Historic Chicago River Mouth and Harbor

(Satellite)

These notes cover the time period when sails and steam powered the ships and tugs. For later views of the Chicago River mouth, see S-curve and Chicago River Controlling Works.

The Illinois Central Grain Elevator notes also have some images of old ships.

Some sources consider the entire river to be a harbor.

 

Paul Petraitis updated

chiriverlab_timeline
Between 1816 and 1834 the sandbar at the mouth was channelized.

 

1 of 2 images posted by BDBRCPC
Chicago In 1779 (then called Eschikago) showing the cabin of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the first permanent settler of the city, color lithograph produced by Ackerman & Sons, 1930.
A portrait of Du Sable is on the lower right, while his cabin is more closely rendered in the lower left of the image. (Photo by Chicago History Museum/Getty Images).
[The comments provide more information about Jean Baptiste Point du Sable.]
Vanished Chicagoland shared

BDBRCPC posted three images with the comment: "The Town of Chicago, population 350. Incorporated August 5, 1833. https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:0r96fm830"

Raymond Kunst shared

Jonathan Billig: The original city limits were 22nd Street to the south, North Ave.(1600 n.) to the north, Wood Street (1800 w.) to the west, and, of course, the lake to the east.

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Crowley's Yacht Yard Lakeside posted

Map of Chicago looking west in 1833 when the population had reached a teeming 350.

The early Chicago River is shown with some ancient tributaries. 

For perspective, Sam Miller's Public House was located on what would later be called Wolf Point.

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Brendon Baillod posted three images with the comment:

This amazing vintage gatefold woodcut engraving arrived this week.  It is an original two page fold-out illustration from Harper's Weekly dated June 1884 and is nearly 140 years old.

It shows a birds-eye view of an extremely busy Chicago harbor mouth and is lavishly detailed.  It gives an excellent feel for the hustle and bustle of a large early Great Lakes port, capturing the smoke, soot and general congestion of the river mouth.

There is a lot to unpack in this image, with many interesting vessels, including the sidewheeler Chicago, a fully rigged barkentine and several other interesting vessels.  The Life Saving Station is visible at the pierhead and a great deal of Chicago's early waterfront is rendered with excellent detail.

This image was too big to scan so I photographed the page, which reduced the resolution and introduced some coloration.  It was made from the top of the lighthouse at the harbor entrance and was likely adapted from an original photograph, which no longer exits.

Brendon Baillod shared

Dennis DeBruler shared

Chicago River Mouth in June 1884

When I glanced at this image, I knew it was old because:

• black smoke was still condered a sign of prosperity
• the Illinois Central still had both of its grain elevators
• the Interstate Exposition Building (the one with three domes) is still standing
• some of the ships have sails
• the lumber trade is at the mouth rather than down by Lumber Street on the South Branch
• there is no fill east of the IC trestle along the lakefront
• there is a railroad bridge connecting IC and C&NW's Navy Pier line

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Dennis DeBruler commented on his share

Brendon Baillod posted
This excellent early Chicago stereoview arrived today.  It shows a scene on the Chicago River looking east out the harbor mouth at Lake Michigan.
The card was made about 1882 and is a republication made by the Chicago stereoview publisher George F. Gates.  The original image is a bit earlier, dating from about 1880.  
[The description continues with an analysis of the schooner Mary E. Perew.
From Brendon's private collection. It is used with permission.]

Brendon Baillod posted

This imperial size stereoview card of Chicago Harbor arrived today. It was published in 1885 by Woodward Stereoscopic Company of Rochester, New York as part of their Chicago, Ill and Vicinity series.
It is titled Chicago Harbor from Lake Street Bridge and shows a harbor tug working on a large schooner with a grain elevator in the background. When I bought the view, I was pretty sure I saw a nameboard on the schooner, but unfortunately, it was just one of the scuppers. Additionally, much of the view is obscured by the tug's steam, and the exposure is also somewhat uneven.
The tug is a bit more interesting. She bears an ornate V.O.T.C on her bow, signifying the Vessel Owners Towing Company of Chicago. They owned about a dozen tugs, but only a few at Chicago during this period. Based on the date of the view, which is known with some accuracy, she might be the tug Thomas Hood, but I'd welcome other opinions.

[From Brendon's private collection. It is used with permission.]

Brendon Baillod posted

It's been a good week for new acquisitions.  This stereoview of the Chicago River arrived today.  I believe it shows the Clark Street Bridge in the distance as a tug brings a three-masted schooner up the river on the right and a large passenger steamer approaches on the left.

The card was extremely dirty when I received it with the vessels being mostly obscured.  I cleaned it gently with a damp cloth and distilled water, which removed a surprising amount of dirt and grime.  The cloth was black when I was done.

This is a view I've never seen before and appears to be a 1880s or 1890s reproduction of an earlier original as evidenced by the single panel that comprises both the left and right images.  The actual image looks to be from the 1870s.  No names are visible on the vessels but the flag on the stern of the steamer is nearly legible.

[[Image copyright © 2023 by Brendon Baillod.From Brendon's private collection. It is used with permission.]
Brendon Baillod shared
Terry Gregory: Very interesting. My GGGF was a well known Chicago Shipbuilder from 1855-1884. I’ve been researching his boats for 20 years. Here is my research (also a Chicago Historian).
https://chicagology.com/harbor/ships/
Brendon Baillod: Terry Gregory That's an excellent piece of research! Thanks for sharing. I come across John Gregory regularly in my research and have researched or own images of many of the vessels he owned. I see them regularly in vessel enrollments, news micros, USLSS Annual Reports, MVUS registers and Inland Lloyds/BLU registers.

Association for Great Lakes Maritime History posted

A repaired image from a damaged dry plate negative of the Chicago River looking east from the Rush Street Bridge, circa 1905 (Image Source: Library of Congress – Detroit Publishing Co. Collection). A high-resolution copy of the photograph shows the steamer Virginia on the right.

In the background on the right is the steamer Iowa. On the left side of the image is the schooner W. O. Goodman of Chicago. The freighter Syracuse of the “New York Central & Hudson River R.R. Line” is in the background on the left side of the river. 

In the foreground on the left is the tug Harry C. Lydon towing a barge. The wording “Chicago & Great Lakes D.&D. Co.” appears on the vessel’s bow. In the background on the right is the tug A.B. Ward which appears to have towed a barge of coal to alongside the Virginia for fueling.

[The description goes on to provide the history of the ships.]