Chicago’s Big Shoulders: People Who Put Chicago on the Map

In December 1674 Father Jacques Marquette arrived in the place that would one day become Chicago. We look at Marquette and a few others who've helped put Chicago on the map.

On Dec. 4, 1674, Father Jacques Marquette (1637–1675) arrived in a mostly uncharted, swampy area of America, next to a big lake and near a number of large Indian settlements. Nasty weather forced him to spend the winter in a cabin there. Marquette left in the spring, and he died not long after, at age 38.

Even if he had lived to 100, Marquette wouldn’t have seen what great heights the site of his humble cabin would rise to, as it would be another century and a half before the area would begin to grow in leaps and bounds. But as the first European to winter in the area, Marquette was an early influence on the place that would one day become Chicago.

He was followed by countless others, all the men and women who made Chicago the great city it is today—a cultural, business and financial center of the world, and the third-largest city in the U.S. To commemorate the anniversary of Father Marquette’s arrival, let’s take a look at a few of the others who helped put Chicago on the map.

Jean Baptiste Point du Sable (d. 1818) arrived at the mouth of the Chicago River more than 100 years after Marquette’s winter there, and unlike Marquette, he put down roots—becoming the first non-native permanent resident of Chicago. Point du Sable’s history is not well-documented, and there are no known portraits of him, but we know he showed up in Chicago sometime in the 1780s and built the house pictured. Possibly a native of Haiti, possibly of French-Canadian origin, Point du Sable described himself as a “free mulatto man.” He remained in the house until 1800, when he moved on to Missouri, and he is honored today as the Founder of Chicago.

Daniel Burnham (1846–1912) may not be a household name outside the Windy City, but he did as much—if not more—to bring Chicago international renown as anyone else on this list. As the Director of Works for the World’s Columbian Exhibition—the 1893 World’s Fair that graced Chicago’s south side—his vision of a classically-influenced “White City” dazzled millions of visitors from all over the U.S. and the world, keeping Chicago in the minds of many. Burnham went on to create “The Plan of Chicago,” a model for the growth of the city during a boom period. Its influence can still be seen today in the city’s roads and greenways, and especially in its many parks.

Jane Addams (1860–1935) founded the innovative Hull House as part of the social reform movement that was coming to prominence in the late 19th century. Hull House offered social, educational and artistic programs to the mostly immigrant residents of the surrounding neighborhoods, and its volunteers helped address and influence reforms in child labor, women’s suffrage, healthcare, and immigration policy. Addams’ decades of work helped establish Chicago as a major player in social reform.

Hog Butcher for the World Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler, Stormy, Husky, Brawling, City of the Big Shoulders.