick Mansion, 78 Rush (Pre-1871)
Virginia Hotel, 78 Rush Street
Cyrus McCormick Mansion, Rush and Erie Streets
Leander J. and Robert H. McCormick—Double House, NW corner Rush and Erie Streets
L. Hamilton McCormick Mansion, NE Corner of Ontario and Rush Streets, 631 N Rush
Harold McCormick Mansion, No. 88 Bellevue Place, 1000 N. Lake Shore Drive

McCormickville, 1893
① 85 Rush

① 85 Rush

② 124 Rush

② 126 Rush

③ 321 Huron

④ 135 Rush

⑤ 151 Huron

⑥ 157 Cass

McCormickville, 1906
① 85 Rush

① 85 Rush

② 101 Rush

③ 124 Rush

③ 126 Rush

④ 135 Rush

⑤ 321 Huron

⑥ 151 Huron

Chicago Tribune, January 17, 1954

Rush st. is one in the list of Chicago streets which has come down after an era of grandeur.

Like Astor and Halsted sts., it was named after a person who had no direct connection with Chicago—Dr. Benjamin Rush, the eminent Philadelphia physician of revolutionary and post-revolutionary days. Rush Medical college was also named for him. Its first quarters were not on Rush st. but Clark st. south of the river. It was later moved to the corner of Dearborn and Indiana sts., the latter now called Grand av.

Long a Busy Highway.
The easternmost swing bridge over the main branch of the river was at the foot of Rush st. until 1920 when the Michigan av. bridge was built , one block east, at what had been Pine st. The latter then lost its name and became an extension of North Michigan av.

Rush st. consequently was for a long time a busy highway, which made the connection between the south bank of the river and, by a diagonal, North Clark st., and, eventually, the Green Bay trail.

Rush st. soon began the brilliant career which was to continue for about 85 years. On it was built Chicago’s first “grand hotel,” the Lake House, in 1835.

A three story brick building, it occupied the entire block between Kinzie and Michigan (now Hubbard) sts. It was described as “elegantly furnished thruout.” Reputedly it cost $100,000 to build, a sum which staggered the citizens of the time.

Pride of North Side.
Four blocks farther north stood Chicago’s first great mansion, the first private house in the city designed by an architect. The architect was John M. Van Osdel, of New York, whom Chicago’s first mayor, William B. Ogden, brought to the city especially to design his house.

With its gardens, stables, out houses, and greenhouses, the Ogden residence occupied the entire block from Rush st. back to Cass st. (now Wabash), and between Ontario and Erie sts. Joseph T. Ryerson, an early settler, described it as a “large double (meaning that it had a hall in its center) two storied conspicuous house with portico and columns and broad steps.”

This house, the pride of the north side, was burned in the fire of 1871, and photographs of it are rare. Among the famous guests entertained there by Mayor Ogden were Daniel Webster and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Era Begins in 1879.
The great epoch of Rush st. may be dated from 1879, when the house of Cyrus McCormick, which had been four years in building, was completed on the east side of the block between Erie and Huron sts.

It was the first grandiose specimen of the so-called “French” style of domestic architecture, which was to become the rage along Rush st. and among all wealthy residence builders of Chicago.

Its inspiration, authorities are fairly well agreed, was in part the additions to the palace-museum of the Louvre, built during the second empire (1852-1870), but more Charles Garnier’s “new opera” of the same period, still standing in Paris, France.

Today the house may seem a social and esthetic document in stone. Its high mansard roof and mansard cupola, its elaborate cresting, its bull’s eye windows, its tortuous exterior ornamentation, its high-ceilinged interior with elaborate fittings in marble and gilt, were perfectly in accord with the age of trailing skirts, uncreased trousers, and high starched collars.

Other members of the Harvester McCormick family built houses around the original one until this area of Rush st. adjoining streets was named “McCormickville.” Most of the residences of the great days of Rush st. have had the same fate as similar houses elsewhere. They have been demolished or occupied by businesses or institutions. A certain number, north of Superior st., are now restaurants or night clubs.

The visitor to Rush st. today may find it interesting to examine the three houses still standing in a row on the east side from Huron st. south. The first is the Cyrus McCormick house, now a gutted and empty shell, waiting for the wrecker, but still giving some faint evidence of its one time splendor.

Still Occupies Home.
The second is the house of Mrs. Emmons Blaine, also of the McCormick family, still occupied and, to judge from the outside, in excellent condition. This house really fronts on Erie st., with its west side and garden wall on Rush st.

The third is the present Kungsholm restaurant, the former Leander Hamilton McCormick residence . A few years ago a fire necessitated putting a new and inharmonious facade along its Ontario st. front, and made it an architectural hybrid, in keeping with the general nondescript air of the neighborhood. By standing on Rush st., however, one can get a good idea of the original.

Qualified opinion had been that this house is the finest structure ever built on Rush st., that its graceful strength, exquisite proportions, and rich simplicity are worthy of its designer, the late Stanford White.

As a scene of social elegance, Rush st. began a slow decay even before the shift in customs and social values which set in about 1910. The Eastland disaster, in which more than 800 lives were lost when an excursion boat docked near the Rush st. bridge capsized in 1915, was a presage of the end.

Becomes Dead End.
when the bridge at its foot was moved away in 1920, Rush st. lost its importance for thru traffic, and became a dead end, a vermiform appendix of a street.

In the decade thereafter, the street shone with a certain dubious glitter as it became the center of Chicago’s higher-priced speakeasies. That was the prohibition and gangster era, and Rush st. is said to have enjoyed considerable favor among the more conspicuous hoodlums of the time.

As it is today, Rush st. rimes with nothing. Amid some tatters of vanished elegance, it is a miscellaneous row of buildings which look as if they got there because no one could think of anywhere else to put them. From the Superior st. corner north, it now is primarily a night entertainment street. Towards its southern end one finds hotels, lodging houses, parking lots, some good restaurants and some lunch counters, some excellent bars, and some which contrive to look sinister.

Center of “Bohemia.”
Two points are noteworthy along this stretch. One os the set of spectacular murals behind one of the bars. It is on the strength of these, probably, that some guide books assert that Rush st. is the center of “Chicago’s Bohemia.” Also noteworthy, just outside of this same bar of the murals, is a puzzling inscription over a sidewalk-level doghouse:

What’s good for a dog is good for me.

NOTES:

¹ On May 29, 1882, Edward Blair married Miss Ruby McCullough, the daughter of the late William G. McCullough and moved into 157 Cass av.

Fort Dearborn Massacre Memorial

Fort Dearborn

Left: Detail of the 1893 Fort Dearborn Massacre Monument by Carl Rohl-Smith.
Right: “Defense” by Henry Herring, 1928. This sculpture adorns the wall of the south western bridge tender’s house on Michigan Avenue Bridge

Chicago Tribune, June 23, 1893

In the presence of ex-President Harrison, Chief Justice Fuller of the United States Sutreme Court, and an assemblage of men and ramen foremost in Chicago’s business and society circles yesterday afternoon Miss Florence Pullman drew aside the silken folds us covered from view the Fort Dearborn massacre group, presented by her father, George M. Pullman, to the city to commemorate a tragedy that took place what is now the foot of Eighteenth street eighty-one years ago. More than a year ago Mr. Pullman decided to erect this memorial, influenced by the fact that his home stands on the battlefield. Near it, in the middle of Eighteenth street, surrounded by an iron fence, is the old, dead cottonwood tree so indissolubly associated with that brave fight and subsequent massacre. Mr. Pullman commissioned Carl Rohl-Smith to make the statue of bronze.

Simplicity marked the dedicatory exercises bharge of the Historical Society, to which ta monument is given in trust. Two hundred and and fifty people were present. Upon the balcony at the back of the house sat the speakers and some of the guests. Among them were:

The host and hostess, Mr. and Mrs. George M. Pullman, ex-President Harrison, Chief Justice Melville W. Fuller, Robert T. Lincoln, Prince Isenberg, E. S. Willard, Marshall Field, Mrs. H. O. Stone, George R. Blanchard, Darius Heald, Capr. J. C. Wyman, Judge J. D. Caton, the Rev. Dr. Clinton Locke, Mrs. MeKee, Miss Kate Field, Mrs. Sanger, Mrs. Arthur Caton, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Clark, Mrs. Sage, Mrs. W. W. Kimball, Mr. ad Mrs. Frank Carolan, T. W. Palmer, Mr. and Mrs. E. G. Mason, Miss Florence Pullman, and Gen. and Mrs. Miles.

Every chair upon the terraces, which slope down from the palm-house, was occupied, and many women in bright summer gowns stood upthrough the speaking.

Mr. Pullman’s Letter.
E. G. Mason, President of the Historical Society, at 4 o’clock opened the exercises by reading Mr. Pullman’s letter presenting the statue. It was as follows:

cottonwood tree

George M. Pullman

The Unveiling Takes Place.
Mr. Mason then said: The statue will sos be unveiled,” and Miss Florence Pullman drew aside a silk flag wound around the group. Applause greeted it, and without further delay Mr. Mason plunged into his speech. He said:
The Chicago Historical Society accepts this noble gift in trust for our high appreciation of the generosity, the public spirit, and the regard for history of the donor. It realizes that this monument so wisely planned and so superbly executed is to be preserved not simply as a splendid ornament of our city but also as a most impressive record of its history. This group, representing to the life the thrilling scene enacted perchance on the very spot on which it stands, barely eighty years ago, and its present surroundings, make most vivid the tremendous contrast between the Chicago of 1812 and the Chicago of 1893. It teaches thus the marvelous growth of our city, and it commemorates as well the trials and the sorrows of those who suffered here in the cause of civilization. The tragedy which it recalls, though it seemed to extinguish the infant settlement in blood, was in reality one which nerved men’s arms and fired their hearts to the efforts which rescued this region from the invader and the barbarian. The story which it tells is there. not deeper significance than many that have to do with.

“Battles, and the breath
“Of stormy war and violent death,” and it is one which should never be forgotten.

With its suggestions before us how readily we picture to ourselves the events of that 15th day of August in the year of grace 1812. Hardly a week before there had come through the forest and across the prairie to the lonely Fort Dearborn an Indian runner, like a clansman with the fiery cross, bearing the news of the battle and disaster. War with Great Britain had been declared in June, Mackinac had fallen into the hands of the enemy in July, and with these alarming tidings the red messenger brought an order from the commanding General at Detroit contemplating the abandonment of this frontier. Concerning the terms of his order authority have differed. Capt. Heald, who received it, speaks of it as a peremptory command to evacuate the fort. Others with good means of knowledge say that the dispatch directed him to vacate the fort if practicable. But Gen. Hull, who sent the order, settles this question in a report to the War Department which has recently come to light. Writing under date of July 29, 1812, he says:

I shall immediately send an express to Fort Dearborn with orders to evacuate that post and retreat to this place (Detroit) or Fort Wayne, provided it can be effected with a greater prospect of safety than to remain. Capt. Heald is a judicious officer, and I shall confide much to his discretion.

The decision whether to go or stay rested therefore with Capt. Nathan Heald, and truly the responsibility was a heavy one. Signs of Indian hostility had not been wanting. But the evening before Black Partridge, a chief of the Pottawatomie tribe, long a friend of the whites, had entered the quarters of the commanding officer and handed to him the medal which the warrior wore as token of services to the American cause in the Indian campaigns of “Mad” Anthony Wayne. With dignity and the sadness the native orator said:

Further, I come to deliver up to you the medal I wear. It was given to me by the Americans, and I have long worn it in token of our mutual friendship. But our young men are resolved to imbue their hands in the blood of the Whites. I cannot restrain them, and I will not wear a token of peace while I am compelled to act as an enemy.

This striking incident is beautifully chosen as the subject of one of the reliefs on the pedestal of the monument. It typifies the relations between the hapless whites and their red neighbors at the moment and the causes which had changed friendship into hatred, and it sounds the note of coming doom.

Capt. William Wells Arrives.
On that dreary day one gleam of light fell across the path of the perplexed commander. Capt. William Wells arrived from Fort Wayne with a small party of friendly Miami Indians to share the fortunes of the imperiled garrison. This gallant man, destined to be the chief hero and victim of the Chicago massacre, had had a most remarkable career. Of a good Kentucky family, he was stolen when a boy of 12 by the Miami Indians and adopted by their great chief, Me-che-kau-nah-qua, or Little Turtle, whose daughter became his wife. He fought on the side of the red men in their defeats of Gen. Harmar in 1790 and Gen. St. Clair in 1791. Discovered by his Kentucky kindred when he had reached years of manhood, he was persuaded to ally himself with his own race. and took formal leave of his Indian comrades, avowing henceforth his enmity to them. Joining Wayne’s army, he was made Captain of a company of scouts, and was a most faithful and valuable officer. When peace came with the treaty of Greenville in 1795, he devoted himself to obtaining an education, and succeeded so well that he was appointed Indian agent and served in that capacity at Chicago as early as 1803, and later at Fort Wayne, where he was also the government interpreter and a Justice of the Peace. Here he heard of the probable evacuation of the post at Chicago, and knowing the temper of the Indians, he gathered such force as he could and made a rapid march across the country to save or die with his friends at Fort Dearborn, among whom the wife of Capt. Heald was his own favorite niece, whose gentle influence had been most potent in winning him back from barbarism years before. It seemed almost as if he had resolved to atone for the period in which he had ignorahtly antagonized his own people by a supreme effort in their behalf against the race which had so nearly made him a savage.

March from the Fort Begins.
He came too late to effect any change in Capt. Heald’s plans. The abandonment was resolved upon, and the stores and ammunition were in part destroyed and in part divided among the Indians, who were soon to make so base a return for these gifts. At 9 o’clock on that fatal summer morning the march began from the little fort, which stood where Michigan avenue and River street now join, on a slight eminence around which the river wound to find its way to the lake near the present terminus of Madison street. The garrison bade farewell to the rude stockade and the log barracks and magazine and two corner block houses which composed the first Fort Dearborn. When this only place of safety was left behind the straggling line stretched out along the shore of the lake, Capt. Wells and a part of his Miamis in the van, half a company of regulars and a dozen militia men, and the wagons with the women and children following, and the remainder of the Miamis bringing up the rear. You may see it all on the panel on the ronument, which recalls from the past and makes very real this mournful march to death. The escort of Pottawatomies, which that treacherous tribe had glibly promised to Capt. Heald, kept abreast the troops until sand hills they reached intervening between the prairie and the lake, and here the Indians disappeared behind the ridge. The whites kept on near the water to a point a mile and a half from the fort and about where Fourteenth street now ends, when Wells in the advance was seen to turn and ride back, swinging his hat around his head in a circle, which meant in the sign language of the frontier:

We are surrounded by Indians.

As soon as he came within hearing he shouted: “We are surrounded; march up on the sand ridges.” And all at once, in the graphic language of Mrs. Heald, they saw the Indians’ heads sticking up and down again, here and there, like turtles out of the water.”

A Volley from the Sand Hills.
Instantly a volley was showered down from the sand hills, the troops were brought into line, and charged up the bank, one man, a veteran of 70 years, falling as they ascended. Wells shouted to Heald, “Charge them!” and then led on and broke the line of the Indians, who scattered right and left. Another charge was made, in which Wells did deadly execution upon the perfidious barbarians, loading and firing two pistole and a gun in rapid succession. But the Pottawatomies, beaten in front, closed in on the flanks. The cowardly Miamis rendered no assistance, and in fifteen minutes’ time the savages had possession of the baggage train and were slaying the women and children. Heald and the remnant of his command were isolated on a mound in the prairie. He had lost all his officers and half his men, was himself sorely wounded, and there was no choice but to surrender.

Such, in merest outline, was the battle, and one or its saddest incidents was the death of Capt. Wells. As he rode back from the fray, desperately wounded, he met his niece and bade her farewell, saying: “Tell my wife, if you live to see her—but I think it doubtful if a single one escapes—tell her I died at my post, doing the best I could. There are seven red devils over there that I have killed.” As he spoke his horse fell. pinning him to the ground. A group of Indians approached; he took deliberate aim and fired, killing one of them. As the others drew near, with a last effort he proudly lifted his head, saying: “Shoot away,” and the fatal shot was fired.

Epitome of the Whole Struggle.
So died Chicago’s hero. whose tragic fate and the hot fight in which he fell are aptly selected as the subjects of the other bas-reliefs of this monument. The bronze group which crowns it is an epitome of the whole struggle, revealing its desperate character, the kind of foemen whom our soldiers had to meet, and their mode of warfare, their merciless treatment of women and children, and setting forth the one touch of romance in the grim record of the Chicago massacre. It illustrates the moment when the young wife of Lieut. Helm, second in command of the fort, was attacked by an Indian lad, who struck her on the shoulder with a tomahawk. To prevent him from using his weapons she seized him around the neck and strove to get possession of the scalping-knife which hung in a scabbard over his breast. In the midst of the struggle she was dragged from the grasp of her assailant by an older Indian. He bore her to the lake and plunged her into the waves; but she quickly perceived that his object was not to drown her, as he held her head above water. Gazing intently at him she soon recognized, in spite of the paint with which he was disguised, the whilom friend of the whites, Black Partridge, who saved her from further harm and restored her to her friends. For this good deed, and others, too, this noble chief should be held in kindly remembrance.

It is difficult to realize that such scenes could have taken place where we meet today; but history and tradition alike bear witness that we are assembled near the center of that bloody battle-field. From the place on the lake shore a few blocks to the north, where Wells’ signal halted the column over the parallel sand ridges stretching southwesterly along the prairie and through the bushy ravines between, the running fight continued probably as far as the present intersection of Twenty-first street and Indiana avenue, where one of our soldiers was slain and scalped, and still lies buried. Just over on Michigan avenue must have been the little eminence on the prairie on which Heald made his last rally, and right before us the sulking savages, who had given away at the advance of our men, gathered in their rear around the few wagons which had vainly sought to keep under the cover of our line.

Massacre Monument at its original site, the Pullman Mansion, at 1729 South Prairie Avenue.

If the Tree Could Speak.
If this gaunt old cottonwood, long known as the “Massacre Tree,” could speak what a tale of horror it would tell. For tradition, strong as Holy Writ, affirms that between this tree and its neighbor, the roots of which still remain beneath the pavement, the baggage wagon containing twelve children of the white families of the fort halted and one young savage climbing into it tomahawked the entire group. A little while and this sole witness of that deed of woe must pass away. But the duty of preserving the name and the locality of the Chicago massacre, which has been its charge for so many years, is now transferred to this stately monument, which will faithfully perform it long after the fall of the “Massacre Tree.”

Capt. Heald’s whole party, not including the Miami detachment, when they marched out of Fort Dearborn comprised fifty-four regulars, twelve militiamen, nine women, and eighteen children ninety-three white persons in all. Of these twenty-six regulars and the twelve militiamen were slain in action, two women and twelve children were murdered on the field, and five regulars were barbarously put to death after the surrender. There remained then but thirty-six of the whole party of ninety-three, and of the sixty-six fighting men who met their red foemen here that day only twenty-three survived. These, with seven women and six children, were prisoners in the hands of the savages. We know of the romantic escape, by the aid of friendly Indians, of Capt. and Mrs. Heald and Lieut. and Mrs. Helm; and three of the soldiers, one of whom was Orderly Sergeant William Griffith, in less than two two months after the massacre found their way to Michigan, bringing the sad news from Fort Dearborn. Hull’s surrender had placed Detroit in the hands of the enemy; but the Territorial Chief Justice, Woodward, the highest United States authority there, in a ringing letter to the British Commandant, Col. Proctor, under date of Oct. 8, 1812, demanded in the name of humanity that instant should betaken for the preservation of these unhappy captives by sending special messengers among the Indians to collect the prisoners and bring them to the nearest army post, and the orders to cooperate should be issued to the British officers on the lakes. Col. Proctor one month before had been informed by his own people of the bloody work at Chicago, and had reported the same to his superior officer,Maj.-Gen. Brock, but had contented himself with remarking that he had no knowledge of any attack having been intended by the Indians on Chicago, nor could they indeed be said to be within the influence of the British.

Ransomed by a Trader.
Now, sparred to action by Judge Woodward’s clear and forcible presentation of the case, Proctor promised to use the most effective means in his power for the speedy release from slavery of these unfortunate individuals. He committed the matter to Robert Dickson, British agent to the Indians of the Western Nations, who proceeded about it leisurely enough. March 16, 1813, he wrote from St. Joseph’s Lake, Mich. that there remained of the ill-fated garrison of Chicago captives among the Indians seventeen soldiers, four women, and some children, and that he had taken the necessary steps for their redemption and had the fullest confidence that he should succeed in getting the whole. Six days later he came to Chicago and inspected the ruined fort, where, as he says, there remained only two pieces of brass ordinance, three pounders—one in the river with wheels and the other dismounted—a powder magazine, well preserved, and a few houses on the outside of the fort in good condition. This desolation apparently was not relieved by the presence of a single inhabitant. Such was the appearance of Chicago in the spring following the massacre. Of these seventeen soldiers, the nine who survived their long imprisonment was ransomed by a French trader and sent to Quebec, and ultimately reached Plattsburg, N. Y., in the summer of 1814. Of the women two were rescued from slavery, one by the kindness of Black Partridge; and the other doubtless perished in captivity. Of the children we only hear again of one. In a letter written to Maj.-Gen. Proctor by Capt. Bullock, the British commander at Mackinac, Sept. 25, 1813, he says: “There is also here a boy (Peter Bell) 5 or 6 years of age, whose father and mother were killed at Chicago. The boy was purchased from the Indians by a trader and brought here last July by direction of Mr. Dickson.” Of the six little people who fell into the hands of the Indians this one small waif alone seems to have floated to the sbors of freedom.

Some of the Indians Punished.
The Pottawatomies, after the battle and the burning of the fort, divided their booty and prisoners and scattered, some to their villages, some to join their brethren in the siege of Fort Wayne. Here they were foiled by the timely arrival of William Henry Harrison, then Governor of the Indiana Territory, with a force of Kentucky and Ohio troops, and condign punishment was inflicted upon a part at least of the Chicago murderers. A detachment which Gen. Harrison signed to this work was commanded by Col. Samuel Wells, who must have remembered his brother’s death when he destroyed the village of Five Medals, a leading, Pottawatomie chief. To one of the ruthless demons who slew women and children under the branches of this tree, such an appropriate vengeance came that it seems fitting to tell the story here. He was older than most of the band, a participant in many battles, and a deadly enemy of the whites. His scanty hair was drawn slightly upward and tied with a string, making a tuft on top of his head, and from this peculiarity he was known as Chief Shavehead. Years after the Chicago massacre he was a hunter in Western Michigan and when in liquor was fond of boasting his achievements on the warpath. On one of these occasions in the streets of little village he told the fearful tale of his doings on this field with all its horrors; but among his hearers there chanced to be a soldier of the garrison of Fort Dearborn, one of the few survivors of that fatal day. As he listened he saw that frightful scene again, and was maddened by its recall. At sundown the old brave left the settlement, and silently on his trail the soldier came “with his gun,” says the account, “resting in the hollow of his left arm and the right hand clasped around the lock, with his finger carelessly toying with the trigger.” The red man and the white passed into the shade of the forest; the soldier returned alone; Chief Shavehead was never seen again. He had paid the penalty of his crime to one who could, with fitness, exact it. Such was the fate of a chief actor in the dark scene enacted here.

Tribute to William Henry Harrison.
Many others of the Pottawatomie tribe joined the British forces in the field, and at the battle of the Thames, Oct. 5, 1813, they were confronted again by Harrison and his riflemen, who avenged the slaughter at Chicago upon one of its perpetrators.Victor and victim also have passed away. The story of their struggle remains, and this masterpiece will be an object teaching it to after generations. Mr. Pullman’s liberal and thoughtful action is a needed recognition of the importance and interest of our early history, an inspiration to its study, and an example which may well be followed. The event which this monument commemorates, its principal incidents, and the after fortunes of those concerned in it, have been briefly sketched and much has necessarily been left unsaid. But we should not omit a grateful recognition of the services of the able civilian soldier, William Henry Harrison, who staid the tide of barbarians which flowed from the Chicago massacre be humbled the tribe which was responsible for that tragedy. The name of Harrison is infinitely and honorably associated with he early frays in the Northwest, withe war of 1812, and with the highest office in the gift of the American people half a century ago, it is likewise intimately and honorably associated with the later days of the Northwest, with the great Civil War, and again with the highest office in the gift of the American people in our own times. It is fitting that the distinguished descendant of William Henry Harrison should be here today. It is a high honor that the the eminent ex-President of the United States should grace this occasion with his presence, which makes these exercises complete. I have the great pleasure of introducing to you ex-President Benjamin Harrison.

Ex-President Harrison’s Speech.
There was a burst of applause as the ex-President came to the edge of the balcony. He held a few sheets of note paper in his hand. Gazing at the intent audience for a moment he read their contents slowly and then folding them up finished extemporaneously. It was a polished, eloquent effort filled with lofty sentiment and a spirit of high patriotism, and many times the distinguished speaker was interrupted with applause. The ex-President said:

Chicago is exalted today, lifted up to a, pinnacle that brings upon her the vision of the world. The nations, great and small, all races and tongues, have sent hither their official representatives with the choicest product of their art and of their handicraft. She has builded for the reception of the Nation’s guests and for the display of their treasures palaces which in extent of adaptation, and in classic grace and beauty far excel the best efforts of the cities that have before opened their gates to receive the representatives of the world. [Applause.]

Doubts, difficulties, jealousies, and petty criticism have been swept away with the clear sunlight of a magnificent success shines upon the great enterprise. [Applause.] All other States and cities of this proud, united, and happy land share with you in the joy of this success, for it is an American success, [Applause.]

But we are not at the White City today. Here, in this quiet corner by the lakeside, we come to be instructed by recalling an incident of the year 1812. These exercises are not out of time. They are not inharmonious. The starting just as well as the finish must be taken of in the race. We get a better view of the oak at the buttressed trunk, the towering crown, and the spreading branches of the magnificent tree. The first rude structure that moved by steam upon the tramway sets off the 80-miles-an-hour locomotive more than its paint and brasses. So the picture Mr. Mason has given as of Chicago in 1812 makes the city of 1893 more a thing of magic, than the White City. [Applause.]

Looking at the Beginning.
But there is something better than the mere cause of growth to be had out of this brief visit to Fort Dearborn, to the Kinzie House, and to the sand dunes that drank the blood of brave men and women and of innocent children. It is morally wholesome for a man or community that has been highly exalted to consider the beginning. The soldier whose banner has triumphed on every field where it has been unfurled does well to look at the cradle in which he was rested and the homely surroundings of his child-Red, for they recall the services and the sacrifices of that generation, and of the humble father and mother whose unselfish and unobserved heroism made his greater career possible. [Applause.] Doing this he will carry away some abatement of his pride and a higher sense of obligation.

I am glad that we are beginning to build monuments. Bunker Hill was, not long ago, lonesome, but now every city and nearly all counties have built in commemoration of the heroes and of the cause. The sculptor has found the universal language. He speaks to the schooled and to the unschooled. The history of the conquest of the West is full of incidents calculated to kindle the historian, and to stir the imagination of the novelist, the painter, and the sculptor. The pioneer was as fine as he was unique in character. Free and unconventionally brave and self-reliant, as responsive to the cry of distress of a knight errant, he pushed the skirmish line of civilization from the Alleghanies to the Rockies. All honor to him. He labored and forever entered into his labor. We possess the lands he won from the savagery of nature and of the natives. Have we as strong a hold upon the sturdy virtues which his life illustrated?

Every community should properly mark the scene of such historical event as we now commemorate. The future is full of imperious demands, but the historian serves the future as effectively as the projector. We shall value our possession of lands and free institutions more highly if we learn that they were bought not with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but with precious blood, the blood of the brave and of the innocent. We shall, after this lesson, be more willing to preserve by blood, if need be, that which was nought by blood.

Afforded a Display of Heroism.
This event which this monument commemorates was not a great military achievement. In the light of history the evacuation was a fatal mis-take, but it was the occasion for bringing into prominence, it gave a field of display, for some of those traits of heroism, of courage in men and women, which so marked the whole course of our pioneer experience. [Applause.]

I am glad that the generosity of your fellow-citizen (Mr. Pullman) has marked this spot. There is a teaching and an inspiring force in every such structure. Our land is not old. We cannot show to these visiting foreigners any ruins or any ivied castles. There is the mark of the chisel yet upon all our structures. And yet no century of the history of any nation’s life can be found fuller of heroic adventure, of unselfish devotion to duty of high enterprise, and of success in the establishment of great institutions than this century of our young existence. [Applause.]

It is, I am sure, a pleasant thing for you who are here to turn back and away for a moment from these hurrying scenes that are about you and to look with contemplated eye upon these incidents in the early history of Chicago, which, if they teach any lesson, teach this: that the prosperity of communities, the safety and honor of States, must be bedded upon a virtuous, self-respecting, law-abiding, and God-fearing people. [Applause.],

Inspecting the Bronze.
The ex-President’s speech concluded the ceremonies. He, with Mr. Pullman, the sculptor, Carl Rohl-Smith, Norman B. Ream, E. Gillason, and a few others, walked down and inspected the bronze. Others of the guests followed and returning scattered through the library and palm house and the grounds. Little groups were formed, refreshments were served, and for half an hour the occasion resembled a garden party. It was nearly 6 o’clock before the last of the long stream of carriages which blocked the surrounding streets had melted away. But numbers of people came and went around the beautiful statue until darkness fell and hid its details from view.

In the pedestal of the group was placed a copper box containing the following:

Standard Guide of Chicago

Story of Chicago

Story of Massacre

Standard Guide of Chicago, Flinn, 1893
Chicago Massacre of 1812, Kirkland, 1893

Fort Dearborn Massacre
Charles Turzak
1930

Chicago Tribune, July 10, 1931

Hardly had the city contain adopted a resolution to observe formally the anniversary of the Fort Dearborn massacre on Aug. 15, than the shrine marking the site of the tragedy disappeared yesterday. Only the heavy base of the monument at 18th street and Calumet avenue, erected years ago by the Pullman family in front of their mansion, remained last night. The statuary, however, was in kind hands.

The agents of the city could not find, for a time, the bronze group which depicted Black Partridge rescuing the wife of Lieut. L. T. Helm from an Indian who tried to kill her. This monument had been placed there by the family of George M. Pullman to mark the scene of the massacre. Black Partridge. who had received a medal from “Mad Anthony” Wayne, had been friendly to the whites and had advised that the fort be held until help could arrive. This advice was disregarded because of orders from Gen. Hull at Detroit to abandon the fort after the British in the war of 1812 had captured the fort at Mackinac.

Lieut. Helm, his wife, and Capt Nathan Heald. who commanded at Fort Dearborn, were among the 25 soldiers and eleven women and children who had survived the massacre. Those who had left the fort included about 41 able bodied troops, 12 women and 20 children. The killing occurred Aug. 15, 1812.

Yesterday inquiry was made among city departments to see who had ordered removal of the bronze group but no information was obtained at the city hall of the issuance of any such order.

As a, matter of fact, city officials, it was learned, have lately appealed to the south park board to inform them where authority over the site belongs. When told that it lay with the city, they declared themselves entirely at sea as to which department would or should have it in charge.

A call to the Chicago Historical society solved the enigma. Hubbard Shattuck, director, promptly furnished all the details of the activity about the monument, and its whereabouts.

“Right at this moment the statuary is resting out in the historical society yard,” he revealed. “We gave the order to remove the figures, as custodians of the memorial. Something had to be done to save it from the depredations of vandals and the corroding influence of the trains passing the spot. as well as the damp air. All these things had wrecked havoc with the bronze, and we hope to be able to restore it.

Just what will be done with it in the future remains a problem. The site, near where the actual massacre occurred, is the logical place for it. But that part of the city is in an unsettled condition at present, and it may be erected somewhere else. A committee headed by Dr. Otto L. Schmidt has the matter in hand. I understand the city officials are bewildered about the site hardly knowing in what department it belongs or what la to be done with it.”

Chicago Tribune, September 11, 1931

Various prominent citizens of Chicago yesterday received a communication from Theodore L. Condron, engineer, requesting an expression of opinion about a plan for relocating the Fort Dearborn Massacre monument. If sufficient impetus is given, the plan will be laid before the city officials, officers of the Chicago Historical society, and the south park commissioners, for their approval and consent.

The Condron plan is to place the bronze group on a safety island dividing the west plaza of the 23d street viaduct over the Illinois Central tracks. One of three locations most favored is the center of the roadway, where the figures would be faced westward, on a diamond shaped island with traffic lights imbedded in the eastern and western points of the island base.

This position would give the monument a commanding site, certain to be passed each year by millions of motorists entering and leaving the city. A further advantage lies in the fact that the point chosen is not far distant from 18th street, usually designated as the scene of the massacre. As a matter of fact, the clash between the Indians and the soldiers and civilians deserting the fort is thought to have spread out for some distance along the lake shore.

Depredations by vandals and erosion by rust and smoky atmosphere recently inspired the Chicago His torical society to remove the massacre monument, which depicts Black Partridge rescuing Mrs. Helm, to its own property at Dearborn and Ontario streets. Restoration of the figures and of the bronze plates, torn off many months ago by thieves, will precede any decision as to the future locale of the monument..

Chicago Tribune, August 14, 2009

A tragic chapter in Windy City history known to generations of schoolchildren as “The Ft. Dearborn Massacre” will be renamed by the Chicago Park District on Saturday.

With a military honor guard and Native American dancers, a patch of green at 18th Street and Calumet Avenue is to be dedicated the “Battle of Ft. Dearborn Park.” That apparent nod to political correctness won’t go down well with many Chicagoans who, from bar stools to seminar tables, cherish their city’s legend and lore.

“It’s not to say there wasn’t a massacre, but we wanted to provide a vehicle for people to come together,” said Tina Feldstein, president of Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance the ceremony’s host.

Call it what you will, what occurred there on Aug. 15, 1812, was no picnic. Now, it’s a pleasant spot for alfresco dining in a gentrifying neighborhood, but 197 years ago, it was a place of bloodshed.

The U.S. and England had gone to war a second time, and a party of soldiers and pioneer Chicagoans evacuated Ft. Dearborn, then on the country’s western frontier. Having reached the site of Saturdav’s festiv-ities, they were ambushed by 500 Potawatomi warriors. Two-thirds of the Ft. Dearborn group were killed 61 to 63 men, women and children. So, too, were 15 Indians.

It is often said that history is written by the victors. But it’s tricky to apply that aphorism to the battle over what to call the Battle/ Massacre of 1812.

The Indians won the encounter, taking survivors into captivity, later selling them to the British, and burning Ft. Dearborn. But their victory only quickened the U.S. government’s efforts to evict the tribes from their villages and hunting grounds. By 1833, the year Chicago was incorporated as a town, the Indians had been re moved from its vicinity, noted Russell Lewis, chief historian of the Chicago History Museum.

So it’s not surprising there’s more than one collective memory of the event—as Feldstein’s group discovered when it set out to name the park a couple of years ago.

John Low, a member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and director of the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, in Evanston, saluted the winning choice as even-handed, not “casting the parties as victims or victors, villains or heroes.”

The naming contest began a couple of years ago, when a resident of the Near South Side neighborhood suggested the park be named for Black Partridge. That would have been both neutral and appropriate, according to Jerry Crimmins, author of the historical novel “Fort Dearborn.” Black Partridge was an Indian who warned the soldiers and settlers of an impending attack, urging them not to retreat from the fort, as they had been ordered. He accompanied the Ft. Dearborn group on its ill-fated journey, protecting a white woman from attackers.

“He tried to prevent the conflict,” Crimmins said. “Black Partridge should be a hero to both sides.”

When Black Partridge was nominated, someone recalled that a statue honoring him used to stand near the site of the encounter, suggesting it be re-installed at the new park. First, though, the neighborhood group had to get the local alderman to sign off on the proposed name.

Technically, the Park District chooses. But in Chicago-style politics, an alderman is, so to speak, the Great White Father of his ward.

“When they brought the name to me, my question was: ‘Can you get the Indian tribes to agree?’ ” said Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd). “I said: I doubt vou can.’

That was a pretty good guess-given what had happened to the Black Partridge sculpture.

The statue depicting Black Partridge shielding a white woman from another Indian’s tomahawk-was commissioned by railroad-car magnate George Pullman, whose estate was near the site of the encounter. The statue stood there from 1893 to 1931, then was installed in the lobby of the Chicago Historical Society. In the 1970s, Native Americans protested its display.

“From their perspective, Black Partridge was a traitor,” said James Grossman, co-editor of “The Encyclopedia of Chicago.”

In the 1980s, the statue was acquired by the city, which moved it back to the neighborhood when the Prairie Avenue community began to be revitalized in the 1990s. Subsequently, it was again removed (1997), and placed in city storage, ostensibly to conserve it, where it remains.

The alderman’s warning came true: Naming the park for Black Partridge was vetoed by various Native American organizations, including the American Indian Center. Once Black Partridge was out of the running, “Ft. Dearborn Massacre.” wasn’t a viable candidate.

“‘Massacre’ is such a judgmental word,” Low said. “We discussed how, from another perspective, you might call it ‘Victory Park.'”

Feldstein recalled the delicate negotiations it took to find a compromise acceptable to all parties.

“I got an unbelievable history lesson,” she said

Others are less sure of what the lesson is. Grossman is pleased with the name change, from massacre to battle. He thinks it corrects a bias in the story of how the West was won- and lost.

“If you look at standard texts, when the Indians win, it’s a massa-cre,”
‘Grossman said. “But when the Americans win, it’s a battle.”

But Crimmins is troubled by the snub to Black Partridge and Chicago history, as he sees it. “Historical revisionism typically takes heroes from the past and makes villains of them,” Crimmins said. “As long as I write about it, I’m going to call it the Ft. Dearborn Massacre.”

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