Prairie Pages: Early Chicago

              Fort Dearborn Massacre
After the Revolutionary War, the new federal government
decided that Illinois needed protection from the British. Even
though Great Britain had lost the war, a treaty in 1783 allowed
the British to continue trading for furs with Native Americans in
Illinois. Having a former enemy still in business on American
soil was a strong reason to build a fort in this region. In 1803,
Fort Dearborn was built at the mouth of the Chicago River.
Before the Revolutionary War, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable had
built a trading post in the same area. Du Sable had married a
Potawatomie woman who helped him run the trading post, a
mill, and a farm. He had to close the trading post during the
war, but he and his wife returned when the war ended and
stayed until 1800. The new trading post operator was John
Glossary
massacre—the
violent killing of a
number of people
treaty—an agree-ment
between two
groups or countries
trading post—a place
where goods could
be exchanged; for
example furs were
traded for guns
mill—a building
provided with ma-chinery
for grinding
grain into flour
Prairie Pages
Vol. 4 # 2 Education Services Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
Early Chicago
DuSable trading post at
the head of the Chicago
portage. Courtesy
Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Library.