Book Description

Excerpt from General Directory and Business Advertiser of the City of Chicago for the Year 1844: With a Historical Sketch and Statistics Extending From 1837 to 1844 The Directory of Chicago, now presented to the public, may be regarded as an experiment. It must be decided by those for whose use and benefit it has been prepared, whether it is required, and can be sustained. The sudden rise, and unexampled prosperity of Chicago, have created a curiosity in regard to its early history, and the incidents connected with its rise and progress, which considerations of interest, if nothing else, impel us to embrace every suitable opportunity to gratify. It is believed, that heretofore the sources of information have been altogether inadequate to accomplish this purpose. While the most strenuous exertions have been made, in other places, by misrepresentation and downright falsehood, in regard to our circumstances and condition, to induce emigration to stop short or to pass by us, and to divert capital and enterprise into other and foreign channels; very little or nothing has been done on our part, to remedy the evil, and disabuse the public mind abroad, of the false impressions thus engendered. Relying upon the reality which the experience of every day presents to us, of our condition - upon what we know ourselves, of the never failing sources of our prosperity, we have been comparatively indifferent in regard to the opinion of others, and blind to the effect of that opinion upon our own interest. The ignorance prevailing at the East, even in those cities with which we have the most intimate commercial relations, in regard to the size, business, and resoures of Chicago, has been a matter of surprise to all whose attention has been called to the fact. The present is a most important juncture in our affairs. Our prospects are brightening - our harbor is nearly completed - the work on our canal shortly to be resumed - the credit of our state daily improving - and the finances of our City in a most flourishing condition. Our citizens will, we hope, forever be exempt from the burdens of heavy taxation. Never were the in inducements to emigrate and settle here, greater than at the present time. It has been thought, that a Directory, containing, in addition to the matter I usually introduced into such works, a brief historical and statistical account of the City, may, independent of the benefit which our citizen will derive from it, in the transaction of business, be made to subserve the additional purpose of conveying to the public abroad a correct impression of the City, in almost every particular. The utmost difficulty has been experienced, while preparing the historical and statistical parts of the work, in procuring facts and statements from authentic sources. Consequently, those parts are less full and perfect than they were originally intended to be - much less so than the author would have made them. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.