Rumsey House

Rumsey House

Rumsey House
(A.T. Andreas, History of Chicago) Pre-Fire Landmarks

Brothers George F. and Julian S. Rumsey arrived in Chicago in the 1830s and made their fortune in storage and commissions relating to grain sales, as Chicago became the commodities market for the world. They were both active in a host of political, economic, and cultural activities, including St. James Episcopal Church, and Julian was elected mayor in 1861. In 1849 they cleared away the trees to make Huron Street, on which they built gracious residences between Rush and Cass (Wabash). This drawing of George's house gives a sense of such "country" homes in the area, several of which had large yards and gardens. "The fountain in our garden had contained spreckled trout," Julian's daughter Ada recalled in her memoir of the fire more than fifty years later, "and in the back yard we kept chickens."


	Rumsey House (A.T. Andreas, History of Chicago)	Pre-Fire Landmarks
	Brothers George F. and Julian S. Rumsey arrived in Chicago in the 1830s and made their fortune in storage and commissions relating to grain sales, as Chicago became the commodities market for the world. They were both active in a host of political, economic, and cultural activities, including St. James Episcopal Church, and Julian was elected mayor in 1861. In 1849 they cleared away the trees to make Huron Street, on which they built gracious residences between Rush and Cass (Wabash). This drawing of George's house gives a sense of such "country" homes in the area, several of which had large yards and gardens. "The fountain in our garden had contained spreckled trout," Julian's daughter Ada recalled in her memoir of the fire more than fifty years later, "and in the back yard we kept chickens."