3. Connecting with the east
During the 1840s and 1850s, railroad companies experienced explosive growth throughout the eastern and midwestern states. An alphabet soup of railroad companies emerged, bearing the initials of their names, based on their major destinations or routes. Railroads formed, merged, and connected cities, with reaching Chicago a common goal of many. The Illinois connected to Detroit, Lansing, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and to the north in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Railcars carried wheat and grain from the north and west, as well as livestock. Cattle and hogs arrived in the city, where they were kept in ever-growing stockyards before shipping to eastern destinations.
Most of the railroads emanating to the north and west of Chicago established their corporate headquarters in the city, in separate passenger terminals. The Galena and Chicago Union’s terminal and operations center stood near the canal, on Canal Street. Its operation, and those of its competitors, drove the growth of several businesses. Chicago became a major railroad manufacturing center, building railcars for freight and passengers. During the years leading up to the Civil War railroads developed rail marshaling yards for the several companies serving Chicago, each with their own stockyards, terminals, and support areas.