A History of Chicago, Volume II: From Town to City 1848-1871

A History of Chicago #2

by Bessie Louise Pierce

The first major history of Chicago ever written, A History of Chicago covers the city’s great history over two centuries, from 1673 to 1893.

Originally conceived as a centennial history of Chicago, the project became, under the guidance of renowned historian Bessie Louise Pierce, a definitive, three-volume set describing the city’s growth—from its humble frontier beginnings to the horrors of the Great Fire, the construction of some of the world’s first skyscrapers, and the opulence of the 1893 World’s Fair. Pierce and her assistants spent over forty years transforming historical records into an inspiring human story of growth and survival.

Rich with anecdotal evidence and interviews with the men and women who made Chicago great, all three volumes will now be available for the first time in years. A History of Chicago will be essential reading for anyone who wants to know this great city and its place in America.

“With this rescue of its history from the bright, impressionable newspapermen and from the subscription-volumes, Chicago builds another impressive memorial to its coming of age, the closing of its first ‘century of progress.’”—E. D. Branch, New York Times (1937)

614 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Bessie Louise Pierce earned her bachelor's degree at the University of Iowa and obtained a master's degree at the University of Chicago in 1918. She joined the faculty of the University of Iowa history department under Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr., who urged her to get a doctorate. In 1929, she returned to the University of Chicago at the request of Charles Edward Merriam to oversee the History of Chicago project, for which she completed three volumes over a twenty-year period (1937-1957). A fourth volume, which was to cover the years 1894 to 1915, was never completed. She returned to Iowa in 1973 and died the following year.