- Fort Dearborn
Fort Dearborn, named in honor of
Henry Dearborn , was aUnited States fort built on theChicago River in 1803 by troops under CaptainJohn Whistler . It was on the site of the present-day city ofChicago . The site of the fort is aChicago Landmark and part of theMichigan-Wacker Historic District .Early history
In 1810, when Whistler was recalled to
Detroit, Michigan , he was succeeded by CaptainNathan Heald . It was located at what is now the intersection ofWacker Drive and Michigan Avenue in the Loop community area of Chicago at the foot of theMagnificent Mile .During the
War of 1812 , GeneralWilliam Hull ordered the evacuation of Fort Dearborn in August 1812. Heald oversaw the evacuation, but onAugust 15 the evacuees were ambushed by about 500Potawatomi Indians in theFort Dearborn Massacre . The Potawatomi captured Heald and his wife, Rebekah, and ransomed them to the British. Of the 148 soldiers, women and children who evacuated the fort, 86 were killed in the ambush. The Potawatomi burned the fort to the ground the next day. Following the war, a second Fort Dearborn was built in 1816. This fort consisted of a double wall of woodenpalisade , officer and enlistedbarracks , a garden, and other buildings.Alexander Beaubien
Alexander Beaubien was said to have been the first child of European ancestry born in Chicago. His mother was Josette La Framboise, herself half Native American, and his father was Jean Baptiste Beaubien. Alexander's father was an agent of
John Jacob Astor , who bought furs from the natives. The boy was born in Fort Dearborn on January 28, 1822. He saw Chicago grow to become the second largest city in the country before dying onMarch 26 ,1907 , after a long illness. [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9A05E4DE1F3AE133A25755C2A9659C946697D6CF&oref=slogin New York Times]Later years and legacy
The American forces garrisoned the fort until 1823, when peace with the Indians led the garrison to be deemed redundant. This temporary abandonment lasted until 1828, when it was regarrisoned following the outbreak of war with the Winnebago Indians. Closed briefly before the
Black Hawk War of 1832, part of the fort was demolished to make way for a new channel for theChicago River . By 1837, the fort was being used by the Superintendent of Harbor Works.In 1857, a fire destroyed nearly all the remaining buildings in the fort. The forts tower bell was rescued from the remains by Police Constable Jacob Schoenewald and donated for use in the bell tower of St. Joseph's Catholic Church during its construction in 1864.Fact|date=March 2007 The
blockhouse and the few surviving outbuildings were destroyed in theGreat Chicago Fire of 1871.In 1933, a United States postage stamp was issued in honor of the fort. Part of the fort outline is marked by plaques and a line embedded in the sidewalk and road near the
Michigan Avenue Bridge andWacker Drive . A few boards from the old fort were retained and are now in theChicago History Museum in Lincoln Park.The site of the fort was designated a
Chicago Landmark onSeptember 15 ,1971 .cite web|url=http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/S/SiteFtDearborn.html|title=Site of Fort Dearborn|publisher=City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division|date=2003|accessdate=2007-05-14]Gallery
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
