13. The Port of Chicago
Chicago’s river port bustled with activity in the 19th century, and services to support the port appeared along the river and lakefront. Grain ships arriving from Buffalo, Cleveland, and other lake ports delivered their cargoes to giant silos which towered above the many slips, inlets, and canals cut along the river. Lumber ships stocked the lumber yards along the railways, from whence trains carried the lumber to newly developed cities and towns to the west. Weather determined the shipping season’s length, which ran from April to November. Ship traffic was extensive, with arriving ships under sail needing a tugboat to approach the port facilities and discharge their cargoes. A harbormaster steamed through the shipping attempting to maintain order and route traffic.
Once on the river, the tugs were at the mercy of the bridge keepers who operated the swing bridges carrying pedestrian and wagon traffic over the waterways. Tugs sounded their steam whistles for the bridges to open, while surface traffic demanded crossing right-of-way. Bribes from tugboat owners to the bridge keepers sometimes ensured their boats’ priority. Other tugs simply ignored the signals that the bridge was closing to water traffic and attempted to run through the opening, drawing the wrath of the bridge keeper, expressed in a shower of stones or coal. In 1868 the city ordered the construction of tunnels beneath the waterways to replace the swing bridges. Heavily laden boats are often grounded on the roofs of the tunnels during low water.