History of Chicago
History of Chicago
The word “Chicago” has not always been the word it is today. There are two main theories as to where the name came from; one, from a Native American Ojibwa folk tale, “Chicago” would mean “Place of the Skunk”; and two, some historians believe it was derived from “Checagou”, meaning strong, great, or powerful.
Jacques Marquette, who was a French missionary, and Louis Jolliet, a Canadian explorer and mapmaker, discovered Chicago in 1673. They were the first people be on the land where the city of Chicago was going to stand. They brought five others with them and found a large Amerindian village (close to the current Ottawa). The men were helped and guided by the affable Amerindians that year, and the two men were the first to land in Chicago. In 1779, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, an African American from Haiti, built the first permanent settlement at the mouth of the river just east of the present Michigan Avenue Bridge on the north bank. The exact original name of the settlement is not known but it can be found as Pointe de Sable, Au Sable, Point Sable, Sabre and Pointe de Saible. The first marriage in Chicago was performed in Du Sable’s house, the first election was held, and the first court handed down justice. The religion of the first Chicagoan was Catholic.
In 1803, the first fort was built in Chicago. It was in this year that the War Department demanded that a fort was to be built at the mouth of the river. It began to be constructed on August 17th, 1803, and was finished a year later. It was named “Fort Dearborn” in honour of the Secretary of War. The fort went for many years in peace, with traders thriving. But in 1812 there was a war with Britain and the government ordered an immediate evacuation of the fort. After leaving the fort, the Indians attacked the evacuees, many were murdered, and the fort was destroyed. It was rebuilt in 1816 and was occupied by American troops until 1837 when it was abandoned. It stood until 1856.
Chicago was controlled by Indiana Territory and Illinois Territory from 1801 to 1818. In 1818, Illinois was admitted to statehood.
On March 4th 1837, Chicago was admitted as a city and had a population of 4170. William B. Ogden was elected the first mayor...