Early Railroad In
Chicago
-First ten-mile section of track of Galena-Chicago Union Railroad
began in 1848
-By 1853 tracks extended 100 miles northwest of Chicago
-By 1857 3,000 miles of track were connected to Chicago
*Nearly 100 trains entered and departed the city daily
Railroad Brings Business

Before 1865 no railroad companies
operated trains both east and west of
Chi., so Chicago became center of the
railroad
◦ Railroads then channeled commerce to Chi.
◦ Passengers would also disembark and spend
money
Business Booms
People began flocking to the city;
population was 30,000 in 1850 to 110,000
in 1860
 Chicago’s unique position as center of
railroad meant Chi. controlled commerce
from Michigan to Oregon
 Chicago would come to dominate 4 major
industries:
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Grain Trade
Lumber
Meatpacking
Mail-order Catalogue
The Need For Lumber
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Prairies of Illinois were ideal for farming, but
were treeless
Lumber was needed for homes, barns,
fences, and heating fuel
Railroads needed lumber for more track
construction
◦ 1,000 wooden railroad ties were needed for 1 mile
of track
* Cities also needed lumber for nearly all structures:
homes, warehouses, stores, and even sidewalks
and streets
Chicago Dominates Lumber
1. Chi. Was close to large untouched
forests in Wisc., Mich., and Minn.
 2. Big White Pines could float, so
lumberjack could float lumber from rivers
to L. Mich.
 3. Never a shortage of men to harvest
trees
 4. Railroad could easily transport lumber
around the country

The Lumber Numbers
By 1867 around 200 ships unloaded
lumber in Chi. per day
 In 1872 9,000 of the 13,000 ships coming
to Chi. Carried lumber
 By 1880 Chi. Shipped out 1 billion broad
ft. of wood via railroad

The Meatpacking Industry
Other cities had grain elevators & lumber
yards, but no city had the stockyards like
Chi.
 By the 1860s the stockyards was the #1
tourist attraction in Chi.
 Butchering animals was becoming a
science in Chi. b/c meatpackers were
making use of every part of the animals
they could

Meatpacking and The Civil War
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Before the Civil War stockyards sold pigs,
cattle, and sheep to local butchers who would
butcher the animals slowly
The war led to high demand for food; more
than 1 million military men
Pork began to pour into the city via railroad
B/W 1859 and 1863 Chicago’s pork output
grew sixfold
1862 Chi. Was largest meatpacking city in
the world
Union Stockyards
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1 ½ sq. miles of land, 4 miles south of
downtown, west of Halsted b/w39th and 47th
streets
Contained miles of water troughs and 10
miles of feed troughs
Nearly 30 miles of drainage pipes carried
animal waste into the Chi. River
1868- 21,000 cattle, 75,000 hogs, 22,000
sheep
There was even a 200 room hotel for buyers
and sellers.
The Process
Chi. Meatpackers mastered the art of
butchering livestock using assembly line
techniques
 Animals traveled down a line on hooks
and were disassembled piece by piece
 The process was done in such a way to
maximize profit, but it appalled many
people

The Workers

1865-1880 many workers were skilled
Irish and German butchers

After 1880 unskilled immigrants were
hired so the bosses could pay lower
wages, and make more money for
themselves
Workers Continued…

Low wages created slums where health
was poor & housing was deplorable

Low wages and the ability to use the
whole animal created huge profits
◦ But stockyards created a very dark, poor, and
ugly Chicago
Questions

What parts of the animal were used in the
process of this mass butchering? What were
some of the end products of the various parts of
the animals?

Who were the butchers in factories b/w 1865 and
1880 in Chicago?

Who began to take over the job of butchering
animals after 1880? Why?

What factors led to the creation of Chicago’s 19th
century slums?