Long before Chicago became the bustling city we know today, the area was home to indigenous peoples, including the Potawatomi, who settled the region after the Miami, Sauk, and Meskwaki tribes. The city’s first permanent settler was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a trader of African descent, who established a trading post in the 1780s and is widely recognized as the “Founder of Chicago.”

Following the Northwest Indian War, the United States gained control of the area through the 1795 Treaty of Greenville, establishing it as a military post. Fort Dearborn was built in 1803, only to be destroyed during the War of 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn and later rebuilt. Over the next decades, the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi ceded more land to the U.S., culminating in the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, which forcibly removed the Potawatomi west of the Mississippi River under federal Indian removal policies.

These early events laid the groundwork for Chicago’s rapid growth in the 19th century. From a strategic trading settlement to a city rebounding from fires and wars, Chicago’s origins are a story of resilience, cultural exchange, and transformation that continues to shape its identity today.