Pacyga explores the history of the union stock yards, from its opening on christmas day 1865 to its. Dec 03, 2015 opened in 1865, chicago s union stock yard was the greatest livestock market the world had seen. The union stockyards operated in the new city community area for 106 years, helping chicago become known as the hog butcher for the world and the c. View of livestock pens and workers herding sheep at the union stock yard, chicago, il, ca. Chicago stockyards project gutenberg selfpublishing. Complete online text of the novel by upton sinclair whod worked in the meat. Someoftheleadingchicago packerstooka prominent part in the launchingand early management of the company, but ina shorttime all oftheninedirectors were officials. Historic map of chicago, il packing houses and stock yards. I am writing a historical piece on the stockyards in ogden utah, and pates work was a treasure of context and bibligoraphical reference material. How a chicago teacher sparked a memory war, forcing. Check it out if youre into chicago history or a fan of upton sinclairs the jungle, a book that is just as pertinent now as it was when it was first written. 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.
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 knowledge we think we might have of this area as derived from our reading of the jungle is mentioned in several references primarily to illustrate how that book affected the evolution of the industry. A study of chicagos stockyards community an investigation carried on under the direction of the board of the university of chicago settlement.
The gate stands on exchange avenue at peoria street. Forthcoming book explores history of union stock yards. Dominic pacyga traces chicago stockyards history in. Some of the pictures include a matchsafe circa 1910 from chicago union stockyards. She invented and taught classes ranging from womens history to ove. Chicago, the city with a history of stockyards and steakhouses, has. When upton sinclair came to chicago in 1904 to write the jungle, he visited the transit house, which was a hotel adjacent to the stockyards at south halsted between 42nd and root streets. Sixty years after sinclairs scalding novel appeared, the government was setting. The limestone entrance to chicago s stockyards, dating from 1879, became a neighborhood landmark that outlived the yards. Chicago fire department history, union stockyards fire 51934. Slaughterhouse tells the story of the union stock yard, chronicling the rise and fall of an industrial district that, for better or worse, served as the public face of. Selective list of materials in chicago public library dealing with the history of the stockyards. Sep 10, 2015 good history of a significant part of chicago history.
Dominic pacyga, a professor of history at columbia college chicago and a former stockyard worker, tells the story in his new book slaughterhouse. 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. The history of the stockyards is the subject of dominic pacygas slaughterhouse. The stockyards were closed in 1971, which led to the international livestock show in chicago being terminated at the close of the show in 1975. The gate, now on the national historic register, is one of only two union stock yards structures still standing. The thirdlargest city in the united states, chicago, illinois, has a population of about 2. See more ideas about chicago, chicago history, my kind of town. Image of a woman standing and holding a young child on the exterior steps of a residence during the 1904 stockyards strike in the new city community. Apr 04, 2021 vilnius, lithuania as her mother lay dying, silvia foti made a promise.
Tourists watched masses of animals move through kill floors, a sight hailed as a miracle of modernity. Sheep run, chicago stockyards sheep run, chicago stock yards a large flock of sheep being driven over the runs from the cars to the slaughter beds. Patricks day parade in chicago on saturday, march 16, 2019. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Early on the scene were stockyards in cities such as cincinnati, otherwise known as porkopolis, and meat stockyards and packing powerhouse chicago, which was considered the number one livestock market in the nation. For the jungle, a 26yearold sinclair spent seven weeks in chicago, touring stockyards and. The top 10 books about chicago fiction the guardian. Wade shows that, contrary to the image in upton sinclairs the jungle, the stockyards and packingtown were viewed by proud chicagoans as the eighth wonder of the world. It was convenient, and the great majority of the workers lived in this dismal, loud, and overcrowded area.
Dominic pacyga shares history of chicagos stockyards in. The stockyards florence kelley in chicago 18911899. How chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for. Pure food and drug act was passed in 1906, and conditions in american slaughterhouses were improved. Tourists flocked the the stockyards to see these factories, including the kill floor. For researchers or history buffs with an interest in stockyards, livestock industries, railroads, or the west, this book is a gem.
Dec 20, 2011 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. Oct 01, 1986 chicagos pride chronicles the growth from the 1830s to the 1893 columbian exposition of the communities that sprang up around chicago s leading industry. Nov 05, 2015 the history of the stockyards is the subject of dominic pacygas slaughterhouse. Chicago stockyards chicago, illinois, united states. The sheep, pressed by the driver and frightened by the surroundings and confusion, move very.
Chicago fire department history, chicago stockyards fire, suburban fd response to the union stockyards fire in chicago, union stockyards fire 51934. Union stockyard gate chicago 2021 all you need to know. Paul, minnesota, the kansas city, the fort worth, texas stockyards as well. At the turn of the 20th century, much of the pork and beef americans consumed was processed in the union stock yards in chicago, illinois. Please complete the handout according to the stop that you are at on the weebly.
In 1974, the north american international livestock show in louisville, kentucky was inaugurated, thus in 1974 and 1975 there were two shows, one in chicago, and one in louisville, kentucky. The stockyard inn is gone, the international amphitheatre gone, but the stockyeard gate is still there. Among somany bad horses there were, of course, many good ones,and for these there was and is a ready sale. It is a limestone construction with a central arch flanked by two smaller arches. Families, visiting dignitaries, even school groups all made trips to the south side to tour the union stock yard. This handout will be turned in at the end of class. By the 1890s, the railroad money behind the union stockyards was vanderbilt money. 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. This perspective print of chicago s union stock yards and packing houses was drawn and published by charles rascher in 1890. 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.
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. Contributor names baker, ray stannard, 18701946, photographer created published. The gate, the eastern entrance to the union stock yards, was designed in 1875 by architect james wellborn root and built in 1879. How chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for big. Chicago stock yards summary photograph shows men standing along fence watching cattle in stockyard pens. It was close to the chicago river, and only minutes from work.
Upton sinclair, the transit house was a favorite hangout for newspaper men and the first place an. May 15, 2018 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 jungle is a novel by upton sinclair, published serially in 1905 and as a book in. From the minute it openedon christmas day in 1865it was chicagos mustsee tourist attraction, drawing more than half a million visitors each year.
Focusing on the union stockyards and related businesses, we can see the path of the modern in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Dominic pacyga, a local historian and former stockyard worker, tells the story in his new book slaughterhouse. Jul 16, 2014 this, his first novel, brilliantly depicts chicagos 19thcentury emergence as the american fount of mammon, a bustling metropolis of industrial enterprise and greed. Chicago stockyards photos and premium high res pictures. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired swampland and turned it to a centralized processing area. Chicagos union stock yard and the world it made university of chicago press, a new book by columbia college history professor dominic pacyga. View of steers standing in pens at the chicago stockyards. Sketchbook of familiar faces and places at the yards 1901 by w. Oct 15, 2015 that rich history is explored in slaughterhouse. Please support this 70year tradition of trusted historical writing and the volunt. 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. Slaughterhouse blues the abattoir in horror litreactor. Pacyga will be published by university of chicago in october. I had informaion on the chicago union stockyards, but wanted more on the st.
He first published the novel in serial form in 1905 in the newspaper, and it was published as a book by doubleday in 1906. Chicago stockyards high resolution stock photography and. The union stockyards, incorporated in 1865, covered 345 acres. Pacyga joins us to discuss the industry that forever changed the city and once earned chicago the nickname hog butcher for the world. More impressively, he covers all these subdisciplines well in a slim 200 pages of text. By the 1890s, the railroad capital behind the union stockyards was vanderbilt money. 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. Bookprinted material illustrated history of the union stockyards. During that time, the union stock yards became an integral part of the popular culture of chicago s history. Members of the chicago stockyards kilty band march and perform at the st. It was possibly written as a pr piece to combat upton sinclairs expose the jungle, which was published as a book on february 26, 1906. Mar 17, 2003 a day at the union stockyard an article that was published in the july 1907 issue of chicago the great central market magazine. 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.
Sep 06, 2015 the stockyard community was the residential area next to the stockyards, and the many meatpacking plants in chicago. In this book the author presents not only the history of the chicago stockyards but also the evolution of an industry, a social order, and an urban landscape and he does it well. She vowed to continue her plans to write a book about her mothers father, fotis grandfather, a lithuanian hero known. According to anthony arthurs book radical innocent. Other articles where chicago stockyards is discussed.
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