The J. V. Farwell & Co. warehouse of 1856 was the first large building of its type, thought too large before the railroads became a major factor. The Encyclopedia of Chicago notes that Cooley Farwell & Co. became J. V. Farwell & Co. in 1863. The firm’s location was 112-16 Wabash. In 1864 J. V. Farwell withdrew his active participation to work on the Sanitary Commission, raising funds for relief and medical care for soldiers with his brother Charles B. Farwell, fomer chair of the cook County Board, taking over ofr him. After the war he pursued other religious and charitable work (D. L. Moody, YMCA) in this country and Great Britain (the latter 1867-68, according to Lake Forest historian Edward Arpee, 1964, 1992). The building was destroyed in the Chicago fire, 1871.
J. V. Farwell & Co., 112-16 Wabash
Lithograph by Edward Mendel (1866).
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