Invention, Innovation, and Industry in 19th Century Chicago (How Chicago went from 0 to 100 in 100 years)

Reynaldo Gutierrez
Sep 7, 2018 · 8 min read

In order to get from the small fur trading post called the “Wild garlic place” to the metropolis labelled the Windy city, a long arduous journey must be taken for these two locations are worlds apart. They are not worlds apart in the traditional sense that the rural sounding “Wild garlic place” seems so distant and culturally contrasting to the metropolis labelled the Windy city. No, rather these locations are worlds away for they are the same location separated by global effort and impact. The world in which a Chicagouan (Wild garlic place citizen) lived in was not the same as that in which a Chicagoan lived in. The life of a Chicagouan in early 1800's was simple and diverse as the small fur trading post had fewer than a hundred people (Native Americans, French, Americans) and booze as the main means of entertainment.

The life of a Chicagoan in the late 1800’s was a complex kind of simple and a whole different level of diverse. This next level of diversity showed through Chicago’s people who came from all corners of the world, as well as through Chicago’s business products, services and infrastructure. The simplicity in the life of a Chicagoan rose from the city’s mantra “Make money”. The complexity arose from the How? When? Where? With who? The people themselves did not say “ Make money” the city as a whole shouted it as people paced frantically from one location to the next to make deals, shop, sell, clock in. The city shouted is mantra as people ate their lunches in ten minutes, built homes in days, build skyscrapers in months, and continuously innovated for the century. Perhaps those in the future market did shout “Make money”. Chicago certainly became the place to do so, but only through a century of invention, innovation, and industry.

The location of Chicago was one that always showed potential for it connected to the great lakes and therefore could be used to trade with the east coast, not to mention it wasn’t too far off from river-ways that dumped into the Mississippi therefore enabling trade with much of the Midwest and south coastal regions. However true this may have been, Chicago was still since its first look into potential settlement hugely problematic. These problems included but were not limited to the very muddy lands, the established Native Americans in the surrounding areas, and long winters. Through the eventual abandoning of the land by the french and the federal support of establishing a settlement and fighting off Native Americans, Chicago arose. Still its prospects were largely limited by its inaccessibility to much of the Midwest. While the trip from Chicago to both the great lakes and the Mississippi could technically be made for trading purposes, there was a huge streak of muddy land which disconnected possible river connections.

The solution to this was to build a canal that connected the Illinois River and lake Michigan. The prospect of this canal invited investors from all over the country. One of these investors was William Ogden who revolutionized the city of Chicago. Once settled Ogden made it clear to the people that he cared for Chicago if at least for he had personal business ventures in the city. Ogden was elected mayor and what came involvement in most sectors of city life for Ogden. Ogden helped establish many recreational, academic and artistic facilities such as libraries and theaters. He most importantly helped establish infrastructure such as prisons, hospitals, fire fighting forces etc. Ogden helped make the city more sustainable. One of Ogden’s biggest achievements was establishing a harbor in Chicago’s shores. The harbor helped make trading via boats and ships a lot more efficient, convenient, and safe. Being able to properly shelter ships with cargo from the storms of Lake Michigan was a huge benefit to trade in Chicago as it lessened the risk in trading through Chicago. The combination of the harbor and canal made for a strong economic force which brought in business, goods, people, and most importantly further investment.

William Ogden established a strong foundation for Chicago through business ventures and infrastructure development

Ogden’s greatest achievement arguably was his establishment of railroads. By providing shares to farmers, Ogden was allowed to build railways through lands which through time grew vast until they reached the ends of the country. At the center of it all of course was Chicago. This establishment of railroads was extremely innovative and opened doors for all kinds of trade, trade which would make Chicago grow exponentially. One of the more important features of the establishment of railroads was the viability for farmers to grow cash crops ( in this case grains, wheat). Before farmers were hesitant to grow cash crops as yes, they would cease more profit but only if traded with Chicago which was miles upon miles of mud apart. Trips lasted days or weeks on end and that was only if farmers were no more than a 100 or so miles away from Chicago. With train transport, farmers were able to more easily transport goods and so the grain industry boomed. This was in large part to the demand for grains in order to make alcohol which was of huge importance to the city of Chicago for its immigrant population was culturally tied to drinking. Through mechanical engineering and innovation the harvesting of wheat became even more profitable. The McCormick reaper was allowed to be purchased on credit by farmers in order to yield better harvests. The success of the reaper coupled well with the grain elevator, which lowered the price of grain even more. Chicago was the center of the grain market in the United States. The grain market’s prosperity opened up new avenues for trade in Chicago in the likes of the Chicago Board of Trade and in consequence the Future market. The Chicago Board of Trade was established to have a more centralized location of conducting business matters of mass goods. The wheat and grain industry was the biggest to be invested in at the time and so it was important to create a type of quality control and a more official process of trading. With the establishment of the Board of Trade the grain market was clearly going nowhere and so people began to put their money on just that. Future crops and therefore goods could be bought at a present price at the Future Market which had citizens betting on the idea that what they bought now would be worth more later.

Grain was not the only thing that made its way to Chicago in mass. The emergence of easy transport allowed for the lumber market to take off in Chicago. With its connections to northern states, Chicago was the place where lumber was centered. From Chicago, people purchased lumber all over the country. Chicago had effectively made itself the middle man to many markets and lumber was no exception. Expansion of people to the west and general building of new infrastructure required wood. People now had access to commodities like furniture and hard wood flooring. With this strong hold on the lumber market came another innovation, one that would help infrastructure across the country, mail order. Mail order was a process which now allowed consumers to make purchases from Chicago markets, whilst not actually in Chicago. This gave everything made in a Chicago factory a wider reach to customers. Business men like Richard Warren Sears became extremely wealthy and further invested. Mail order offered a multitude of goods that ranged from a wide variety of products such as clothing of all sorts, furniture, tools, and even whole structures as mail order was used to capitalize on the lumber market in Chicago as whole sets of wood for buildings were sold. The train shipments would include everything required to build specified buildings and their instructions and just like that the establishing of settlements and homes further west became much easier. These newly established towns would go on to seek trade, most likely through trains which were centered at Chicago.

Sears Catalog

Undoubtedly the biggest market Chicago was able to foster and capture during the 1800’s was that of the meatpacking industry. This was in large part to innovation brought upon by Gustavus Franklin Swift. Swift developed such key components to the expanding of the meat industry as the ice-rail cart, and the usage of animals parts for material goods such as glue, soap, and fertilizer. The ability to obtain large quantities of ice via train extended the ability for meatpacking to go all year. The refrigerated cart and storage also meant that meat could be sent farther distances without spoiling. Chicago further developed as it created its first world market. At the Union Stockyards the meat packing was made extremely profitable as an assembly line process was used. This disassembly line process was extremely effective but at the same time very vile and gruesome to the livestock. Part of the effectiveness of the disassembly line came from the fact that animal by products were also collected and used for things like glue. This meant that not only the meat of the animals would make Swift.co money, the parts of the animals which before had no value now would too. The meat packing industry changed the way food production was thought of. Usually the food citizens would eat would come from not too far away( a dozen miles away maybe), but when Chicago elevated the meat packing industry the food could come from the other side of the world. The world demanded the meat of Chicago for it was already cut, the labor of a butcher was not needed and so prices often favored this meat. Chicago’s meat industry made major growth during the civil war as the Union demanded meat for their troops.

Entrance to Union Stockyard which could be smelled from quite far

It is Chicago’s emphasis on opportunity and money that has seen it grow into the metropolis it is today. The establishment of the railroads was huge to the rise of Chicago as it allowed for business to be conducted in new, cheaper, more efficient ways. Through the innovation and inventions of men like McCormick and Sears markets were captured. The constant building of infrastructure and seizing of opportunity by both businessmen and immigrant workers alike caused an unprecedented amount of growth and turned what was once the world of Chicagou into the world of Chicago.

https://medium.com/@pahwadivya/the-history-of-the-catalog-b5334841e941

Spinney, Robert Guy. City of Big Shoulders: a History of Chicago. Northern Illinois University Press, 2000.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade