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1812
In 1812, Chicago was not a city. It was a contested outpost at the edge of a widening war. From the fall of Fort Dearborn to the death of Tecumseh, the balance of power in the Northwest Territory shifted, and the ground beneath modern Chicago was permanently altered Continue reading
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Firewater, forbidden trade and Potawatomi power
Chicago didn’t roar into history; it whispered. From 1696 to the early 1750s, the marsh watched French traders vanish into corruption, Potawatomi power rise like a steady flame, firewater burn through villages, and the Fox Wars shake the north. These were the years the land waited, listening, as empires began to crack. Continue reading
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Before the Taking
Before Chicago had a name, it was a threshold of mud, fire, and shifting power. Explorers paddled past danger, nations moved through the Portage, and the land itself seemed to brace for a future that would carve it open. This is the story of the city before the city existed. Continue reading
The Creative Quill 