In his home the future city s first marriage was performed, first election held, and first court convened. In 1795, tracts of land west of Ohio were opened up for use by the U.S. government for forts and portages. One of the tracts, a piece of land six miles square, at the mouth of the Chicago River, emptying into the southwest end of Lake Michigan became the site of Fort Dearborn. The fort afforded security, and in 1803, additional traders and settlers made their way to the area. There is some debate as to the meaning of the word Checagou, and it is uncertain which of the local Indian tribes named the town.
Some historians believe that it is derived from the Indian words for either skunk or wild onion.
Others contest that the word connoted strong or great . In 1818, Illinois was admitted to statehood, and in 1829, the legislature appointed a committee to begin planning a canal to connect eastern waterways with the Mississippi through the Great Lakes, the Des Plaines, and the Illinois Rivers. The cost of the enormous undertaking was to be covered in part by the sale of lots along the route. A civil engineer was hired to survey and plat the town of Chicago. Though the survey indicating the first legal geographic location of the town was filed in 1830, it would not be until 1833 that the town of Chicago, with a population of 350, was incorporated.