Point du Sable, Catherine and Jean-Baptiste

Catherine (1756–1809)
and John-Baptiste Point du Sable (1745–1818)
Fur traders and farmers

Considered the founders of Chicago, Catherine and Jean-Baptiste Point du Sable established a fur trading post on this site in the 1770s or early 1780s, approximately a half-century before Chicago was incorporated. This commercial enterprise helped shape the American government’s vision of the potential of this area and therefore its decision to build the first Fort Dearborn in 1803 across the river, at what is now the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive.