The heyday
of Prairie Avenue as Chicago’s most exclusive residential street is generally
framed by the dates of the Great Chicago Fire in October 1871 and the turn of
the twentieth century. The history of the area, however, goes back much
further, predating the subdivision of the land between present day 16th
Street and Cermak Road in the 1850s. In this first article examining Prairie
Avenue’s early history, we will look at the events that set the stage for the construction
of the first house in 1853.
The earliest
history of Prairie Avenue is tied to Fort Dearborn, which was located nearly
three miles to the north along the Chicago River at what is now Michigan
Avenue. During the War of 1812 with Great Britain, the soldiers and civilians
at the fort were ordered to evacuate for the safety of Fort Wayne in the Indiana
Territory. On August 15, 1812, the party left the fort, traveling south along
the shore of Lake Michigan, which was much closer to the future location of
Prairie Avenue than it is today. Upon arriving at approximately 18th
Street, a brief battle took place with the native Potawatomi who were attempting
to preserve their ancestral lands. There were many casualties on both sides and
Fort Dearborn was burned soon after.
A cottonwood
tree standing at the time of the battle became a symbol of the event. It stood
on the north side of 18th Street east of Prairie Avenue until it was
felled during a storm in May 1894. The illustration below shows the tree in the
1880s, with the coach house of the George Pullman house visible at left. It
also clearly shows that Prairie Avenue was most definitely lake front property.
In 1833, Dr.
Elijah Harmon, the second person to establish a medical practice in the town,
purchased 138.24 acres of land from the U.S. government, paying the standard
rate of $1.25 per acre. He built a modest cabin on his property, which extended
from the present boundaries of 16th Street on the north to Cermak
Road on the south, and from State Street on the west to the shore of Lake
Michigan on the east.
Future Prairie Avenue resident Silas B. Cobb arrived in
Chicago that same year, and in 1900 was interviewed by the Chicago Tribune.
While seated in the home of his daughter at 2027 S. Prairie Avenue, he gave a
vivid impression of what the future Prairie Avenue neighborhood would have been
like at the time:
“Instead of
a flourishing village, the Chicago pioneer found mud, swamp holes, and hogs.
Coyotes and prairie dogs swarmed everywhere . . .Two blocks away on Michigan avenue,
where the steeple of the Second Presbyterian Church stands high in the air, Mr.
Cobb remembered that he once waded through a swamp hole and figured that the
ground never would amount to anything, even for farming.”
Harmon moved
to Texas in 1834 and the next year, Henry and Caroline Clarke purchased the
northernmost 20 acres of his tract, paying $100 per acre, an excellent return for
Harmon on his investment. In 1836, the Clarkes built their Greek Revival home, which
survives today as the Clarke House Museum at 1827 S. Indiana Avenue. In 1837,
the city of Chicago was organized, and present day Cermak Road was established
as the southern boundary of the city, making Clarke House the oldest surviving
building within the original city limits. Despite being part of the city,
Clarke House sat isolated in the country, well over a mile south of the nearest
building. Residents of the city would drive out on Sundays along an old Native
American path (now Michigan Avenue), to see the majestic house set amongst the
scrubby landscape by the lake.
The Clarkes
remained largely isolated through the 1840s. Their only immediate neighbors
were the dearly departed. In 1833, sixteen acres of land had been acquired for
a municipal town cemetery, reserved for Catholic burials. The present
boundaries of that cemetery would be Cermak Road on the north, 23rd
Street on the south, Prairie Avenue on the west, and the lakeshore on the east.
(Today that site is occupied by the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place and portions
of the convention center). The cemetery operated until 1847, when all the
bodies were supposedly relocated to the city cemetery in present day Lincoln
Park. As late as 1897, however, bodies were still being found when construction
was underway for new buildings.
In 1849, a
devastating cholera epidemic swept through Chicago, which led to the founding
of the Chicago Orphan Asylum. This charitable institution provided relief for
the many afflicted immigrants who left behind children, but no family or
financial structure to support them. In 1854, the Asylum completed its new
building at 2228 S. Michigan Avenue. By
the time it moved to larger quarters at South Park Avenue and 51st
Street in 1899, it was estimated that more than 6,000 children had been served
by the institution. (The new building,
located at 5120 S. King Drive, was designated a Chicago landmark in 2009).
Chicago Orphan Asylum, 2228 S. Michigan Avenue
The cholera
epidemic also claimed the life of Henry Clarke, leaving his widow with six
children and a house that had never been completed. In 1850, Caroline Clarke subdivided
17 acres of her land, retaining only a 3-acre parcel around the house, which
sat on the east side of Michigan Avenue. Clarke’s Addition to Chicago was
created in anticipation of the continued growth of the city to the south,
evidenced by the extension of Michigan Avenue beyond the Clarke property and
the daily trips of the State Street stagecoach south to the city limits.
Ironically,
this subdivision marked the beginning of Prairie Avenue, but Prairie Avenue did
not exist in the subdivision. Due to the proximity of the lake, the lots along
the east side of Indiana Avenue were simply extended east to the lake shore. It
was not until after the Civil War that this block was subdivided yet again,
inserting the 1600 block of Prairie Avenue, and configuring the lots as we know
them today.
Another
important event at this same time was the chartering of the Illinois Central
Railroad, which took place in 1851. The railroad reached an agreement with the
city to run its tracks along the shore of Lake Michigan, viewed as a practical
way to preserve the shoreline. The Illinois Central was the longest railroad in
the world when it was completed in 1856. The main line extended from Cairo to
Galena, but a branch line extended from Centralia (named for the railroad) to
Chicago. Three trains daily ran between downtown Chicago and Hyde Park,
providing easy transportation in and out of the city. (It survives today as the
Metra Electric Line, with a station at 18th Street).
Illinois Central train at the foot of 18th Street, c. 1888 (Photo by George Glessner)
In 1852, a
city resolution created Prairie and Indiana Avenues as far south as present day
Cermak Road. Although the north-south streets always bore their current names,
the east-west streets were named differently as follows:
16th
St.: North Street
17th
St.: New Street
18th
St.: Old Street
19th
St.: Cross Street
20th
St.: Bridge Street
21st
St.: Commerce Street
22nd
St.: Ringgold Avenue
These
streets started using their current numeric names in the 1860s when
subdivisions farther west adopted that naming convention, although consistent street
names across the city were not universal for many years.
1858 map - 16th Street at top; State Street at left; Cermak Road at bottom
During the
1850s, several new subdivisions were laid out south of Caroline Clarke’s
property, as investors purchased land in anticipation of development and
rapidly increasing land values. In 1853, the southern boundary of the city was
extended to 31st Street. All the pieces were now in place for the
first residents to purchase lots and build their homes. In next week’s article,
we will look at those neighborhood “pioneers” and the houses they built.
No comments:
Post a Comment