Mick Hartley

Chicago ca. 1910. "Madison Street west from Wabash Avenue."

[Photo: Shorpy/Detroit Publishing Company]

At this time Chicago was the fifth most populous city in the world – only some 70 years after its first incorporation as a city. 

On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200. Within seven years it grew to more than 6,000 people. On June 15, 1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as Receiver of Public Monies. The City of Chicago was incorporated on Saturday, March 4, 1837, and for several decades was the world's fastest-growing city.