When one asks "Which Chicago was first?", the odds are they are interested in the genesis of the great city and how it evolved. Today, the city of Chicago is a thriving metropolis, unlike its original appearance. To understand the very first Chicago, we have to take a step back into history and trace its beginnings as a trading post to its development into a major urban center.

The First Chicago Was A Small Trading Post Established By The French In The Early 1800s

The first Chicago was not much like the mighty city we now know. It began as a small trade post at the mouth of the Chicago River, where French settlers had founded Fort Dearborn in 1803. This small fort was used as the root for the establishment of the first Chicago and later became the main center of growth. At the time, this area was already occupied by different Native American tribes, mainly Potawatomi, who engaged in fishing, hunting, and trading on this river.

Because its location lay between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River, the easy access it facilitated in trade made the area attractive to French traders and settlers. This modest fort was, therefore, the starting point of changing a quiet settlement into a growing trading center, as early Chicago was a frontier outpost but later became one of the major places, where settlers and traders passing through the region needed a stopover.

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The First Chicago Was Built On The Ambition And Innovation Of Its Early Settlers

The first Chicago was a city whose drive of its citizens determined its development. As it developed, it encountered numerous hardships, including its cold winters, floods, and 1871 Great Fire of Chicago. Despite its early inhabitants, its citizens did not yield in developing a lasting city out of it. In the face of obstacles, its citizens kept working towards developing the city into an industrial city.

After the fires, when most of downtown was razed, the city began rebuilding with new technology in construction. Rebuilding, a critical turning point for the city, saw it move towards having buildings with steel frames, and it defined the city’s silhouette. With all obstacles, Chicago’s early settlers could have been motivated to settle in such a position, but through determination and ingenuity, a city was developed.

The First Chicago Survived Difficulties Like The Great Chicago Fire To Rebuild And Thrive

The first Chicago, of course, experienced its fair share of trials and tribulations. Perhaps most important in its early history, and best-known, is the Great Fire of 1871, when a conflagration consumed a significant portion of the city and reduced most of it to ashes. The city was forced to rebuild in more inventive and contemporary ways as a result of the fire, which also served as a changing agent. This marked a change for the city, and then came the creation of skyscrapers and fireproof buildings which would become symbols of Chicago.

The rebuilding of the conflagration ushered in a rebirth for Chicago. When the Chicago School of Architecture was established, the city's architectural community entered a new era marked by the use of steel-frame buildings and fire-resistant materials. All of these new methodologies would go on to mold cityscapes all over the globe. Chicago's first source of fortitude—resilience in defeat—was experienced in its determination in times of rebuilding.

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The First Chicago Flourished Through Its Role As An Industrial And Cultural Center In The Late 1800s

As the 19th century continued, early Chicago grew into an industrious city out of its early days as a trading post. By the 1800s, it became a city of factories, with factories, steel mills, and meatpackers dominating its presence. With its access to transportation via its railroads, its canal, and then its stockyards, it became America's industrial center.

In addition to its industrious development, first Chicago grew into a city of innovation and culture, too. Immigrants moved in from all over the world, and Chicago’s communities grew into a melting pot of cultures, with each contributing to make the identity of the city richer. The city gained a reputation for its architectural innovations, most particularly in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire, when new technology in buildings emerged that would go on to inform buildings worldwide.

Chicago's first boom period in terms of both industry and culture, namely in the late 1800s, prepared the city for metropolitan proportions in the 20th century. The city's early growth was spurred both by work ethic and tolerance for new thinking.

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