Important part of chicago history i remember driving past the old chicago stock yards when they were thriving in the 1950s, when my uncle was a foreman in swifts meatpacking plant, when thousands of people worked there, when you could smell that awful smell all over chicago s south side. The thirdlargest city in the united states, chicago, illinois, has a population of about 2. A history of flame and folly in the jungle disaster by john f. In his book slaughterhouse, published last october, the columbia college chicago history professor dominic pacyga traces the rise, fall and. The 2 page the fort worth stockyardswhere the old west comes alive book features current images of such events and places as the fort worth herd cattle drive, stockyards station, texas cowboy hall of fame, livestock exchange building, billy bobs, the grapevine vintage railroad, stockyards museum, cowtown opry, stockyards hotel, cowtown.
How chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for big. Some of chicagos greatest fortunes were made there, and some of the most bitter labor fights contested. The book begins with his wife ona and his wedding feast. It contains horrific descriptions of working conditions in the stockyards and describes the rampant disregard there for health standards tubercular beef was.
According to the city of chicagos chicago landmark website, the limestone steer head over the central arch is traditionally thought to represent sherman, a prizewinning bull named after john b. An interview with dominic pacyga chicago historian dominic pacygas latest book slaughterhouse. He and his family live near the stockyards and meatpacking district where many immigrants, who do not know much english, work. Jun 21, 2018 the stock yards epitomized chicago, that hog butcher for the world, in carl sandburgs coinage. A visual journey through chicago s union stockyards please use the documents in this weebly in order to investigate the environment, conditions and legacy of chicago s union stockyards. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a centralized processing area. The stock yards epitomized chicago, that hog butcher for the world, in carl sandburgs coinage. Pork packers such as philip armour built large plants west of the chicago stockyards, developed icecooled rooms so they could pack year round, and introduced steam hoists to elevate. In 1848, a stockyard called the bulls head market was. He and his family live near the stockyards and meatpacking district where.
Chicagos union stock yard and the world it made, chronicles the 150year history of chicagos infamous union stock yardsa history thats as gnarled and complex as one of the citys fivepointed street corners. The chicago stockyard was one of the oldest and biggest. Dec 20, 2011 dominic pacyga shares history of chicagos stockyards in slaughterhouse they closed some 44 years ago, but chicagos union stockyards profoundly shaped the development of the city and the modern world. Explore chicagos history with cpls digital and archival collections, recommended books and blog posts. A visual journey through chicagos union stockyards please use the documents in this weebly in order to investigate the environment, conditions and legacy of chicagos union stockyards.
This handout will be turned in at the end of class. Upton sinclairs famed novel, the jungle, had a profound effect on the huge business of the stockyards in chicago. Chicagos union stock yard and the world it made university of chicago press, a new book by columbia college history professor dominic pacyga. For pacyga, a history professor at columbia college chicago. Chicago itself will decide if stockyard will grow to fill the gap in its. Jan 16, 2018 the union stockyards left an indelible mark on chicagos history, not only defining the city as hogbutcher for the world, but also provided jobs for the many immigrants coming to chicago. Chicago s union stock yard and the world it made surveys the citys meatpacking industry from its mid nineteenthcentury origins to its postworld war ii demise and beyond. The main character in the book, jurgis rudkus, a lithuanian immigrant, tries to make ends meet in chicago. They closed some 44 years ago, but chicagos union stockyards profoundly shaped the development of the city and the modern world. Chicagos union stock yard and the world it made, dominic a. Chicagos union stockyard and the world it made, chronicles the 150year history of chicagos infamous union stock yards.
Antanas kaztauskis dictated this story of his immigration from lithuania to the americas to ernest poole, a reporter for the independent. The chicago houses wanted local butchers to focus exclusively on selling meat. The history of the chicago river the chicago river tour. It was started in 1865 and closed in chinese history british columbia oct 14, 2009 this city was built on the back of the stockyards. Walk down the streets of historic pullman, and learn about the lives and struggles of the workers who built the famed pullman sleeping cars. With an incredible selection of steaks, pork and poultry, seafood, and even appetizers and sides, stock yards is your destination for incredible steaks online, delivered right to your door. Union stockyard gate chicago 2020 all you need to know. The department pioneered the academic study of urban life, making innovative use of surveys and maps. Courtesy of university of chicago pressdominic pacyga this is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.
The chicago history museums educational programs are designed to inspire the educators and students of today so they can become the innovators of tomorrow. Sherman, one of the founders of the union stock yard and transit company. The union stockyards left an indelible mark on chicago s history, not only defining the city as hogbutcher for the world, but also provided jobs for the many immigrants coming to chicago. Pacyga is published by university of chicago press. Public transportation, as we now conceive of it, began in chicago in 1859, 26 years after the state of illinois incorporated it as a city. As a drover headed cattle up the chisholm trail to the railheads, he had one last stop for rest and supplies. See more ideas about chicago, showing livestock and my kind of town.
Important part of chicago history i remember driving past the old chicago stock yards when they were thriving in the 1950s, when my uncle was a foreman in swifts meatpacking plant, when thousands of people worked there, when you could smell that awful smell all over chicagos south side. Please complete the handout according to the stop that you are at on the weebly. See more ideas about livestock, my kind of town and chicago. Before construction of the various private stockyards, tavern owners provided pastures and care for cattle herds waiting to be sold. In 1958, there was more than a million bushels of government grain stored at the stockyards to feed the livestock as they awaited sale. Commonlit from lithuania to the chicago stockyards. Jurgis returns to chicago, holds down a succession of laboring jobs and works as a con man. Jul 16, 2014 w hatever thomas wolfe once wrote, you can go home again, even if its only in your head. To view more of this site click on an image in the gallery below. Cattle are first led into a narrow alley and stunned by a blow on the head, in a packing plant in austin, minnesota, 1941. Meat packing blues a book examines when chicago was the king of. Oct 15, 2015 that rich history is explored in slaughterhouse.
When chicago was hog butcher to the world wttw chicago. Chicago stockyards project gutenberg selfpublishing. The salt opened in 1865, chicagos union stock yard was the greatest. Highly flammable chemicals used for meat production and spilled on stockyard floors made conditions ripe for fires. Utterly disturbing, centuryold photos of meatpacking. Accessible to all railroads serving chicago, the huge stockyard received 3 million cattle and hogs in 1870 and 12 million just 20 years later. I came to england as a student 35 years ago, and stayed, but. Jun 14, 2016 from chicagos stockyards to the classroom. When you order meat online from stock yards, you take the stress and hassle out of entertaining and planning gourmet meals, so you can sit back and enjoy the. Sinclair wrote the novel to portray the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the united states in chicago and similar industrialized cities. Nov 05, 2015 the history of the stockyards is the subject of dominic pacygas slaughterhouse. The university of chicago established the nations first department of sociology in 1892, when the university itself was founded. The history of the stockyards is the subject of dominic pacygas.
Chicago was incorporated as a town in 1833 and as a city in 1837, when its population reached 4,000. Dominic pacyga shares history of chicagos stockyards in. With the spreading service of railroads, several small stockyards were created in and around the city of chicago. Authentic guide to chicago and the worlds columbian exposition. Pacygas book about chicagos union stock yard and the surrounding neighborhood is all at once a history of technology and a work of urban, business, and labor history. Sinclair felt the public missed the point of his book. Chicagos union stockyards gate ordinary philosophy. The union stockyards left an indelible mark on chicagos history, not only defining the city as hogbutcher for the world, but also provided jobs for the many immigrants coming to chicago. His primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism in the united states.
More impressively, he covers all these subdisciplines well in a slim 200 pages of text. How chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for big meat. When the packers first entered an area, they wooed a respected butcher. The 1832 black hawk war ended the last native american resistance in the area. Dominic pacyga shares history of chicago s stockyards in slaughterhouse they closed some 44 years ago, but chicago s union stockyards profoundly shaped the development of the city and the modern world. In his book slaughterhouse, published last october, the columbia college chicago history professor dominic pacyga traces the rise, fall and rebirth of the citys stockyards. Dominic pacyga traces chicago stockyards history in slaughterhouse. How chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for. I would guess that this book, as well as the authors other works, is more of interest to students of urban planning, sociology, business, and history.
By the 1890s, the railroad money behind the union stockyards was vanderbilt money. Jun 01, 2018 another view of the union stockyard gate, chicago. Pacygas book about chicagos union stock yard and the surrounding neighborhood is all at once a history of technology and a work of urban, business, and. Slaughterhouse is an accessible introduction to the history of chicago s famous stockyards, holding appeal for a general audience. The jungle is a 1906 novel by the american journalist and novelist upton sinclair 18781968. Good history of a significant part of chicago history. From the minute it openedon christmas day in 1865 it was chicagos m. Dec 03, 2015 how chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for big meat. For about a century, the chicago stockyards were one of the citys worldfamous wonders, visited by princes and maharajahs and almost every tourist. Beyond fort worth, hed be crossing the red river into indian territory.
May 07, 2019 the chicago houses wanted local butchers to focus exclusively on selling meat. Chanute submitted a competitive design for the union stock yards of chicago, and this having been selected in preference to a score of other designs, he was made chief engineer of the yards, and supervised their construction. For centuries, the chicago river has drawn intrepid explorers, immigrant laborers, and industrial giants to its shores, lured by the promise of its opportunities. Throughout the 50s, omaha attracted livestock from around 30 states and canada. Yet as much as the river has been chicagos raison detre, it has also been our most precarious problem to solve. In stark contrast to the humbler origins from whence he came, the chicago stockyards embodied.
Featuring nearly 300 objects, photographs, and printed materials dating from the 1930s to 1950s, modern by design. W hatever thomas wolfe once wrote, you can go home again, even if its only in your head. Tourists watched masses of animals move through kill. Dominic pacyga, a local historian and former stockyard worker, tells the story in his new book slaughterhouse. His novel was aimed at one of the most profitable industries in chicago, the stockyards, which employed 25,000 men, women, and. Chicago history museum see chicagos history unfold. Between 1866 and 1890, drovers trailed more than four million head of cattle through fort worth. Nov 22, 2015 chicagos union stockyards from the book. Pacyga is also the author of chicagos seminal book of history, chicago. In order to pursue a better life and escape the possibility of conscription into the russian army, kaztauskis left his homeland to work in the chicago stockyards.
In this book the author presents not only the history of the chicago stockyards but also the evolution of an industry, a social order, and an urban landscape and he does it well. The fort worth stockyardswhere the old west comes alive. The salt opened in 1865, chicagos union stock yard was the greatest livestock market the world had seen. The history of the stockyards is the subject of dominic pacygas slaughterhouse. Dominic pacyga traces chicago stockyards history in.
Opened in 1865, chicagos union stock yard was the greatest livestock market the world had seen. Though this blaze became infamous, fires at the stockyards were not uncommon. His novel was aimed at one of the most profitable industries in chicago, the stockyards, which employed 25,000 men, women, and children and each year slaughtered fourteen million animals. Chicago historian dominic pacygas latest book slaughterhouse. The history of the chicago river for centuries, the chicago river has drawn intrepid explorers, immigrant laborers, and industrial giants to its shores, lured by the promise of its opportunities. Dominic pacyga shares history of chicagos stockyards in slaughterhouse they closed some 44 years ago, but chicagos union stockyards profoundly shaped the development of the city and the modern world. For many years the stock attraction of chicago was the stockyards. The nearby stockyard inn is the only reminder of what was once a major part of the areas culture and history.
1221 921 976 1240 1334 979 1336 912 1562 310 1534 1495 385 1428 409 1097 245 361 662 1072 269 84 256 1554 1537 363 365 1464 228 538 713 1427 1499 619 276 47