IN 1839, Chicago-a city of 4,000 people was doggedly dragging itself from the slough of hard times. A pen picture of the place at that time would be something like this: The North Side had a fringe of warehouses, packing houses and foundries. along the river, with a considerable. number of residences beyond. On that side also-on Illinois street-towards the lake was the most pretentious church edifice in Chicago-the only brick one. This was St. James Episcopal Church-a gothic structure, well fenced and provided within with massive mahogany furniture. It was quite generally known locally as Kinzie's church, because John H. Kinzie had been its chief patron and continued to be deeply interested in its welfare.

The distillery, which was looked upon as one of the important industries of the town, was located a few hundred feet east of the church. The upper portions of the slope from the river had not been covered over very thickly with dwellings,but the streets had been fairly graded and improved.

The old Dearborn street bridge

having been demolished, there was, at that time (1839), no way of passing from the south side to the north side of the town except by ferry. The warehouse owners and operators of the "North Side" were put to great inconvenience on this account, because the grain and produce of various kinds brought to Chicago from the country west and south had to be ferried across to reach the North Side warehouses. When the farmers came into the South Side with their prairie schooners, and other kinds of farm wagons loaded with grain, it required an extra inducement to get them to cross the river on the ferry boats. There was a floating bridge of logs. across the south branch of the river, on Lake street, which gave the farmers from all of the most productive country, directly tributary to Chicago, easy entree into the southern division of the city, while the northern division was practically cut off from this trade. The south side residents, business men and property owners, were of course reasonably well satisfied with this condition of affairs, but the citizens of "North Chicago" were

ardently desirous of being linked to their south side neighbors by something more satisfactory than the old scows which plied back and forth across the river at Dearborn and Clark streets. They accordingly began an agitation of the matter of building a substantial bridge-so arranged that it should not interfere with navigation-across the river, either on Dearborn or Clark street. In the year 1840 their efforts were crowned with success, and the first floating swing bridge ever constructed in the west, was thrown across Chicago river on Clark street.

town

The south division of the was at that time-as it is now-the trade centre of Chicago. There were manufactories along the "South Branch," wharves and stage landings, and a few warehouses on South Water street; a number of hotels and quite a solid array of brick and wooden stores on Lake street. There was a row of "store buildings" in ruins on the north side of Lake street east of Dearborn, where the first Tremont House had been one of the buildings destroyed by fire in October. The "Saloon Building"-which it must always be remembered, was not a building given up to dram shops, an idea which might be conveyed to one familiar only with the modern misuse of the word saloon-looked upon at that time as a handsome structure, and largely given up to public uses, stood at the corner of Clark and Lake streets, and there were other busi

ness blocks which would have done credit to a much older city. Randolph was a fair business street, and boasted the little brick court-house, also. Washington was more a residence street, and also claimed the Methodist church, on the corner of Clark (whither it had been removed from the North Side). South of Washington, on Clark, was the First Presbyterian church. The Baptists worshipped in a building which was formerly a workshop. Madison street was thought to be rather far out on the prairie, and St. Mary's Catholic church, at the corner of Michigan avenue and Madison street, was considered by many of the parishioners to be so far out of the way that they refused to worship in it. Between the church and Fort Dearborn were a few buildings, the fort itself being occupied only by several army. officers.

The harbor improvements were at a standstill and were visible only in the partially completed piers, which the government had been pushing out into the lake after the new shore lines which were being extended by continual deposits of sand. At this time the artificial channel had not only been closed but the sand-bar had extended far beyond its entrance. So that the port of Chicago found herself in the very interesting situation. of having herself shut up the natural mouth of her river (which was formerly at Madison street) and of having her artificial mouth shut up by

nature. And, further, Congress would not listen to her prayer for further appropriations that she might have at harbor. The Goose Island ship yard might well be in despair.

The principal streets had been graded or as it was called in those days, turnpiked." That is to say they were simply thrown up as country roads. This of course was a slight improvement on the streets as they were originally laid out, but, it cannot be said that Chicago had a well improved roadway "prior to 1840," or in fact within several years thereafter. In his History of Chicago, Hon. Wm. Bross-one of the pioneers of Chicago, who died in 1890-wrote, that there were no pavements in the city in 1848. "In the spring," said he, "they would be simply impassible. I have at different times seen empty wagons and drays stuck on Lake and Water streets, on every block between Wabash avenue and the river. Of course there was little or no business doing, for the people of the city could not get about much, and the people of the country could not get in to do it. As the clerks had nothing to do, they would exercise their wits by putting boards from dry goods boxes in the holes from which drays and wagons had been dug out, with significant signs painted on them, such as: 'No bottom here,' or The shortest road to China.' Sometimes one board would be nailed across another and an old hat and coat fixed on it, with the

notice 'On his way to the lower regions,' attached. In fact there was no end of the fun, and jokes of the boys of that day-some were of larger growth-were without number."

In the foregoing quotation from Mr. Bross' History, what one may properly term the primitive condition of the streets of Chicago is aptly described, and perhaps the fact that the city has at the present time more miles of splendid drives and boulevards than any city in the United States, speaks as loud as any other for the enterprise and energy of its citizens.

Speaking of the streets of Chicago it is interesting to note some of the idiosyncrasies of those who gave them their names. The boundary streets of the original town were named Washington, Jefferson, Kinzie and Dearborn. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, General Henry Dearborn and John Kinzie were the individuals who were thus honored, and the fact that Kinzie was the "father of Chicago," was perhaps deemed a good and sufficient reason for associating his name with that of the father of his country in this way. The early attachment of Jefferson's name to a street running north and south, spoiled, in a measure, the symmetry of a system adopted in later years, which was designed to be a perpetual object lesson in American history. Beginning with Washington street, and going south, a stranger in the Chicago of to-day will note the fact that the streets running east and

AT eighty-one years of age Thomas Allen is one of the best preserved, physically and mentally, of the small number of those now living, who had grown to manhood, when they became residents of Chicago, prior to 1840. To-day. as when he landed here nearly fifty-six years ago, he is a typical representative of the Empire State, in which he was born and brought up. Cordial in manner, apt in expression, and full of the knowledge of men and events gathered in many years of intelligent observation, one seldom meets a more entertaining octogenarian.

Mr. Allen was born in Harpersville, Broome county, New York, April 25th, 1810. He was a son of Linus Allen-a descendant of Ethan Allen of Revolutionary fame-and brother to Hon. Judson Allen, well known as a member of Congress, and Judge of the courts of New York State, and at a later date as a distinguished citizen of St. Louis.

Linus Allen was a farmer, and Thomas grew up to sturdy manhood. upon terms of familiarity with all kinds of farm labor. In his boyhood he attended the common schools regularly, and, just before he attained.

his majority, spent some time at Delhi Academy, at which his education was completed. Judson Allen, who had been actively engaged in business for some years in Harpersville, his native town, was engaged among other things in merchandising at that place, and when Thomas decided to leave the farm he entered his brother's mercantile establishment, and was associated with him in business until 1835.

At that time he decided to come West, and fixed upon Chicago as his objective point. Among the friends. of the Allen family of New York, was the distinguished statesman and lawyer, Daniel S. Dickinson, and when Thomas Allen set out for Chicago he carried with him letters of introduction from Mr. Dickinson to two of the leading citizens of the Western city.

He was accompanied on this trip. by his brother, Bennett Allen,and they reached the city about the 1st of November, 1835. Before locating here they concluded to see more of the surrounding country, and with this object in view they spent nearly two months travelling through Illinois and Wisconsin on horseback.