Ann Durkin Keating

War and the 1833 Treaty, and because it goes back to that 1816 Treaty, so it's the Illinois-Michigan Canal Commissioners make at the mouth of the Chicago River.

And that plat is what becomes downtown Chicago.

And that is, to my mind, I mean, if you're thinking about when do you want to start Chicago history, 1833 seems a reasonable moment, 1812, late 1780s when DuSable is there, 1803 with Fort Dearborn.

In 1830, though, there's an argument because that's when land is now real estate, when you can start to sell it.

And the U.S.

government is thinking about it in those terms.

Now, it's not the U.S.

government.

They have given this land to the new state of Illinois to use to build the canal.

But it's government land being sold in that way.

So the story now becomes really different.

Right.

I mean, in a big part of that, we can make a linkage here in that there's a lot of money made at Chicago in real estate speculation in the 1830s.

And that real estate speculation is critical.

to the money that's needed for investment in railroads in an industry.

The other thing that I think is really interesting in thinking about what you've just laid out is that the federal government agrees to improve the harbor at Chicago.

So the harbor at Chicago, there is really not a harbor at Chicago.

There's a sandbar at the mouth of the Chicago River.

And beginning in the mid 1830s, the Corps of Engineers comes in and basically

cuts through the sandbar and dredges the Chicago River so that it can be used as a harbor.