This cache is placed at the location of the very first permanent
settlement in Chicago. While at the cache site, please take the
time to read the nearby markers that detail some of the area's rich
history. There are several markers very close to the cache but the
"Chicago Tribute" marker itself is actually just a bit North of the
cache, on Michigan Avenue near the bus stop.
From ChicagoTribute.org:
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.
Much about the du Sables’ lives is unknown. Scholars say
Jean-Baptiste probably was born in Saint Dominique (now Haiti) in
the West Indies. At least one of his parents was a slave; he is
best described as Afro-French. Catherine was Potawatomi; her Native
American name is unknown. Native women who married fur traders and
converted to Catholicism, as she did, constructed female kin
networks that linked fur settlements throughout the Great Lakes and
Mississippi River valley, and Catherine’s connections were
essential to her husband’s commercial success.
By the time the du Sable family left Chicago in 1800, their
prosperous farm included a large house, a bake house, smokehouse,
poultry house, stable, barn, 2 mules, 30 cattle, 38 hogs and 44
hens. Du Sable’s post, with its diverse clientele of Indian, French
and American traders, established a tradition of commerce that
would provide the foundation of Chicago’s economy for decades to
come.
The cache is a small silver container that is well hidden from
view. This is an EXTREMELY high muggle area, though most are going
to and from their jobs and don't tend to pay much attention to
others. Still though, please be very careful while retrieving and
replacing this cache. Also, please replace the cache exactly where
you find it so that it doesn't wander away. The cache contains a
waterproof log only, so please bring your own pen (Felt-tip works
best).