Bridgeport and the Development of Chicago's Infrastructure

Bridgeport and the Development of Chicago's Infrastructure. The Story of a Neighborhood. Inspired by the vast, untouched prairies , Long before Bridgeport looked the way it does now, Native Americans walked the area trails formed by the large, migrating herds of bison that made pathways through the oceans of tall-grass prairies and along the marshy areas of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. Two of the first European explorers in the area arrived in 1674. During explorations of the Great Lakes, Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet were looking for a faster way to get from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico using the Chicago waterways. Typically they traveled in canoes but in order to reach the Mississippi River, they had to portage from the Chicago River to the Illinois River along a trail that is the present day Archer Avenue. Their journey inspired Joliet, a geographer, to design a new water channel connecting the Chicago and the Illinois Rivers. He knew this would greatly improve trade routes between the north and south. Unfortunately, the challenges of designing and building this canal would not be overcome for more than 150 years. , , A Fur-Trading Outpost to Industrial Bridgeport , Many families migrated towards the untouched Midwest for new opportunities after the Erie Canal in New York was completed in 1825, making travel by water easier. On their journey, land-seeking pioneers would pass through Hardscrabble, a small fur-trading outpost established in 1816 in present-day Bridgeport consisting of a scattering of cabins and farms. Geographically, Hardscrabble is located at a key intersection of the West and South Forks of the Chicago River. In 1830, as Chicago continued to grow, the newly formed Canal Commission drew the first platted map of Chicago that extended the Boundary of the city to include this area and other land south of the Chicago River. This work was done, in large part, for the purpose of including portions of the newly planned canal within the limits of the city. , , Illinois and Michigan Canal Construction , On July 4, 1836, the first shovel broke ground on the Illinois and Michigan Canal project, spurring a new wave of newcomers to Bridgeport. Canal workers, many who had experience working on the construction of the Erie Canal, arrived and settled around Bridgeport. Other immigrants also arrived, many from Ireland, Germany, and Norway searching for opportunities. , , For three years the labor intensive construction of the canal provided steady work for the growing number of families arriving in Chicago. Bridgeport grew at an astonishing rate because of its relative location to the canal work and the quarries, including Stearn's Quarry at 29th and Halsted. The historical significance of the quarries is highlighted today in the 2009 opening of Stearns Quarry Park that exposes the quarry walls for park users to see and experience. Finally in 1848, after over a decade of construction with many trials and tribulations, the first barge crossed the canal at the site of what is now Canal Origins Park at 27th Street and Ashland Avenue. The completion of the canal allowed ships to easily travel from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River, opening up new opportunities and freedom to work and build a new life in America. , , Even Faster Networks for Transportation , Spurred by the immense construction of the canal, horse-drawn streetcars and roadways connecting the canal to the brickyards and quarries were built and new construction materials were transported quickly down the river from the north. Many bridges were also built to accommodate the growing number of people and businesses springing up on both sides of the canal. The bridge at Archer Avenue was the only way to cross the Chicago River for over twenty years, until in 1860, a new bridge opened at Halsted. Construction of the network of rail lines and plank roads increased significantly in the second half of the century, improving and speeding up transportation of people and products. Within these networks, Chicago's present-day elevated 'El' train was inserted in 1892, weaving neighborhoods such as Bridgeport into the central business district. As Joliet had planned, but perhaps more so than he had imagined, Chicago had become a hub for trade and commerce in the Midwest.