Geography 321- Chicago : Ch. 3 Historical Settlement of North America

Chicago’s history began when Louis Joliet, who was a Canadian explorer, along with Jesuit Jacques Marquette explored the land in 1673, making them the first Europeans. Of course the Europeans were helped through their exploration by local Native Americans. Yet, the first permanent settlement was not until 1781, by Jean Baptiste Point de Sable, who was an African American from Santo Domingo. The choice for Chicago’s settlement was chosen strategically due to the proximity to Lake Michigan, which was used for trade. It wasn't until 1837 that Chicago became an official city. As time went by, Chicago began to grow in population size, during the transcontinental railroads.
One huge disaster well known was the Great Chicago Fire on October 8, 1871. The causes are still unknown, but it started in the barn behind the O’Leary’s house. The fire died out two days later, when rain finally began to fall. The disaster left approximately 100,000 people without homes, and killed 300 people at most. The fire had a great economic cost to the city; nevertheless Chicago was able to recuperate from that devastation. The city quickly began to rebuild and within 6 weeks there were about 300 buildings being constructed. Chicago’s land price began to rise drastically during the late 19th century, and it lead to the constructions of higher buildings. In 1885, the first skyscraper in the world was built by William Le Baron Jenny, the Home Insurance Building.

Website used:

http://www.aviewoncities.com/chicago/chicagohistory.htm