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| Christmas Cheer for Fort Dearborn by Paul Strayer |
December 24, 1961 – The Chicago Daily
Tribune tells the story of the first Christmas tree in Chicago, cut down
somewhere near Division Street in 1804.
According to the paper’s account the commander of Fort Dearborn, Captain
John Whistler, “decided his garrison should have a holiday tree to lift
morale. His men and their families were
weary of the bitter cold and the ice on the lake to the horizon.” (I’m looking at the lake from the window up
here on the north side, and I completely understand.) The tree was dragged across the frozen river
to the garrison that stood at what is now the corner of Wacker Drive and
Michigan Avenue. “On Christmas day, with
a few feeble candles glowing on the tree, the garrison sat down to its first
Christmas dinner,” the article continues.
Guests included John Kinzie and his family and another trapper who lived
across the river, Francis Ouilmette. In
the middle of the celebration a friendly group of Indians, led by Chief Black
Partridge, made a visit and the group was invited to stay and “partake of the
feast.” Imagine those first inhabitants
of what would become this great city, huddled together dozens and dozens of
miles away from anything remotely resembling civilization, sharing a quiet
communal moment in the darkness and cold of the wilderness night. It’s enough to make us thankful for what we
have. Have a very merry Christmas.
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