’ RA TEFUL achii o wlea gm eii t it made h erewith to D o cto r Milo g M . Q ii aife of th e Ba rto n Lib ra ry o f D etroit Michi an autho r o , g , f ' Chicago and th e Old No rth ' w ef t o r a uixtan ce in the re , f p p ’ aratio n o f thif Jtzi a y of O ld Fo rt D e r o r a h n . ’ We are alt o z ma er f p ecial o bli gatio n to th e auth o ritief o f th e Chicago Hif t o rical So ciety fo r th e m e of do cu ment; and illll jtt‘d tiOflJ' in their [rof f efiio rr AM S A LT O N AM S J E J E , No r t w e te r U iver it h s n n s y , C h a ir m a n o f th e C o m “ m itt e e on Hist o r y o f A u r r C e nt r y of P o g e ss . The ; Story of Old K F or': IDea r hor rL : F R A ORT DEARBO N, the first completed unit of sun n Century of Progress , has sprung up over night in y safety , t - ypifying the long march from wilderness to sky scraper , from des t . candlelight to electrici y, from oxcart to airplane No fear of perate Indians , no battle with the wilderness , no slow and tedious struggle with ineff ective tools and crude materials impeded the progress of this building . Its log embattlements rise serenely amid the tumultuous noises e - o f of a gr at city , looking away from the topless towers modern ’ man s mechanical genius to , face the blue waters on the shore of which more than one hundred years ago , its counterpart was built ro tec by laboring hands of pioneers , hurrying to secure a place of p tion against the Red Man and the silent terrors of the wilderness . 2 6th The new fort stands on Leif Eriksen Drive at Street , not far from the site of the Dearborn Massacre . To have placed it upon the original location would have been impossible . That ground is now covered with sky - scrapers costing millions of dollars for construction , as against the few paltry hundreds that went into that historic first structure . Thoughts race back a cent ury and inherited memories become c real , when one steps through the massive log gate into the sto kaded inclosure of Fort Dearborn , a faithful reproduction of the pioneer fort . Double rows of log palisades , ten and five feet in height are s o arranged that the blockhouses command not only the space with out the four walls , but also that between the two palisades . Had an enemy scaled the outer barrier he would have found himself in - - s ac fl a cul de which could be swept at every point by ri e and cannon . At the northeast and southwest c orners of the inclosure stand — blockhouses their topmost points of vantage reached by ladders . Narrow slits are in the walls through which the soldiers might train “ ’ n their guns . To the left of the e trance gate are the soldiers bar racks , and at right angles and on opposite sides of the parade 3 1 LIBRAR'u - . orI . URBAllA BHAMPAI. ’ th e o fficers h ground are 'uarters , two stories igh with shingled ’ o fficers — roofs . On the east side are the commanding quarters j ust south of the building which housed the supplies . Between this h z building and the northeast block ouse is the powder maga ine . In f fl ’ the center of the grounds the lofty lagpole ies our country s flag . Materials for the original fort were simple and easily obtained . ff But for the reproduction much st udy and e ort were required . Norway pines were brought from . Wisconsin to furnish logs for the t stockades and the buildings . Stone tha had lain in the open many years , and so had a weathered effect , was used for the fireplaces . Hamm ered iron hinges were especially b lacksmith ed for the doors s and the gate . Sheets of gla s as full of flaws as possible were chosen to give a semblance to the crude little windows of a century - t fl - ago . The seven y foot agpole was not easy to find . But at last a tall straight spruce of required height was spotted near Shawano , b o — t Wisconsin , and brought y truck to Chicag the last ouch to com p let e the fort . six Only eight weeks for the task , as compared with more than months spent in erecting the original . It is fitting indeed , that in an Exposition whose theme is that of A Century of Progress , the first step should have been the repro A duction of a famed and essentially pioneer undert aking . For Century of Progress Will portray the dramatized story of the last one hundred years as science has moulded it . Here will be seen the nature and significance of scientific discoveries as they aff ect the life and happiness of mankind ; the story of industrial changes ; the mi r ti n m ve opening up of new frontiers as g a o . o d westward ; the — — t t a l l su n b o rrle a v amazing epic of elec rici y —itt e in a glass oice in Paris heard in Hong Kong dancing figures on a screen . Here , t too , will be pic ured the growth of agriculture dependent upon scientific discoveries ; great industrial plants learning lessons of effi c ien cy from the quiet of a research laboratory ; and the development of the educational and social life of humanity Wa r Clo u ds Gat her W AR between the Americans and the Indians was inevitable . War that was to culminate on that fateful fifteenth of 1 8 1 2 ' August , , in the Massacre of Fort Dearborn . War that was to open finally and forever to the white man all roads into the rich . and vast western region The drama of that struggle to, gain and in hold this territory dates back to the earliest trappers , and to t rigu ing councils of great powers foreseeing the coming wealth of . b ut the west Spain , France, England , America, no one of these [ 4 ] - th e had eyes for this far lying richness . No one but would put t tongue in the cheek when a trea y was not to his advantage . On the far outskirts of these wary assemblies , gathered the Red Men , grim in their purpose to keep their homes—to maintain their tribal independence . War ' There could be no other outcome ' A n Advan t ag eo u s Loc at ion M AN' of the fac t ors that operate today to make r t Chicago the third city of the wo ld , were in evidence in the lat er t part of the eighteen h century, and were responsible for this wilder ness site becoming the center of a long struggle . How early ad vantages of its location were realized is shown in records , where the an d paths of priests , trappers , Indians , explorers all led to this - marshy place by the lake, with its winding, sand choked river . Its geographic importance then , as now , was due primarily to its Strategic location , both for war and for commerce . Lake and river communication , north , east , south , and west , with the possibility in the minds of the earliest settlers that the old Chicago Portage would u some day be replaced by canals , making a lake to the g lf waterway — m gave hostages to co merce . The background of lake, the river , fl ff so the atness of the country , a orded protection from the enemy , that it w as practically impossible for a garrison to be taken by sur prise . A fertile surrounding country meant food in abundance . No more did the pioneer need than means of transportation , pro tectio n from his enemies , and an adequate supply of game, fish , grains and fruits . 1 67 3 As early as , Louis Joliet was impressed with the ease of comm unication bet ween the Great Lakes and the Gulf and even had in mind a proj ect to connect Lake Michigan with the Illinois River by means of a canal , doing away with borh the romance and inconveniences of the famous Chicago Portage . French trappers and traders pas sed through on their way to adventure and gain . Over the Portage , and down the Illinois through Lake Peoria , north and south they traveled , but always com ing or going to Chicago , where there seems to have been not only a landing place, but something of a permanent settlement . At the southern end of Lake Michigan in those days was a th riv ing Ind ian village where more than four hundred Pottawatomies took advantage of this choice location . With them or near them , sometimes for a few weeks or days , sometimes for periods of years , various white families made their homes . 5 I n o r With all these interests , advantages , and possibilities it is strange that Chicago became a recognized trade - center as early as the Revolutionary War . The city itself had its beginnings in those Stormy days and owes much of its early security to George Rogers ' t Clark , whose s ubborn retention of the grip upon this region which he had gained in 1 7 79 was the principal fact or in securing it to the United States in the negotiations which resulted in the treaty 1 of 7 8 3 .