Anyone who has researched cowboys and cattle knows of the Chicago Union Stock Yards.
In 1848, when Chicago was only a hub for transporting livestock from the West to the rest of the country, small stockyards such as Lake Shore Yard and Cottage Grove Yard, were scattered throughout the city along various rail lines.
As
the railroads expanded westward, Chicago evolved into a large railroad center.
With the increase in the number of trainloads of livestock, the need for a
centralized stock center became obvious.
In 1864, a consortium of nine railroad companies
acquired three hundred and twenty acres of swampland south west of The
Loop, and the Chicago Union Stock Yards was born.
By 1890 the yards were handling more than nine million cows, pigs
and sheep a year. That’s a lot of hooves!
But
I wanted to know who took care of all those critters.
Before
the creation of the stock yards, tavern owners provided pastures and care for
cattle herds waiting to be sold. Eventually they built 2300 livestock pens on
the 375-acre site.
[They
also built hotels, saloons, restaurants, and offices for merchants and brokers,
but that’s another blog.]
My next
question: who moved all those animals around? I had visions of cowboys working
in downtown Chicago.
Now, I
will admit that I stretched the truth a bit for the sake of my story, Her Christmas Wish. I needed Will (the
hero) to see the possibility of a new livelihood out from under his father’s
thumb. So I made up cowboys. (That’s why it’s called fiction.)
In the
early days of the Stock Yard, drovers herded cattle, hogs, and sheep down two
wide thoroughfares from the railroad cars to the pens. Then the railroad
consortium built more rail lines, delivering the livestock right to the holding
pens—and removing the need for the drovers.
It’s
a shame really. A thousand head of longhorns mooing their way down Michigan
Avenue ahead of a couple of heart-stopping cowboys would have been entertaining—and
the stuff of nightmares for poor Mrs. O'Leary.Tracy
Being from a long time (north of) Chicago family talk of the Stockyards was part of my upbringing. My parents talked about the horrors and resulting trauma of going there on school field trips (can you imagine!?). But it never occurred to me how the livestock got to the stockyards. Very interesting. That's an astounding amount of animals! Thanks, Tracy and your cowboy is welcome to sashay around my city any time.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Patti, for dropping by. Glad you like "my" cowboy.
DeleteGiggle -- I'm with you. I'll imagine cowboys riding through Chicago taking the animals all the way to the end.
ReplyDeleteAlthough - after those long cattle drives, they probably appreciated not having to go all that far before being able to head home!
Good point, Michelle, but think of what those Chicago ladies missed. lol
DeleteHaving seen the stockyard, my grandfather used to haul chickens up there from my hometown, about 280 miles. Perhaps because of that memory it never occured to me that cowboys would take their herds there. Now that you mention it, what a sight that would have been. Guess where my mind is going?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. While I might miss family, I'd miss my mountains more, so don't head that way very often. Doris
It's not a sight I've seen, Doris. I'll have to venture there my next trip to Chicago. And I do understand about your mountains!
DeleteTracy,
ReplyDeleteLike Doris, I saw the stockyard many years ago. My first impression was how big it was.
For the life of me, I can't recall the name of a movie that had a shoot 'em up scene in the stockyards. It's not a recent movie. Maybe from the 60s or 70s. It was a drama/thriller, not a western. It seems to me is was a gangster or mob movie. Anyone have suggestions? Hmmm... This will bug me until I think of it. lol
Tracy,
ReplyDeleteI never knew about these. Thanks for the info!
I never really imagined cowboys in Chicago. In fact, I didn't realize Chicago had a stockyard. Yikes! But hey, like you said, it's fiction and if you can write a story that the reader believes, well I say, mission accomplished. A southeasterner like me would probably never know the difference.
ReplyDeleteA Christmas Wish has a fabulous cover. Right about now with all this summer heat, it ought to be a perfect time to read some winter-themed stories.
All the best, Tracy...