The State Microscopical Society of Illinois (SMSI) Sesquicentennial: 1869-2019

摘要

Chicago was the ninety-second most populous city in the United States in 1840,but its population grew so rapidly that by 1860 it climbed to the ninth position. An important year for the city was 1848; the Illinois and Michigan Canal had been completed, and that year marked the introduction of the first steam locomotive, the first steam-powered grain elevator, the telegraph, and the founding of the Chicago Board of Trade. By 1857, Chicago was the largest city in what was then known as the Northwest Territory. In just twenty years, the population of Chicago grew from 4,000 people to over 90,000,and by the end of the century the population reached 1.7 million.