Chicago Tribune, Port of Chicago Article, April 18, 1849 (First Newspaper).

In 1849, there was quite a bit of shipping traffic in Chicago.

VIA LAKE MICHIGAN

ARRIVED

April 20, 1849:

Schooner, J.C. Spencer, Muskegon—80 meters (262.5 ft) lumber.

April 23, 1849: 

Brigantine, Helfenstein, Milwaukee—ballast

Schooner, Amanda Harwood, Grand Haven—90 meters (295 ft)

Schooner, Bowen, Kalamazoo—35 meters (115 ft) lumber, 16 meters shingles (52.5 ft)

Schooner, Muskegon, Muskegon— 70 meters (230 ft)

Schooner, Niagara

Schooner, Ronicus

Schooner, Telegraph, Grand Haven—100 meters (328 ft) lumber.

CLEARED

April 21, 1849:

Sloop Michigan, Buffalo—343 hides, 8 pkg sundries, 752 barrels flour, 179 barrels pork

Propeller Princeton, Buffalo—1140 barrels beef, 200 hides, 30 pkg furs

VIA THE CANAL

ARRIVED

April 21, 1849:

Shakespeare, Joliet

April 23, 1849:

Granger, Athens (renamed Lemont in 1850)

Wm. Giles, Athens (renamed Lemont in 1850)

CLEARED

April 21, 1849:

Calaract, LaSalle

Diamond, LaSalle

General Davis, LaSalle

General Fry, Lockport

Hollister, LaSalle

Indians, LaSalle

St. Louis, LaSalle

Wasp, Joliet

April 23, 1849:

Chicago, LaSalle

J.T. McDougal, Joliet

Wm. Giles, Athens (renamed Lemont in 1850)

Brigantine - A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts.

Propeller - The first propeller ship was invented by John Ericsson in 1836, and the first commercial propeller ship was the SS Archimedes, which was launched in 1838.

Schooner - Schooners were used to transport cargo along the coasts and between islands. They were particularly well-suited for this purpose because they could sail close to shore and in shallow waters. This picture is a replica of the 1847 C.W. Lawrence.

Sloop - A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sails fore and aft or as a gaff-rig with triangular foresail(s) and a gaff rigged mainsail.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.