Charles Butler, excerpts from diary entries, Aug. 3, and 4 1833.Butler, of New York City, had come to Chicago to investigate possibilities for real estate investment. Though he returned to New York, he soon invested heavily in Chicago real estate, and sent his brother-in-law, William B. Ogden, to Chicago to take care of his interests there.
Saturday, Aug. 3 –
The prairie extends upwards of 300 miles from Chicago. The country northwest from C. very fine. I learn the Govt. is constructing a harbor at this point & there is no reason why C. should not become a very large city. It is at the head of navigation – it enjoys commercial advantages equal to Buffalo, & in addition to this it has the finest back country in the world. It will be on the great western thoroughfare to St. Louis on the Mississippi. A line of steam Boats will be established next year between this point & the mouth of the St. Joseph’s [a river in Michigan] which will be connected with a line of stages to Detroit & thus the hardest part of the route (round the head of the Lake) will be saved.
Sunday, Aug. 4 –Rose at ½ p. 6. Endeavored to cultivate a sense of the divine presence & the Lord’s day… Attended Sunday School with Mr. Porter in the Garrison’s [Fort Dearborn’s] small school. About 8 teachers… Was informed by Mr. Porter that several of the officers & soldiers were pious. The soldiers were drawn up, inspected & drilled which seems to me to be unnecessary on the Sabbath…
They have no place of worship yet. By permission of the officers they have been permitted to occupy a room in the Garrison which must now be given up. In a new place like this the settlers must submit to a great many privations, embarrassments & inconveniences but God has blessed this place abundantly & in a few years, we can anticipate that here the institutions of religion & education will be planted, & will grow luxuriantly…
This is the most important point in the great west for missionary effort: it is a concentrating & diffusive point. It has a very extensive back country extending to the Mississippi & rich beyond calculation… There should be here a Bible, Tract & Sunday School depository forthwith. A moral influence should be diffused in the beginning to give character to the society which is growing up here.
Early Chicago Photo Essay
