Pre-Railroad Chicago Prior to The 1850's
Prior to the 1850’s, the primary method of transportation was by boat in
waterways or horses by roads. At the time, this was a slow, more
expensive, and in distance a shorter form of travel. A report to
congress in 1952, found that a farmer would save a larger amount of
money by shipping the goods by railroad than by steamboat or regular
roads and at a greater distance. Also, the population of Chicago in the
1840's was ranged from 12,000 to 20,000.
“It is well known that upon the ordinary highways the economical limit
to transportation is confined within a comparatively few miles ... Upon
the average of such ways, the cost of transportation is not far from 15
cents per ton per mile ... [T]he value of [wheat] would be equal to its
cost of transportation for 330 miles, and [corn], 165 miles. At these
respective distances from market, neither of the above articles would
have any commercial value, with only a common earth road as an avenue to
market. But we find that we can move property upon railroads at ...
one-tenth the cost upon the ordinary road. These works, therefore,
extend the economic limit of the cost of transportation ... to 3,300 and
1,650 miles, respectively.27”
This is a drawing of steamboat and boat travel in the pre 1850’s
