Chicago: Wild Onions to the Windy City

Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable (1745-1818) was the first person to permanently settle and irrigate Chicago, then a land called Eschikago or 'land of wild onions' by the semi-nomadic Potawatomi tribe.
Du Sable was born on the Island of Haiti. His father was a French Sea Captain and his mother an ex-slave. Du Sable was educated in France before settling in America with his Native American bride, Catherine. Du Sable went on to be a successful pioneer and entrepreneur establishing the first permanent trading post on the Chicago River in 1779. He was officially recognized in 1968 by the State of Illinois for having been the Founder of Chicago.
Republished in part from the Culture of Black Chicago.