Did you ever wonder what made Chicago? Looking back, it’s location in the center connecting the country by water, rail, and roads seems obvious. Yet the defining link that led to the growth of Chicago is a portage, and you can still visit its overlooked remnant today.
The Birthplace of Chicago
The Chicago Portage is nicknamed “the birthplace of Chicago” and “Chicago’s Plymouth Rock.” The 7.5-mile long path crossed a continental divide to connect Lake Michigan and the Chicago River to the Des Plaines River and eventually the Mississippi River.
This ancient route was first used by prehistoric man. Native Americans used the route over 7,000 years ago to trade copper. Later tribes used it to travel across the Midwest and hunt, trap, make war, and trade. This site also marked the intersection of important Native American trails which later became Route 66, Route 6, Ogden Avenue, and Plainfield Road.
Marquette and Joliet
Native Americans guided the explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet through the portage in 1673. They are the first known white men to use the route. On a mission from the French government to search for the Mississippi River, they traveled from St. Ignace (present-day Michigan) through Wisconsin exploring as far south as Arkansas.
“They were not looking for it, having come upon it by accident on one of the great voyages in the history of exploration.”
– Donald L. Miller, ‘City of the Century’
On the way back, Native Americans recommended taking a shorter route through the portage. They canoed up the Illinois River to the Des Plaines River. After following a Portage Creek to Mud Lake, the explorers carried their canoes about 1.5 miles on land to the south branch of the Chicago River. They landed at the future site of Chicago and continued on Lake Michigan.
Development Along the Portage
Joliet realized the importance of the portage in connecting the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, first suggesting a canal. This signaled the end of the portage’s prominence. In the early nineteenth century, fur traders increased the traffic on the portage. Towns and a trading post sprang up along the route.
“The city would not have been set on its course had not men of energy and empire first envisioned and then cut a canal through the portage.”
– Donald L. Miller, ‘City of the Century‘
To meet the demand on the portage, the government made a treaty with Native Americans securing lands to build a canal. In 1848, the I & M Canal connected the Illinois River and Lake Michigan. This was the beginning of the end for the Chicago Portage’s prominence. The Sanitary and Ship Canal followed in 1900, straightening the Des Plaines River and drying up Mud Lake.
National Historic Site
Today, portions of the Chicago Portage are preserved allowing you to walk in the footsteps of explorers, fur traders, early Chicagoans, and generations of Native Americans. It’s the only major remnant of Chicago’s origin. The Chicago Portage was named a National Historic Site in 1952 and remains one of only three in Illinois. The Chicago Portage National Historic Site is at the head of the I & M Canal National Heritage Corridor (the nation’s first such corridor).
At the west end of the original portage, visitors can walk a trail along the original Portage Creek through the terrain that looks much like it did in Chicago’s early days. The Forest Preserves of Cook County maintain the 300-acre Portage Woods and Ottawa Trail Woods. A sculpture at the site commemorates the place where Native American guides showed Marquette and Joliet the ancient portage, spurring the growth of Chicago and the American interior.
Surrounding the forest preserves, you’ll encounter busy roads and rail lines. Our modern highways and canals continue to parallel the Chicago Portage. It’s a reminder that this link to the past is responsible for the location and development of Chicago today.
“This will be the gate of empire, this the seat of commerce.”
– Letter by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, 1682-83
Despite the Chicago Portage’s critical role in the city’s development, the site is a hidden treasure today. “If people don’t understand what this city is about, why it grew here, what made it strong, what still makes it strong, and what it still depends on, then we become strangers in a strange land,” said Gary Mechanic, Friends of the Chicago Portage tour guide, at a 2004 event. “This is really about understanding who we are, why we’re here, and what makes this city great.”
Learn about Chicago’s American Indian Center. Want to discover other hidden places in Chicago? Check out my book Secret Chicago!
Chicago Portage National Historic Site
4800 S Harlem Ave.
Forest View, IL 60402
Sources
- “Chicago Portage National Historic Site ” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
- “The Chicago Portage – Historical Synopsis: Chicago Portage.” Friends of the Chicago Portage.
- Liebenson, Donald. “A Voyage to `Sacred Ground’.” Chicagotribune.com, Chicago Tribune, 30 Apr. 2004.
- Miller, Donald L. City of the Century: the Epic of Chicago and the Making of America. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1996.
Jessica Mlinaric founded Urban Explorer in 2010 to inspire curious travelers by highlighting history, culture, and hidden gems in Chicago and beyond. She is the author of ‘Secret Chicago’ and ‘Chicago Scavenger.’ Jessica has visited 20+ countries and 30+ U.S. states. She has more than 16 years of experience as a marketing strategist and works as a freelance writer and photographer.
