Chicago In 1683, the “Windy City” of Chicago was first found on the map. The name Chicago comes from the French word “Shikaakwa”, which is a wild leek that grows along the edge of Chicago River. The first settlers arrived in the 1770’s, and then founded the areas first trading post. On August 12th, 1833 the town of Chicago was founded with a population of only 350 people. The state of Illinois granted Chicago a City charter in 1837, and within the next three years the population jumped to over 4,000 people. By 1848 Chicago became the transportation Hub of the United States with its roads, railroads and water connections. On Sunday October 8th, 1871, around 9PM, the great Chicago Fire began. It was rumored that it was started by a cow knocking over a lantern that was in a barn. Michael Ahern was the one to start this rumor and didn’t come clean until 1893. The fire spread rapidly because of the way the city was built. Wood was common all over the city for its infrastructure. Flames crept down the streets of Chicago, burning up it wooden sidewalks and buildings. The fire managed to destroy over 4 miles of the city and brought 18,000 buildings to the ground that spread across 34 blocks. Over 300 people died and 100,000 of the city’s residents were left homeless. Because the fire departments didn’t get to the blaze until 9:40 that Sunday, the fire stayed lit until Tuesday morning, and was put out by itself because the fire became too large and cut off the water supply of the fire fighters. As the fire proved to be devastating, the city benefitted to the ability to rebuild. The rebuilt business district of Chicago was known then as the “Second City”. In this second city came the world’s first Sky Scraper, reaching 138ft. with ten floors. Also in the second City was the founding of the University of Chicago. Between 1870 and 1900 the city’s population grew from 299,000 to 1.7 million. With this population boom, the city’s economy and industries flourished. Sources...