Other articles where chicago stockyards is discussed. Between the opening of the union stock yard in 1865 and the end of the century, chicago meatpackers transformed the industry. But you can imagine the trainloads of people that got off here everyday to heard cattle on the way to their bloody slaughter. Someoftheleadingchicago packerstooka prominent part in the launchingand early management of the company, but ina shorttime all oftheninedirectors were officials. Lawrences hot air balloon, zenith, when he was photographing the chicago stockyards from the air. At the time, a young film student, mark mamalakis, went to the yards to capture the end of an era. Mike scully originally tom cassidy, the democratic party boss of the stockyards. Chicago stockyards articles and posts latest issue. A visual journey through chicago s union stockyards please use the documents in this weebly in order to investigate the environment, conditions and legacy of chicago s union stockyards. Digital history voicessocial history from lithuania to the chicago stockyards. With the spreading service of railroads, several small stockyards were created in and around the city of chicago. One long arm of it is blind, and the filth stays there forever and a day.
If you love throwing premium burgers, steaks, and sausages on the grill when the weather gets warm, there are. His writing is as streamlined and efficient as the disassembly lines that inspired the book, peppered throughout with facts and numbers while. The stockyards are referred to in carl sandburg s poem chicago. Pacyga is also the author of chicagos seminal book of history. Chicago stockyards high resolution stock photography and. Seven stockyards and nine railroads consolidated operations to become the union stock yard and transit co. The stock yards were still running but in the zenith of its years. Meat packing blues a book examines when chicago was the king of slaughter. Upton sinclair christened it the jungle, while new yorkers, naturally, pronounced it the second city. If you have read upton sinclairs the jungle, and most of us probably have, then you are at least aware of the subject of this book, the chicago stockyards. Sinclair is arguably the best known of the socalled muckrakers, the. Chicago in history and fiction fiction and nonfiction.
Dominic pacyga shares history of chicagos stockyards in slaughterhouse they. Chronicled in historical accounts, photographs, novels, and newspapers, the stockyards were the icon and essence of 1890s chicago hog butcher for the world the hub of the new transnational railroad system, the stockyards were where animals cattle, sheep, pigs were brought to wait to be slaughtered in of the great meat processing plants, named after the families whose fortunes. Revisiting the jungle in modern times chicago tribune. A busy morning, great union stockyards, chicago, illinois, il, cattle in pens, c. On christmas day 1865, the union stock yards opened for business near exchange and halsted. Pacyga explores the history of the union stock yards, from its opening on christmas day 1865 to its. Chicago stockyards chicago, illinois, united states. Slaughterhouse is an accessible introduction to the history of chicago s famous stockyards, holding appeal for a general audience. See more ideas about chicago, chicago history, chicago photos.
Nov 05, 2015 the history of the stockyards is the subject of dominic pacygas slaughterhouse. Pure food and drug act was passed in 1906, and conditions in american slaughterhouses were improved. I also visited sherman, the bull sitting on top of the grand arch introducing the chicago stockyards. Dominic pacyga traces chicago stockyards history in slaughterhouse. A fierce rival of chicago s union stock yards, the omaha union stockyards were third in the united states for production by 1890. See more ideas about chicago, chicago history, my kind of town. Pacygas book about chicago s union stock yard and the surrounding neighborhood is all at once a history of technology and a work of urban, business, and labor history. The first meat train to leave the chicago stockyards during the great railway stikes is escorted by the united states cavalry. I recall so vividly reading upton sinclairs book the jungle when i was in high school. Dominic pacyga shares history of chicagos stockyards in. From the civil war until the 1920s and peaking in 1924, more meat was processed in chicago than in any other place in the world. From lithuania to the chicago stockyards an autobiography.
Dec 20, 2011 one hundred years ago, more meat was processed in chicago than anywhere on the planet. For the jungle, a 26yearold sinclair spent seven weeks in chicago, touring stockyards and. The industrial park currently occupying the site was founded in 1971, the same year the stockyards closed down forever. During that time, the union stock yards became an integral part of the popular culture of chicago s history. The stockyards, packingtown, and environs in the nineteenth century. It contains horrific descriptions of working conditions in the stockyards and describes the rampant disregard there for health standards tubercular beef was. A strength of the book is that it tells both the rise of the chicago stockyards and. Pork packers such as philip armour built large plants west of the stockyards, developed icecooled rooms so they could pack year round, and introduced steam hoists to elevate carcasses and an overhead assembly line to move them.
Dominic pacyga, a professor of history at columbia college chicago and a former stockyard worker, tells the story in his new book slaughterhouse. Feb 9, 2006 they talk about the history of the stockyards. Wall street journal in pacygas capable hands, the arc of the stockyards mirrors chicago sa model of the industrial revolution that fell on hard times in the late twentith century and is now reinventing itself. Historic map of chicago, il packing houses and stock yards. Stockyards, chicago summary stereograph shows the aftermath of the accident with photographer george r. A chicago historian tackles 5 questions about the citys history.
Bubbly creek is an arm of the chicago river, and forms the southern boundary of the union stock yards. The blackandwhite images provide a visual history of chicago at the height of its industrial orderwhen the stockyards, steel mills, and factories were boomingbut, more important, they capture the intimate moments in the daily lives of ordinary people. Grand employer disclosure of employee work history in may 1937, for the first time in history, total receipts in fort worth topped the nation, exceeding even chicago. Please complete the handout according to the stop that you are at on the weebly. Men on horseback herding cattle on a street, while other men and boys watch in the background, during the 1904 stockyards strike, chicago, illinois.
After 1971, when the stockyard closed for good, sinatra often. The stockyards are considered one of the chief drivers that empowered the animalindustrial complex into its modern form. Tourists watched masses of animals move through kill floors, a sight hailed as a miracle of modernity. Pacyga is professor of history in the department of humanities. Sep 06, 2015 the stockyard community was the residential area next to the stockyards, and the many meatpacking plants in chicago. How chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for big. I am a born and bred chicagoan and chicago history.
Pacyga joins us to discuss the industry that forever changed the city and once earned chicago the nickname hog butcher for the world. It is a book that will appeal to a narrow group of readers. Oct 15, 2015 that rich history is explored in slaughterhouse. The stockyards became themselves the symbol of the engine of economic growth and its excesses. At last there is a book for all of us, whatever we choose to call chicago. In his new book, slaughterhouse, chicago historian dominic pacyga goes. Chicago s 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. Pacyga explores the history of the union stock yards, and the. The gate, the eastern entrance to the union stock yards, was designed in 1875 by architect james wellborn root and built in 1879. Dominic pacyga, a local historian and former stockyard worker, tells the story in his new book slaughterhouse. The gate still still stands with the head of sherman the cow looking. How chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for. Chicago s union stock yard and the world it made university of chicago press, a new book by columbia college history professor dominic pacyga. As an alternative, the kindle ebook is available now and can be read on any device.
The following subjects present novel and interesting views along the line of the erie, such as do not always come within the observation of the general tourist. Sep 28, 2000 the blackandwhite images provide a visual history of chicago at the height of its industrial orderwhen the stockyards, steel mills, and factories were boomingbut, more important, they capture the intimate moments in the daily lives of ordinary people. A history of flame and folly in the jungle disaster paperback february 12, 20. Chicagos union stock yard and the world it made, dominic a. The stockyards have become an integral part of the popular culture of chicagos history. Pacyga, who has written distinguished histories of the city, is one of those scholars. Historian and author richard lindberg sits down with host doug medlock to discuss the history of chicago and the stockyards that helped put the city and th. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired swampland and turned it to a centralized processing area. In popular culture in 1906 upton sinclair published the jungle, uncovering the horrid conditions in the stockyards around the start of the. Pacygas extensive chicago scholarship, slaughterhouse. 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. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. His latest work to examine the history of chicago is slaughterhouse.
Pacygas book about chicagos union stock yard and the surrounding neighborhood is all at once a history of technology and a work of urban, business, and labor history. Slaughterhouse is a critically important book about one of the citys epic. A very chicago celebratory moment at the launch party for dominic a. The top 10 books about chicago fiction the guardian. Sep 06, 2019 the union stock yards fire of may 19, 1934, was second only to the great chicago fire of 1871 in its destruction. What most people arent aware of is how often, and how dangerous, the stockyards were for fires and those who had to fight them. Before construction of the various private stockyards, tavern owners provided pastures and care for cattle herds waiting to be sold. Despite having lost much of their savings being conned on the trip to chicago, and.
Sketchbook of familiar faces and places at the yards 1901 by w. The jungle is a 1906 novel by the american journalist and novelist upton sinclair 18781968. Chronicled in historical accounts, photographs, novels, and newspapers, the stockyards were the icon and essence of 1890s chicago hog butcher for the world the hub of the new transnational railroad system, the stockyards were where animals cattle, sheep, pigs were brought to wait to be slaughtered in of the great meat processing plants, named after the families whose fortunes they made. See more ideas about chicago, chicago history, union. See more ideas about chicago history, livestock, my kind of town. When chicago was hog butcher to the world wttw chicago.
Pacyga will be published by university of chicago in october. The chicago stockyard was one of the oldest and biggest. Working and sanitary conditions in the chicago stockyards. Working and sanitary conditions in the chicago stockyards as a socialist, upton sinclair wrote his novel the jungle to awaken sympathy for the plight of the workers in the chicago slaughtering industry by portraying the life of an immigrant worker and his family. Apr 11, 2007 illustrated history of the union stockyards.
The gate, now on the national historic register, is one of only two union stock yards structures still standing. He first published the novel in serial form in 1905 in the newspaper, and it was published as a book by doubleday in 1906. Omaha overtook chicago as the nations largest livestock market and meat packing industry center in 1955, a title which it held onto until 1971. Nov 23, 2015 dominic pacyga, a professor of history at columbia college chicago and a former stockyard worker, tells the story in his new book slaughterhouse. In 1904, sinclair had spent seven weeks gathering information while working incognito in the meatpacking plants of the chicago stockyards for the socialist newspaper appeal to reason. Shipping cattle to market by rail true west magazine. Dominic pacyga shares history of chicagos stockyards in slaughterhouse they closed some 44 years ago, but chicagos union stockyards profoundly shaped the development of the city and the modern world. Chicago stockyards photos and premium high res pictures. The chicago stock yards were created on swampland southwest of the city in the 1860s to consolidate the scattered independent yards that were strewn about the growing city. Do yourself a favor and see with your own two eyes a part of chicago s history.
Dominic pacyga traces chicago stockyards history in. The city of chicago has an endlessly fascinating history that scholars have explored for several generations. Among somany bad horses there were, of course, many good ones,and for these there was and is a ready sale. It was close to the chicago river, and only minutes from work. May 15, 2018 an illuminating history of this chicago industry long vital to the city and the nation. The newberry library holds the personal papers of author john drury stockyards inn. In this weeks roundup of chicago book news, slaughterhouse by dominic a. With an incredible selection of steaks, pork and poultry, seafood, and even appetizers and sides, stock yards is your destination for incredible steaks online, delivered right to your door.
Many people are aware of the hazards of the chicago stockyards, thanks to upton sinclairs book, the jungle dover thrift editions. Dec 03, 2015 opened in 1865, chicago s union stock yard was the greatest livestock market the world had seen. I am a born and bred chicagoan and chicago history is one of my favorite reading subjects. Jefferson street near the stockyards, chicago, illinois, 1907. Chicago stockyards project gutenberg selfpublishing. It was started in 1865 and closed in chinese history british columbia oct 14, 2009 this city was built on the back of the stockyards. Ernest poole, is a workman in the chicago stockyards and gave his name as antanas kaztauskis. By the 1890s, the railroad money behind the union stockyards was vanderbilt money.
Although in close proximity to thousands of cattle on the hoof, your ears hear nothing, your eyes see nothing, and your nose smells nothing of cattle when you have luncheon in the dining room of. More impressively, he covers all these subdisciplines well in a slim 200 pages of text. Copies of the book are available for sale at the universitys bookstore, located on the main campus near the student union and information center in village square the phone number is 773 4424990. This perspective print of chicago s union stock yards and packing houses was drawn and published by charles rascher in 1890. Union stockyard gate chicago 2021 all you need to know. Sherman stands for a prizefighting bull that was named after john. Nov 05, 2015 in this photo, meatpackers are seen at the stockyards circa 1904. Nothing brings flavor to the table like ordering stock yards steaks online. Jun 21, 2018 a square mile of the city just upstream from downtown devoted to turning livestock into products that saw 18 million animals in a year at its peak. For pacyga, a history professor at columbia college chicago. The gate still still stands with the head of sherman the cow looking out over the vacant street.
The stockyards florence kelley in chicago 18911899. Union stockyards 850 w exchange ave chicago, il historical. The old hotel stands abandoned on the corner of halsted and exchange. The smoke was seen by the crew of a united airlines plane flying over south bend. The slaughterhouses got their livestock from chicagos union stockyards. Chicago historian dominic pacyga labored in the stockyards as a young man. This handout will be turned in at the end of class. Part of chicago s gritty, glorious, and bloody legend. Chicago history museum photo in 1906, upton sinclairs novel the jungle shocked the world.
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