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Fort Dearborn
 
 
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Fort Dearborn, named in honor of Henry Dearborn
Henry Dearborn

Henry Dearborn was an American physician, statesman and veteran of both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Born to Simon Dearborn and Sarah Marston in North Hampton, New Hampshire, he spent much of his youth in Epping, New Hampshire, where he attended public schools....
, was a United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 fort built on the Chicago River
Chicago River

The Chicago River is 156 miles long, and flows through Chicago, including the Chicago Loop. Though not especially long, the river is notable for the 19th century civil engineering feats that directed its flow south, away from Lake Michigan, into which it previously emptied, and towards the Mississippi River basin....
 in 1803 by troops under Captain John Whistler
John Whistler

John Whistler was a soldier, born in Ulster, Ireland. He ran away from home when a boy, enlisted in the United Kingdom army, and served under General John Burgoyne during the American Revolutionary War....
. It was on the site of the present-day city of Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
. The site of the fort is a Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark

Chicago Landmark is a designation of the Mayor of Chicago and the Chicago City Council for historic buildings and other sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States....
 and part of the Michigan-Wacker Historic District
Michigan-Wacker Historic District

The Michigan-Wacker Historic District is a National Register of Historic Places District that includes parts of the Chicago Loop and Near North Side, Chicago Community areas of Chicago in , United States....
.

810, when Whistler was recalled to Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Wayne County, Michigan. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwestern United States of the United States....
, he was succeeded by Captain Nathan Heald
Nathan Heald

Nathan Heald was an officer in the United States Army during the War of 1812. He was in command of Fort Dearborn in Chicago, Illinois at the time of the Fort Dearborn Massacre....
. It was located at what is now the intersection of Wacker Drive
Wacker Drive

Wacker Drive is a major street in Chicago, Illinois, United States, running along the south side of the main branch and the east side of the south branch of the Chicago River....
 and Michigan Avenue
Michigan Avenue (Chicago)

Michigan Avenue is a major north-south street in Chicago which runs at 100 east south of the Chicago River and at 132 East north of the river from 12628 south to 950 north in the Streets and highways of Chicago.....
 in the Loop
Chicago Loop

The Loop is the term used to designate the historical center of central business district Chicago. Most accurately, the term refers to an area bounded by a public transit circuit along Lake Street on the north, Wabash Avenue on the east, Van Buren Street on the south, and Wells Street on the west, but in general use it refers to the whole cen...
 community area
Community areas of Chicago

The City of Chicago is divided into seventy-seven community areas. Census data are tied to the community areas, and they serve as the basis for a variety of urban planning initiatives on both the local and regional levels....
 of Chicago at the foot of the Magnificent Mile
Magnificent Mile

The Magnificent Mile is the portion of Michigan Avenue in Chicago, IL, Illinois extending from the Chicago River to Oak Street in Near North Side, Chicago Community areas of Chicago....
.

During the War of 1812
War of 1812

The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , was fought from 1812 to 1815.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S....
, General William Hull
William Hull

William Hull was an United States soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolution, was Governor of Michigan Territory, and was a general in the War of 1812, for which he is best remembered for surrendering Fort Shelby to the United Kingdom....
 ordered the evacuation of Fort Dearborn in August 1812.






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Fort Dearborn, named in honor of Henry Dearborn
Henry Dearborn

Henry Dearborn was an American physician, statesman and veteran of both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Born to Simon Dearborn and Sarah Marston in North Hampton, New Hampshire, he spent much of his youth in Epping, New Hampshire, where he attended public schools....
, was a United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 fort built on the Chicago River
Chicago River

The Chicago River is 156 miles long, and flows through Chicago, including the Chicago Loop. Though not especially long, the river is notable for the 19th century civil engineering feats that directed its flow south, away from Lake Michigan, into which it previously emptied, and towards the Mississippi River basin....
 in 1803 by troops under Captain John Whistler
John Whistler

John Whistler was a soldier, born in Ulster, Ireland. He ran away from home when a boy, enlisted in the United Kingdom army, and served under General John Burgoyne during the American Revolutionary War....
. It was on the site of the present-day city of Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
. The site of the fort is a Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark

Chicago Landmark is a designation of the Mayor of Chicago and the Chicago City Council for historic buildings and other sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States....
 and part of the Michigan-Wacker Historic District
Michigan-Wacker Historic District

The Michigan-Wacker Historic District is a National Register of Historic Places District that includes parts of the Chicago Loop and Near North Side, Chicago Community areas of Chicago in , United States....
.

Early history

In 1810, when Whistler was recalled to Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Wayne County, Michigan. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwestern United States of the United States....
, he was succeeded by Captain Nathan Heald
Nathan Heald

Nathan Heald was an officer in the United States Army during the War of 1812. He was in command of Fort Dearborn in Chicago, Illinois at the time of the Fort Dearborn Massacre....
. It was located at what is now the intersection of Wacker Drive
Wacker Drive

Wacker Drive is a major street in Chicago, Illinois, United States, running along the south side of the main branch and the east side of the south branch of the Chicago River....
 and Michigan Avenue
Michigan Avenue (Chicago)

Michigan Avenue is a major north-south street in Chicago which runs at 100 east south of the Chicago River and at 132 East north of the river from 12628 south to 950 north in the Streets and highways of Chicago.....
 in the Loop
Chicago Loop

The Loop is the term used to designate the historical center of central business district Chicago. Most accurately, the term refers to an area bounded by a public transit circuit along Lake Street on the north, Wabash Avenue on the east, Van Buren Street on the south, and Wells Street on the west, but in general use it refers to the whole cen...
 community area
Community areas of Chicago

The City of Chicago is divided into seventy-seven community areas. Census data are tied to the community areas, and they serve as the basis for a variety of urban planning initiatives on both the local and regional levels....
 of Chicago at the foot of the Magnificent Mile
Magnificent Mile

The Magnificent Mile is the portion of Michigan Avenue in Chicago, IL, Illinois extending from the Chicago River to Oak Street in Near North Side, Chicago Community areas of Chicago....
.

During the War of 1812
War of 1812

The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , was fought from 1812 to 1815.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S....
, General William Hull
William Hull

William Hull was an United States soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolution, was Governor of Michigan Territory, and was a general in the War of 1812, for which he is best remembered for surrendering Fort Shelby to the United Kingdom....
 ordered the evacuation of Fort Dearborn in August 1812. Heald oversaw the evacuation, but on August 15 the evacuees were ambushed by about 500 Potawatomi
Potawatomi

The Potawatomi are a Native Americans in the United States people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian languages....
 Indians in the Fort Dearborn Massacre
Fort Dearborn massacre

The Fort Dearborn massacre occurred on August 15, 1812, near Fort Dearborn, Illinois Territory during the War of 1812. The massacre followed the evacuation of the fort as ordered by the U.S....
. The Potawatomi captured Heald and his wife, Rebekah, and ransomed them to the British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
. Of the 148 soldiers, women and children who evacuated the fort, 86 were killed in the ambush. The Potawatomi burned the fort to the ground the next day. Following the war, a second Fort Dearborn was built in 1816. This fort consisted of a double wall of wooden palisade
Palisade

A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure....
, officer and enlisted barracks
Barracks

Barracks are living quarters for personnel on a military post. They are typically very plain and all of the buildings in the housing unit are often uniform structures....
, a garden, and other buildings.

Alexander Beaubien

Alexander Beaubien was said to have been the first child of European ancestry born in Chicago. His mother was Jo­sette La Framboise, herself half Native American
Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
, and his father was Jean Baptiste Beaubien, an agent of John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor

For other pages relating to Astor, see John Jacob Astor 'John Jacob Astor' was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States....
, who bought furs from the natives. The boy was born in Fort Dearborn on January 28, 1822. He saw Chicago grow to become the second largest city in the country before dying on March 25, 1907, after a long illness.

Later years and legacy

The American forces garrisoned the fort until 1823, when peace with the Indians led the garrison to be deemed redundant. This temporary abandonment lasted until 1828, when it was regarrisoned following the outbreak of war with the Winnebago Indians. Closed briefly before the Black Hawk War
Black Hawk War

The Black Hawk War was fought in 1832 in the Midwestern United States. The war was named for Black Hawk , a war chief of the Sauk, Fox , and Kickapoo Native Americans in the United States, whose British Band fought against the United States Army and militia from Illinois and the Michigan Territory for possession of lands in the area....
 of 1832, part of the fort was demolished to make way for a new channel for the Chicago River
Chicago River

The Chicago River is 156 miles long, and flows through Chicago, including the Chicago Loop. Though not especially long, the river is notable for the 19th century civil engineering feats that directed its flow south, away from Lake Michigan, into which it previously emptied, and towards the Mississippi River basin....
. By 1837, the fort was being used by the Superintendent of Harbor Works.

In 1857, a fire destroyed nearly all the remaining buildings in the fort. The forts tower bell was rescued from the remains by Police Constable Jacob Schoenewald and donated for use in the bell tower of St. Joseph's Catholic Church during its construction in 1864. The blockhouse
Blockhouse

In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. It is intended to serve as a defensive strongpoint against any enemy which does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery....
 and the few surviving outbuildings were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire

The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday October 8 to early Tuesday October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about four square miles in Chicago, Illinois....
 of 1871.

In 1933, a United States postage stamp was issued in honor of the fort. Part of the fort outline is marked by plaque
Commemorative plaque

A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event....
s and a line embedded in the sidewalk and road near the Michigan Avenue Bridge
Michigan Avenue Bridge

The Michigan Avenue Bridge is a bascule bridge that carries Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River, the boundary between the Loop, Chicago and Near North Side, Chicago Community areas of Chicago, in downtown Chicago....
 and Wacker Drive
Wacker Drive

Wacker Drive is a major street in Chicago, Illinois, United States, running along the south side of the main branch and the east side of the south branch of the Chicago River....
. A few boards from the old fort were retained and are now in the Chicago History Museum in Lincoln Park.

In 1939, the Chicago City Council added a fourth star to the city flag to represent Fort Dearborn. This star is depicted as the left-most, or first, star of the flag.

The site of the fort was designated a Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark

Chicago Landmark is a designation of the Mayor of Chicago and the Chicago City Council for historic buildings and other sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States....
 on September 15, 1971.

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