Chicago Before the Fire
An Economic History

Louis P. Cain (Author)

9780252088698

Paperback / softback, published 10 June 2025

304 pages, 30 black & white photographs, 4 maps, 18 tables
23.5 x 15.6 x 2.3 cm, 0.426 kg

“In a deeply researched and highly readable mix of history, economics, and geography, Louis Cain offers a fresh understanding of how Chicago came to be. As he guides us through the conditions and contingencies that went into the creation of this remarkable place, we see Chicago rise before our eyes.”--Carl S. Smith, author of Chicago’s Great Fire: The Destruction and Resurrection of an Iconic American City

An advantageous location and entrepreneurial passion helped fuel Chicago's transformation from a fur trading post to a thriving city. Louis P. Cain's economic history places pre-1871 Chicago within the narrative of national expansion and examines infrastructure, finance, and other areas of city life. Business histories tell the story of fortunes made with essential products like meat and grain. Sketches of titans like William Ogden and Cyrus McCormick reveal how real estate, farm equipment, and other industries became engines of local growth. Cain also details public health improvements that made Lake Michigan safe as a water supply while census data informs a portrait of Chicago's population and the lives of the free Blacks and Irish immigrants at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder.

Preface and Acknowledgments