Chicago History Museum

The Chicago History Museum was founded to study and interpret Chicago’s history. Unfortunately, much of its early collection was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, after the fire, the Society began collecting again. However, the second fire in 1874 yet again destroyed the collection. Eventually, the Society built a fireproof building and, through donations, built up its current collection and which is now housed in a modern and updated museum building.

A Tour of the Chicago History Museum

Pioneer Locomotive
Cross from the Mission of the Guardian Angel
Chicago ‘L’ System – South Side Railroad Car #1

Pioneer Locomotive

Pioneer is the name of the first railroad locomotive to operate in Chicago, Illinois. The Pioneer was purchased as a 10-year-old second-hand engine from a New York railroad. At the time, Chicago did not have a single operating engine, while the eastern coast cities had extensive rail networks. It arrived in Chicago by schooner, and it pulled the first train westbound out of the town in 1848.

The Pioneer was initially used to construct the new train tracks west of Chicago, before carrying its first paying customers. This locomotive continued to haul passengers and cargo for another ten years before being deployed to light yard duties. In time Chicago emerged as an important rail center.

Pioneer Locomotive

Title: Pioneer
Power type: Steam
Builder: Baldwin Locomotive Works
Build date: 1837
Configuration: Whyte 4-2-0
Official names: Alert (U&S), Pioneer (G&CU)
Museum: Chicago History Museum

Cross from the Mission of the Guardian Angel

This Cross is reportedly from the 1696 Mission of the Guardian Angel, which was a 17th-century Jesuit mission in the area of what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was established in 1696 by Father François Pinet, a French Jesuit priest. The exact location of the Mission of the Guardian Angel is unknown, but various historians have proposed several sites in the Chicago area.

In the 17th century, the Chicago area was inhabited by some Algonquian peoples, including the Mascouten and Miami tribes. French Jesuit missionaries exploring the Great Lakes region first encountered these tribes in the 1650s. In 1696, Pinet established the Mission of the Guardian Angel, however, sometime after 1700, the Miamis started to move to Indiana, and the mission was abandoned.

Pierre François Pinet was born in France in 1660, traveled to Canada in 1694, and died due to unknown circumstances near St. Louis, Missouri, in 1702 while working with the local tribes.

Cross from the Mission of the Guardian Angel

Title: Cross from the Mission of the Guardian Angel
Build date: 1696
Museum: Chicago History Museum

Chicago ‘L’ System – South Side Railroad Car #1

This South Side Railroad Car #1 is the first passenger car to operate on the Chicago ‘L’ system in 1893. The ‘L’ is short for “elevated.” Passengers could ride the ‘L’ for 5 cents to attend the World’s Columbian Exposition, making it the second-oldest rapid transit system in the Americas, after New York City’s elevated lines. The car’s interior features included mahogany and rattan seats and etched glass windows.

The first “L,” the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad, began service with a steam locomotive pulling four wooden coaches. Today the Chicago “L” is the electrified rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. It is the fourth-largest rapid transit system in the United States in terms of total route length and the second-busiest rail mass transit system in the United States.