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AS WE REME

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D U C T I O N

THIS is a tale of Chicago and its people. Far from complete in all aspects, yet rich in the illustrations and anecdotes herewith portrayed, this story highlights some of the milestones and the exciting, rapid and colorful growth of a village that today takes her place among the queen cities of the world.

Chicago, as we remember her . . . and her people, who have developed a city with vast transportation systems, gigantic industries and magnificent institutions.

Yes, this is the tale we have to tell and we hope that it will bring back many vivid memories of the Chicago which you may remember hearing about, too.

Most of us know of the humble beginning of our great city ... of the handful of families who settled on the banks of what is now the Chicago river and Lake Michigan and of the incorporation of the city in 1833.

Rising out of the same wilderness as Chicago herself, the Oak Woods Cemetery Association was organized in 1853 by a group of the city's leaders and is, today, one of Chicago's most widely known and respected institutions.

PREVIOUS to the time of the incorporation of Oak Woods Cemetery, most burial places were church yards or small plots adjacent to cities or towns. But the nine men who organized Oak Woods secured the services of Adolph Strauch, foremost landscape architect and designer, and the foundation was laid for the conception of a cemetery capable of development into a beautiful park with wide lawns and winding roads, tastefully planted with trees and shrubbery.

Chicago is indeed grateful to such early leaders of Chicago as Joseph B. Wells, William B. Herrick, John Evins, Norman B. Judd, William B. Egan. Ebenezer Peck, J. Young Scammon, R. K. Swift and Charles N. McKubbin, the original nine incorporators of Oak Woods Cemetery.

These men bought a tract of land seven miles south from what is now Randolph Street. They commissioned Edmond Bixby to survey and plot the 183 acres. Then four man-made lakes were added

and the grounds beautifully landscaped. At the same time the first officers were duly elected. They included J. Young Scammon, President; Elliott Anthony, Vice President;

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Marcus Farwell, Treasurer, and Paul Cornell, Secretary.

It was Paul Cornell who, a year earlier, recognized the great business and residential potentialities

of the south side. In the spring of 1856 Mr. Cornell laid out a subdivision on a piece of

property which he named Hyde Park. In fact he encouraged the Illinois Central to purchase sixty

acres of land for $30.00 per acre on his tract of 300 acres bordering Lake Michigan about

six miles south of the city. The sixty-acre tract was purchased on the condition that the

Illinois Central would establish a station at that point and operate

regular daily trains between there and Chicago.

Furthermore, should the patronage fail to meet expenses, Mr. Cornell agreed to make up the deficit out of his own pocket. This project was the forerunner of what has now become one of the greatest suburban transportation systems of our country.

Today Paul Cornell is interred at Oak Woods along with many other famous men and women from all walks of life. Perhaps you would be interested in knowing something about a few of these people who have made Chicago great. Surprisingly enough, several of these persons were born within a few years of the incorporation of Oak Woods itself.

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AMONG the famous political figures interred at Oak Woods are > % Charles S. Deneen and John M. Hamilton, former Governors

of Illinois; William Hale Thompson and Monroe Heath, both Mayors of Chicago; Congressman James R. Mann, famous for introducing "The Mann Act"; Lyman Trumbull, Secretary of State, Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court and U. S. Senator at the time of the impeachment proceedings against President Andrew Johnson; Noble Brandon Judah, Ambassador to Cuba; and Alfred S. Trude, famous criminal lawyer who prosecuted the murderer of former Mayor Carter H. Harrison.

From the field of merchants and businessmen are such names as Otto Young, who was associated in the ownership of the Fair Store; the Eckstein and Rueckheim families of Cracker Jack fame; Herbert G. B. Alexander, President of the Continental Casualty Co.; and Frank G. Logan, capitalist, patron of arts and one of the builders of Orchestra Hall.

The world of sports has its representation at Oak Woods too, with the great Walter H. Eckersall, All-American football player and sports writer for the Chicago Tribune. There is also the monument in memory of Captain Adrian Constantine Anson, "Father of Baseball", which was erected by the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs Finally, of more recent times, there is Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who became the first Commissioner of Baseball.

The educational and humanitarian groups are represented by Johnston Myers,

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George S. Goodspeed and William H. Ryder — all prominent theologians; Charles R. Henderson, well known sociologist; and Thomas Lowther, a leader in the Abolitionist Movement.

Representing heavy industry are the lots belonging to the family of the Vierling Steel Corporation, John W. Griffiths, renowned for the planning and building of the Union Station, the Hortons of the Chicago Bridge &t Iron Works and the late Charles H. Markham, former President of the Illinois Central Railroad.

Interred also at Oak Woods is the famous Opera Singer, Jessie Bartlett Davis, who won so much applause throughout the country by her singing of "Oh, Promise Me". There is also the grave of William Rainey Harper, first President of the University of Chicago, and the Scammon lot where is interred Jonathan Young Scammon, former University of Chicago Trustee and in whose honor Scammon Hall was named. Mr. Scammon was the first President of Oak Woods. Here, too, is the grave of Marcus A. Farwell, merchant and first Treasurer of Oak Woods Cemetery.

These are but a few of the many who pioneered to make Chicago great, who grew up with Chicago and who had their many pleasant memories of Chicago as they knew her, as well as their cherished dreams and great aspirations for her future.

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HO could guess that this marshy wilderness on the edge of Lake Michigan was destined for greatness? Certainly not the primitive Indians who lived there until

crowded out by "pale face" pioneers from the East. And even when

the settlement of 350 white men was incorporated into the city of Chicago, few

among them envisioned the growth that was to come. True, one

man predicted a population of five thousand in five years — by 1838 — but he was laughed at as a

dreamer. And there was talk of a canal joining Lake Michigan

with the Illinois River which might some day make Chicago the Gateway to the West . . .

But there were more important problems to cope with then — the mud, the lack of sanitary

conditions, the tremendous parade of immigrants who streamed in via the Erie Canal.

Providing accommodations was a headache in itself.

Wooden "Balloon" houses sprang up over night. Some lots were selling as high as

$60.20 an acre. Only a few years later this was considered a bargain. A new

hotel, the Tremont, was built to help take care of the overflow. In spite

of all this, business as usual or even better

was being carried on. Cattle and hogs

were slaughtered in the mired

streets . . . while dozens of lake vessels

crammed the tiny harbor.

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LITTLE steam engine named The Pioneer arrived in Chicago in 1848 via boat and intro- duced railroading to the growing city. That same year John B. Sherman established

Old Bull's Head Stockyards, at the corner of Madison St. and Ogden Ave., which was the forerunner of the Union Stock Yards — largest of its kind in the world. The railroad and meat packing industries were destined to combine into the greatest motivating forces of fortune-seeking Chicagoans.

A number of "firsts" were recorded in Chicago during 1853. Construction of the first water tower was begun; boats first started on daily runs to Milwaukee; the city experienced its first labor strike and convicted

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its first counterfeiter. On February 12th, a day to be revered later

as the birthdate of Abraham Lincoln, the Illinois State Legislature

granted a special perpetual charter to the Oak Woods Cemetery Association. One of the few

cemeteries to be so organized and operated by virtue of a Special Legislative Act,

its charter guaranteed a permanent resting place for all

those who would find peace for evermore among its wooded, lake-studded acres:

"And no road . . . shall be . . . opened through their said grounds . . . without consent of the directors; nor shall any corporation now existing or hereafter created, be authorized to take, hold or possess, any portion of said cemetery by condemnation ..."

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THIS year's entertainment season opened at the Rice Theater with J. H. McVicker starring in three different roles in the play, "Married Life." Later, the new McVicker's Theater was to be built seating the amazing number of 2,500 persons. P. T. Barnum's Museum and Menagerie came to town that summer to exhibit Tom Thumb, the fabulous midget, and a cage of performing lions.

The question of slavery had become all-important by 1858 and in that year Stephen A. Douglas made a speech from the balcony of the Tremont Hotel in Chicago giving his opinions on the subject. The following night a promising young lawyer and U.S. Representative named Abraham Lincoln gave an opposing view from the same balcony which led to the Lincoln-Douglas debates that attracted nationwide

attention. Lincoln became presidential timber, aided by the backing of Editor Joseph Medill of the Chicago Tribune. Two years later a large wooden building called the Wigwam was erected in Chicago where the Republican Convention met. Lincoln was nominated for the presidency by Norman B. Judd, one of the original incorporators of Oak Woods Cemetery.

During the latter part of the War between the States that

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followed, Chicago took time out to dedicate

its new Lincoln Park, on the site of what

then was the City Cemetery. Many hundreds that jfa

were interred there were moved to Oak Woods.

Chicago took title to the new lots and

issued their own deeds to those

who had been dispossessed in

the City Cemetery

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AN epidemic of smallpox claimed the lives of 283 Chicagoans and JL JL it was decided that the pollution of the lake was responsible. Believing that offshore water would be uncontaminated, wooden tunnels were built two miles out into the lake to pumping cribs. A new watertower — destined to survive the Great Chicago Fire and become a landmark — was erected. Still the high death rate continued. A daring new idea was conceived and authorized by the state to \|C make the Chicago River run backward. The mouth of the river was built up until water flowed out of the lake instead of into it. Finally, sanitation was improved. George M. Pullman, who first gained prominence by preventing the Tremont Hotel from sinking in the mud, came up with a new idea in 1864 — a way to increase the service of the already invaluable railroads and add to passenger comfort. The innovation was the practical "Pullman Palace" car which offered travelers something better than seats on which to sleep. It did not receive public acceptance, however, until Mrs. Lincoln used it following

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her collapse in Chicago after the funeral of the late president. By 1867

Pullman cars were in common use and dining cars shortly made their appearance.

The year before, another convenience was offered to the public by the Illinois Central Railroad. A special addition to the then 16 year old line enabled

Chicagoans to reach Oak Woods Cemetery by a spur, turn-around track. As an added service, the progressive minded Illinois Central offered the use of an entire funeral train consisting of the engine, a car for mourners and a baggage car for the remains at the low price of $25.00. For just $5.00, a single private coach could be rented.

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again. During the war it had housed 10,000 captured Confederate soldiers. A handful had escaped and it was rumored that a wholesale break was to be organized by the Copperheads to inspire an insurrection at Chicago. An appeal was made for troops. The 109th Pennsylvania Infantry came and quelled the fears . . . then cholera and smallpox made sure there would be no uprising. The dread diseases killed men by the hundreds — and thousands.

The United States Government acquired two acres of land in Oak Woods for the burial of these Confederate soldiers — estimated to be nearly 6,000 in number — in 1867. This Confederate mound, as it came to be widely known, also contains the twelve Federal guards who died at Camp Douglas with their prisoners. 16

Years later the Confederate Monument was erected

through the efforts of southern sympathizers, together

with donations from all parts of the country. And

finally, in elaborate ceremonies attended by over 100,000

persons, including President Grover Cleveland

and his entire cabinet, the beautiful

monument was solemnly dedicated.

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OAK WOODS

This beautiful structure contains two spacious chapels, available to all lot owners, and the crematory.

Many select spaces are still avail- able to choose from at Oak Woods, in such scenic and peaceful sur- roundings as this.

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For picturesque landscaping and historical in- terest, few cemeteries of the world can match Oak Woods ... a well tended sanctuary filled with restful shade trees and sparkling blue lakes you will want to visit often.

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A wide selection of floral varieties are available from Oak Woods' conveniently lo- cated flower shops. The green- houses are among the largest and most complete of any cemetery in the world.

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Y 1869 Chicago was well on the way toward becoming "the convention city" and in that year Ulysses S. Grant was nominated for the presidency at Crosby's Opera House.

Soon after, the Opera House was the center of a less memorable but amusing incident. "The Black Crook", presented by European ballet artists, shocked Chicago audiences with its dancers clothed in tights. A Chicago editor took the troupe to task with a scathing story in his paper and he, in turn, was sought out by Lydia Thompson, one of the dancers, and

soundly horse-whipped for his observations. The repercussions of this incident increased

Chicago's fame as a "wild town" and found their way into one of the rules governing Oak Woods Cemetery: All women must be properly clothed upon entering the cemetery grounds.

Another, more ominous editorial, which appeared in the Chicago Tribune September 10th, 1871, pointed out that while Chicago

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had indeed come far since its inception, there were "miles of firetraps, pleasing to the eye, looking substantial, but all sham and shingles". No one listened. Less than a month later it happened. A drouth-stricken Chicago — high winds — and, some say, a cow owned by Mrs. O'Leary — all combined to bring the city its greatest disaster. Whether or not a cow kicked over a lantern, the fire started. And there was no stopping it. The blaze swept everything before it, killing an uncountable number of people, leaving 98,000 homeless and destroying over 17,000 buildings.

Oak Woods Cemetery, not a part of Chicago, had offices in the Marine Bank Building at the time of the fire. Twisted bits of iron and glass, all that remain of the office, now lie at the foot of a plaque in the beautiful cemetery. Fortunately, duplicate records of Oak Woods were not destroyed by the fire and are still in existence. Today, all Oak Woods' records are microfilmed and placed in bank vaults as a precautionary measure.

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T

HEN came "the Phoenix City" — post-fire Chicago arising out of the ashes — built of brick and stone. The new Potter Palmer House appeared, billed as "the first wholly fireproof

hotel in the United States". Steel was introduced. The Monadnock Building reached toward the sky with its incredible sixteen stories. The city's population mushroomed to well over a million. Chicago was again on the march — growing as never before.

Jhe "Elegant Eighties" brought forth other new wonders — on Chicago's Gold Coast. There was the

Potter Palmer "Castle", built for the

Father of State Street" at the cost of

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a million dollars. Here visited Presidents Grant and McKinley, as well as royalty from all over

the world. For years the stately mansion was famed as the social center of Chicago . . .

there was the Mrs. Edith Rockefeller McCormick House,

in which the daughter of the then styled "richest man in the world"

entertained on her own extravagant scale . . . the home of the late president's son,

Robert Todd Lincoln. In other parts of the city were built the

fabulous mansions of Chicago's leading citizens,

Cyrus H. McCormick, Joseph T. Ryerson,

John Cudahy, W. W. Kimball, Marshall Field, John G. Shedd and many more.

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N a more modest scale, Oak Woods had begun its continuing program of modernization. A private water system was installed in 1887. Formerly, horse drawn wagons were used to keep the grounds green, but the new system employed a steam driven pump to force water through square wooden pipes underground. That same year a unique communication system was installed — a 400 lb. bell atop a fifty foot tower. It was used to signal workers throughout

Oak Woods' 183 acres. Then came another new "gadget", the telephone.

Next came Oak Woods' first automobile when its Board of Directors voted

in 1913, after a tedious three hour debate, to try out one

of the then popular Chalmers cars. Today, still

in keeping with the times, Oak Woods'

motor fleet is to be equipped with two-way radios.

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THE Eighties also brought the infamous Haymarket Riot which startled the city and the nation. Until then "Anarchism" T was a harmless, almost unknown word. Overnight it came to mean dynamite and disorder. Several anarchist agitators were conducting a meeting for a group of discontented wage

earners in Haymarket Square, when the police arrived to disperse them. Shots were fired ... a bomb exploded, killing more than a dozen and injuring fifty. Eight leaders were indicted and convicted of murder. Though the number

of people involved was comparatively small, the incident was discussed throughout the nation, and Americans decided they would have no part of anarchy or its violence.

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T

HE opening of the "Gay Nineties" held happy prospects

, '"7 1 for Chicagoans, indeed — for this

great city was selected as the site of the Columbian

Exposition, 400th anniversary celebration

of America's discovery. Daniel H. Burnham,

the famous architect, was put in command.

He enlisted the aid of the country's leading artists,

sculptors and architects, counseling | |f

them: "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's

blood . . .", Yes, this would be something grand — something worthy

of the honor bestowed on the nation's second city.

What if the site was to be the swampy Jackson Park area? Hadn't Chicago itself arisen from such an ignoble beginning? The mud holes were quickly filled, the lagoons and islands formed, the landscaping fashioned and the building begun. For its part, Oak Woods granted the Exposition special permission to unload materials and exhibits in a portion of the cemetery nearby.

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The Columbian Exposition was a tremendous success. For years afterward people throughout the world reminisced of its grandeur — the Columbian Fountain with searchlights playing on its colorful waters . . . the fabulous Art Palace that still stands . . . the regal Court of Honor with its white marble steps and balustrades, its picturesque lagoons and gondolas.

The only somber note of the whole Fair was the fire in its cold storage plant. 130,000 visitors watched the blaze — stood by horror-stricken as fifteen firemen were trapped by the flames on a pinnacle and forced to leap to their death ... A lot for their interment was donated by Oak Woods and over it the Chicago Fire Department has erected a beautiful granite memorial bearing the names of the heroes in this tragedy.

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as "Porkopolis," or "City in the Mud". Theodore Dresier was making himself heard throughout the land — the artists of Chicago held their first exhibition of paintings — Sir Walter Besant, a famous English author, observed: "There has sprung up in the city of Chicago a new literary center ... a company of novelists, poets and essayists . . . who are united by an earnest resolution to cultivate letters ..."

The end of the Fair was also the start of a crippling depression that forced more than three million into unemployment. A soup kitchen near the lake fed 4,000 a day . . . charitable institutions and saloons alike helped feed and clothe the needy. The depression was felt even in the model city built and operated by Pullman for his workers — especially when he was forced to cut wages without reducing rents accordingly. There were protests — some men were discharged and the remainder went out on a strike that lasted for months.

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Anticipating trouble, the Special Assistant District Attorney appealed to President Cleveland for, and was promised, Federal troops. Illinois' Governor Altgeld objected and exchanged angry messages with the President who, nevertheless, upheld the action. Then violence did break out. Rails were torn up that caused wrecks — freight cars were fired — explosions

set off in the yards — there was shooting on both sides. Finally, a few days after the arrival of Federal

troops, union leaders advised their men to return to work. A ruling by the

Illinois Supreme Court, resulted, stating

that the Pullman Company

could no longer play landlord to its

workers. Their homes became their

own and "Pullman City"

became a part of Chicago.

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AN]

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ND then, disaster again . . . and again by fire. The Iroquois Theater was presenting "Mr. Bluebeard" to an audience composed largely of women and

children. A sudden puff of smoke ... a scream . . . and the crowd started to stampede. Eddie Foy, the comedian, shouted from the stage for them to be calm — there was

no danger. But on they surged to the locked or

blocked exit doors where five hundred

and seventy-five were burned or trampled to

death. The entire world was shocked

by the tragedy and everywhere theaters were closed

for inspection of possible fire hazards . . .

a great many of those who so lost their lives

are interred at Oak Woods Cemetery.

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HICAGO'S growing reputation as a cultural and beauty-conscious center was

further enhanced in 1905 by the building of

famous Garfield Park Conservatory. Completed two

years later, it became, and is still, the world's largest

municipally owned conservatory. Every conceivable type of plant — over a million dollars worth in

all — is housed under two and a half acres of glass and on two surrounding

acres for all to enjoy. Oak Woods' own greenhouses have been an

outstanding feature of the cemetery since 1880. They include countless floral varieties displayed

under 70,000 feet of glass and are among the largest and most complete

of any cemetery in the country. A flower shop is also maintained for the

convenience of visitors.

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^>|HICAGO moves on, swiftly ... by 1910 its population has sky-rocketed to well over two

^■^ million with no limit in sight. More tragedies and triumphs are coming for the city to take in its ever-growing stride . . . 1915— the excursion boat Eastland overturns in the Chicago River— eight hundred and twelve

persons lose their lives . . . 1917-thousands of Chicagoans enter the "war to end all wars" . . . prohibition . . . stocks: $20— $40— $200 . . .

apples: 5c ... A Century of Progress . . . "Peace in our time" . . . another "war to end all wars" ... the atom bomb . . .

Chicago, the magnificent, continues its never-slackening climb through history, ever-conscious of yesterday and hopeful for tomorrow. As at Oak Woods today, there is no somber reminder

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of the past — only beauty and a proud memory of achievement as marked by the stone monuments of men.

Oak Woods' hope for

Chicago is the promise it offers its own:

Everlasting Peace . . . Peace

Forevermore.

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offers its lot owners protection through its Perpetual Charter

• Created in 1853 by a Special Act of the General Assembly of Illinois, and with individual cemetery care deposits in excess of $2,000,000.00, OAK WOODS has been selected by more families than any other non-sectarian cemetery in Chicago.

• Located within the city, it is convenient to street cars, buses and trains in all kinds of weather.

Deferred payment plan \\ desired

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GENERAL OFFICE 1035 East 67th Street BUtterfield 8-3800

CHAPEL • CREMATORY • MEMORIALS • FLOWER SHOP • GREENHOUSE

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