Where each fellow and gal is a regular pal, and theyll never let you down. Utterly disturbing, centuryold photos of meatpacking facilities. Chicago began as a frontier town on the edge of white settlement and as the product of removal of culturally rich and diverse indigenous populations. Union stockyard gate chicago 2020 all you need to know. Upton sinclairs famed novel, the jungle, had a profound effect on the huge. How chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for. A chicago historian tackles 5 questions about the citys history. It was acquired by the city when the stockyards officially closed in 1971, after which all of the meat packing industry buildings were razed. From lithuania to the chicago stockyardsan autobiography 1904 ernest poole 18801950, a journalist who would go on to win the pulitzer prize, recorded this memoir when he was investigating the labor movement in chicagos meatpacking industry.
As we near the 150th anniversary of the chicago stockyards, upton. It was this area that inspired carl sandburg to write the line chicago, hog butcher to the world, in his famous poem chicago. Someoftheleadingchicago packerstooka prominent part in the launchingand early management of the company, but ina shorttime all oftheninedirectors were officials. No exact match for stockyards illinois chicago history. A half mile of pork, at armours great packing house in chicago, around 1894. The jungle is a 1906 novel by the american journalist and novelist upton sinclair 18781968. Stockyards national historic district in fort worth the herd. Stock up on your favorite cuts or get ready for a barbecue blowout with our premium collections. At last there is a book for all of us, whatever we choose to call chicago. Men walking on wooden rails between cattle pens in the chicago stockyard 1909. How upton sinclairs the jungle unintentionally spurred food. On march 30, 1918, workers in chicagos famous stockyards finally won their demand for the eighthour day. He and his family live near the stockyards and meatpacking district where many immigrants, who do not know much english, work.
Outdoor and climatecontrolled indoor seating is firstcome, firstserved so its best to book ahead. A study of chicagos stockyards community an investigation carried on under the direction of the board of the university of chicago settlement. In pacygas capable hands, the arc of the stockyards mirrors chicagosa. A spectacular aerial photograph of the raging fire in the union stockyards area as it swept, leaving an appalling trail of ruin, together with other pictures showing in detail the other thrilling views of the disastrous south side fire, will be found on page 5. Chicagos 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. Burnham was a famed architect and city planner who designed several famous structures in chicago, including the montauk and the rookery buildings. An investigation carried on under the direction of the board of the university of chicago settlement.
Speaking of hog butchers, 1906s the jungle is probably the most infamous book about chicago. The main character in the book, jurgis rudkus, a lithuanian immigrant, tries to make ends meet in chicago. Theres the famous quote that sinclair said he aimed for the publics heart and hit it. This muckraking novel was conceived as a political gamechanger, a book that. Slaughterhouse is an accessible introduction to the history of chicagos famous stockyards, holding appeal for a general audience.
Chicago was famous for its huge stockyards and the filth and stench of the area inspired many a writer, including sandburg, dreiser, and most famously, upton sinclair for his book, the jungle. Revisiting the jungle in modern times chicago tribune. Sinclair accepted the challenge, made tracks for the chicago stockyards, and got to. 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. Upton sinclairs the jungle constitutional rights foundation.
Those nine railroad companies hauled meat from chicago to meet the demands of the east coast consumer. After you look at these images of meatpacking facilities from early last century, youll understand why social reformer upton sinclair wrote his great 1906 novel the jungle about workers horrific experiences in the meat packing industry. The salt opened in 1865, chicagos union stock yard was the greatest. In 1864, the union stock yards were located just outside the southern boundary of the city of chicago. Chicagos union stock yard and the world it made pacyga, dominic a. As much as chicago is a metropolis built of glass, brick, and steel, its also a city whose glory rests on a foundation of books. How chicago became hog butcher for the world in his new book, slaughterhouse, chicago historian dominic pacyga goes back to his roots as a laborer in. Dreisers stylistic ineptitude is legendary he must be. I was saddened to learn the famous chicago stockyards closed a long time ago. The jungle appeared in installments in appeal before being published as a book in 1906.
Chicagos union stock yards, shown here in 1941, inspired upton. The chicago stockyards came to be when a consortium of several railroad companies bought 320 acres in southwest chicago in 1864. Dominic pacyga, a professor of history at columbia college chicago and a former stockyard worker, tells the story in his new book slaughterhouse. The book begins with his wife ona and his wedding feast. Old stone gate of chicago union stockyards chicago. The fort worth stockyardswhere the old west comes alive. The great union stock yards of chicago library of congress. Largest of all was the meatpacking industry in chicago. Slaughterhouse is an accessible introduction to the history of chicagos famous stockyards, holding appeal for a general audienceparticularly those interested in chicago historyand undergraduates. Sinclair spent seven weeks working undercover in chicagos stockyards. Utterly disturbing, centuryold photos of meatpacking. However, as a book for the average reader its popular appeal is very limited. The brass check, a study of american journalism was written by upton sinclair, jr. Dominic pacyga, a local historian and former stockyard worker, tells the story in his new book slaughterhouse.
The historical record is thin as to how this came about on that particular day, but the. The stockyards were connected to the citys main rail lines by 15 miles 24 km of track. Once home to cowboys, cattlemen and outlaws, today the stockyards national historic district is one of the most popular attractions in texas. They closed some 44 years ago, but chicagos union stockyards profoundly shaped the development of the city and the modern world. The story of a lithuanian immigrant employed in chicagos stockyards, where sinclair worked undercover to research for the book, revealed the. The town grew into a place of speculation with the planned building of the illinois and michigan canal, a boomtown, and finally a mature city of immigrants from both overseas and elsewhere in the us.
In back of the yards documentary now available on dvd. Made famous, or infamous, by upton sinclairs book the jungle, back of the yards is best known for the historic chicago stockyards. For about a century, the chicago stockyards were one of the citys world famous wonders, visited by princes and maharajahs and almost every tourist. The most famous, influential, and enduring of all muckraking novels, the jungle was an expose of conditions in the chicago stockyards. Armour opened the chicago plant, as did nelson morris, another wartime contractor.
Title the great union stock yards of chicago summary birdseye view, with identification key listing the names of 37 commercial pack houses, fertilizer factories, slaughterhouses, and. 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. Chicago stockyards in 1900 we still go to slaughter house in back of yards to buy our fresh meat. Pacygas extensive chicago scholarship, slaughterhouse.
I mean, i want those things, but there was a lot of stuff. Sinclair began to write novels but had difficulty getting them published. Cincinnati and buffalo, both with good water and rail service, also opened stockyards. It was one of the biggest and most renowned of the major stockyards for a number of reasons. Stockyards illinois chicago to stone age america include extended shelves. How chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for big meat. Hog butcher for the world, tool maker, stacker of wheat, player with railroads and the nations freight handler. Back of the yards, back of the yards, in old chicago town. From newspaper columnists to essayists, historians to. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. In the books most famous passage, sinclair even wrote of laborers falling into vats and being turned into. For about a century, the chicago stockyards were one of the citys worldfamous wonders, visited by princes and maharajahs and almost every tourist. Old stone gate exchange and 42nd street, chicago the old stone gate to the chicago stockyards became a national historical landmark in 1981. Upton sinclair, published serially in 1905 and as a singlevolume book in 1906.
Carl sandburg immortalized them in his poem chicago. Dominic pacyga shares history of chicagos stockyards in. Upton sinclair christened it the jungle, while new yorkers, naturally, pronounced it the second city. The story of the people who worked in those stockyards and those who live in there today is often untold. Perkins gilman who wrote the famous short story the yellow wallpaper. It contains horrific descriptions of working conditions in the stockyards and describes the rampant disregard there for. The yards inspired many well known american writers, but the most famous book set at and around the stockyards is upton sinclairs the jungle. Within five years, the area was incorporated into the city. Day and night, visitors come to the stockyards to get a taste of the true american west. His most famous description of a meatpacking horror concerned men who fell into steaming lard vats. Forthcoming book explores history of union stock yards. Writers have flocked here from the moment chicago began to take its place on the worlds stagein the decades following the great fireand their collective stories provide a vivid portrait. Chicago built the famous union stockyards in 1865 on 345 swampy acres to the south of downtown. Great union stockyards of chicago by charles rascher art print postercrazed union stock yards wikipedia, the free encyclopedia this is where cattle shipped out of dodge or ogallala generally end up.