In an effort to characterize Chicago in the 1840s and 1850s, the publisher selected extracts from the published reminiscences of three Chicagoans. To throw light on the rapid economic growth Chicago experienced during this era, a chapter on the first railroads was included.

Table of Contents:
William Bross, “What I Remember of Early Chicago”
Charles Cleaver, extracts from articles in the Chicago Tribune
Joseph Jefferson, reprint from his autobiography
A. T. Andreas, “Chicago’s First Railroad Systems” [from his History of Chicago]