5. Union Stockyards
Before the American Civil War, the five major railroads serving Chicago each had their own stockyards, where arriving cattle were held prior to shipping to eastern markets. Other stockyards held pigs, other sheep. The Illinois Central and Michigan Central railroads jointly owned the largest, built along the shore of Lake Michigan between 29th and 35th street. To avoid driving animals through the city streets, the railroads placed the stockyards near their facilities. Meatpacking companies purchased their animals from the stockyards, as did butcher shops and other consumers. During the Civil War, a large number of animals moved about the city indicating the need for a change to the system.
In 1864 the Union Stockyards were designed and built upon a marshy area south of the city. Nine railroad companies joined forces to purchase the land and build the stockyards, with all of them having access to the facilities. The stockyards included fifteen miles of rail tracks, which connected them to the main lines serving the city. The stockyards became a growing city of its own, annexed into the city of Chicago five years after construction began. By then it contained pens which could hold 75,000 hogs, 22,000 sheep, and 21,000 cattle simultaneously. It also contained offices, saloons, restaurants, and other services supporting the community which expanded around it. By 1870 the Union Stockyards processed over two million animals per year.