Sauganash Hotel facts for kids
The Sauganash Hotel was once known as the Eagle Exchange Tavern. It was Chicago, Illinois's very first hotel! Built in 1831, it stood at a place called Wolf Point. This area is now part of the Loop neighborhood. It was right where the different parts of the Chicago River meet. The spot where the hotel once stood, at West Lake Street and North Wacker Drive, became a special Chicago Landmark in 2002. The hotel had many different owners over its 20 years. For a short time, it was even Chicago's first theater. It was named after Sauganash, a helpful interpreter for the British.
A Look Back in Time
Mark and Monique Beaubien were the owners and builders of the Sauganash Hotel. They were French traders who worked with Native Americans. In 1826, they moved to Chicago. Mark's older brother, Jean, was already a trader there. The Beaubiens built a small cabin at Wolf Point. They traded with Native Americans and other travelers. They also built a tavern on the east side of the Chicago River. This was where the river's north and south branches joined.
The tavern was first called the Eagle Exchange Tavern. In 1831, they added a wooden frame to the log building. This turned it into Chicago's first hotel, the Sauganash Hotel. When it was finished, it was one of only two homes on the south side of the main river branch. The other was his brother's home. Chicago only had twelve houses at that time. The hotel quickly became famous. Later, when it was rebuilt, it became the city's biggest and best hotel. Right next to the hotel's public bar was Chicago's first drug store.
The new hotel had a Greek Revival style. This was very different from Chicago's other eleven buildings. Its balanced front looked like buildings on the East Coast. Juliette Kinzie, who came to Chicago in 1831, described it. She called it a "fancy white two-story building." It had "bright blue wood shutters" and everyone at Wolf Point admired it. People of all backgrounds, both Native Americans and settlers, enjoyed staying there.
More travelers came after the Black Hawk War ended in 1832. In 1833, the hotel hosted an important election. The first town leaders of the new Town of Chicago were chosen there. Beaubien owned the hotel until 1834. During his time, he often played his violin to entertain guests. On August 18, 1835, something special happened. The Potawatomi people had signed a treaty. They agreed to move to a reservation far away. Before they left, 800 warriors performed their last war dance. They paraded right in front of the hotel.
In 1835, a man named Mr. Davis took over the hotel. After him, many different people owned it. The building was briefly used as Chicago's first theater. In November 1837, the first Chicago Theatre company performed there. They used an old dining room. By 1839, it was a hotel again. But in 1851, a fire destroyed it. It was then torn down. Nine years later, the Wigwam was built in its place.
Who Was Sauganash?
The hotel was named after Billy Caldwell, also known as "Sauganash." He was an important interpreter for Native American agents. Billy Caldwell was born around 1780. He was half Native American. His father was Colonel Caldwell, an Irish officer in the British Army. His mother was Potawatomi. Billy went to a Jesuit school in Detroit. There, he learned English and French. He also learned several Native American dialects. Billy Caldwell's Native American name was "Straight Tree." But most people knew him as "Sauganash." This word means "Englishman" in the Potawatomi language. As a warrior, Sauganash followed Tecumseh until Tecumseh's death in 1813. Billy Caldwell became a Captain in the British Indian Department during the War of 1812.
Chicago's First Theater
In 1834, three years before Chicago became an official city, the hotel hosted the first professional public show in Chicago. Tickets cost 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children. The show promised many different acts, including ventriloquism. Over the next two years, several traveling performers came to the hotel. In 1837, the Chicago Theater company started. This was the first local theater group. They set up in the hotel's old dining room.
The managers, Harry Isherwood and Alexander McKinzie, got a license from the city. The company began performing a different show every night. This started in late October or early November and lasted about six weeks. After their shows at the hotel, the company went on tour. They returned the next spring to a different place in Chicago.
