Chicago's Pride: The Stockyards, Packingtown, and Environs in the Nineteenth Century

by Louise Carroll Wade

Chicago’s Pride chronicles the growth -- from the 1830s to the 1893 Columbian Exposition - of the communities that sprang up around Chicago’s leading industry. Wade shows that, contrary to the image in Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, the Stockyards and Packingtown were viewed by proud Chicagoans as “the eighth wonder of the world.”
 
Wade traces the rise of the livestock trade and meat-packing industry, efforts to control the resulting air and water pollution, expansion of the work force and status of packinghouse employees, changes within the various ethnic neighborhoods, the vital role of voluntary organizations (especially religious organizations) in shaping the new community, and the ethnic influences on politics in this “instant” industrial suburb and powerful magnet for entrepreneurs, wage earners, and their families.
 

Genres: History

440 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1986

Reviews

[David Eppenstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

First let me say that this is not a book for the general reading public but more for a narrow interest group. The book is a history, a scholarly history, of Chicago's Union Stockyards from its inception right after the Civil War up to the opening of the Columbian Exhibition in 1893. The Chicago Stockyards existed for just over a century before they closed and moved around 1970 to other more accommodating locations around the country and primarily the West. The groups that this book would probably appeal to are Chicago history buffs (me), students of urban planning, social work, urban politics, public health and all such related fields. My particular interest is based on the fact that I entered this world in a rooming house my parents owned next to my grandmother's home at 43rd and Emerald. Emerald is the next street East of Halsted which is the East border of the Stockyards and from my reading of this book Emerald was the home of such Stockyard personages as the entire Swift family. I was also to learn that the church I was baptized in and attended for my first 2 years of education, St. Gabriel's, was the anchor of the Irish Catholic community and a significant power in the Stockyards area. The architect for St. Gabriels was Daniel Burnham and St. Gabs is the only Catholic Church in the Chicago Diocese that is a legitimate architectural landmark as opposed to simply a historical landmark. I learned a lot about the history of an area I have a personal connection with but this is a history and a scholar's history and while the author has done a wonderful job of research and reporting scholars aren't known for their storytelling skills. Consequently, I must state that the book can and is frequently dull and dry but it does have a great deal to convey.

What I found truly interesting is learning how my home town grew after the Civil War. If you have any interest in the history of how one of our modern cities evolved from a bunch of shacks built around a swamp and then had the whole thing burn down and then to experience a Phoenix-like rebirth to assume the record among the cities of the world for achieving a population of one million people in less time than any city in history then maybe this is a book to consider. The book primarily revolves around the meat packing industry so you will be introduced to the Swifts and the Armours and a lot of other lesser known figures in the 19th century history of that industry. This history details how that industry was the impetus for Chicago's growth and how it attracted the railroads which attracted other industry and population increases. How all of these attractions snowballed and created opportunities and problems and how the opportunities demanded solutions to problems involving clean water supply, sewage disposal, paved streets, mass transit, public health initiatives, inexpensive housing, labor movements, ethnic community issues and politics and on and on. This is a history that will take the reader from the muddy streets Bridgeport to the park-like street of Garfield Boulevard (55th Street). This book clearly details the real birth and evolution of a modern American city as I can't help but believe the Chicago experience is significantly different from the urbanizing experiences of other cities in this country. Of course there are differences and Chicago did have its share and more of good fortune based on geography but much of how the Chicago infrastructure came into existence is probably similar to other cities as are the problems dealing conflicting ethnic cultures and melding those cultures into American democracy. As I stated it is a good book for those with an honest interest in the subject but it's not for everybody. Enjoy.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun little detour from my broader studies of the latter part of the 1800s. In other readings, the growing Chicago livestock and meatpacking industries, specifically the Union Stockyard have been intriguing peripheral events that invited further research. This book provides a great overview of the origin and expansion of the Union Stockyards, bounded generally by S. Halsted, W. 47th, S. Ashland, and W. 39th (now W. Pershing), as well as the evolving social, political, and economic implications. In fact, I found the last third of the book dealing with these three topics to be a little too detailed for my taste, as my primary focus was on the operation of the Stockyard itself. However, this level of detail is still potentially useful for the urban explorer and/or Chicagoans interested in local history. Many of the neighborhoods that sprang up around the Stockyards are still identified by their original names - Back of the Yards, Canaryville, etc, and the Stone Gate near Halsted still stands as a reminder and reference point. The casual reader will easily identify some of the key figures of the early years - Armour, Swift, et al. There's a good overview of the growth of the packing operations in addition to the livestock market, as well as the introduction of refrigerated railcars and increased efficiency in the packing plants. Overall, a good primer for further reading and local neighborhood exporation.

[Riegs · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book is more footnotes than actual text. Probably good academic reference material, but not very accessible to the casual reader.