William Butler Ogden
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| William Butler Ogden | |
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1st Mayor of Chicago
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| In office 1837 – 1838 |
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| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | Buckner Stith Morris |
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Member of the New York State Assembly
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| In office 1834 – 1835 |
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| Born | June 15, 1805 Walton, New York |
| Died | August 3, 1877 (aged 72) Chicago, Illinois |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Chicago, Illinois |
| Occupation | Real Estate Developer |
William Butler Ogden (June 15, 1805 - August 3, 1877) was the first Mayor of Chicago.
Ogden was born in Walton, New York. When still a teenager, his father died and Ogden took over the family real estate business. He assisted Charles Butler, his brother-in-law, with business matters related to opening a new building for New York University, attending the law school for a brief period himself. In 1834, he was elected to the New York state legislature. The following year, he traveled to Chicago to look over land bought by Charles Butler for $100,000. Ogden informed Butler that he had been taken. Despite that, Ogden recovered the $100,000 by selling off one-third of the property that Butler had purchased. This experience helped change his impression of the city.
During his term as Chicago's first mayor, 1837-1838, the land rush that had brought him to the Midwest went bust, but Ogden managed to help the city weather the storm.
Ogden designed the first swing bridge over the Chicago River and donated the land for Rush Medical Center.
Ogden was a leading promoter and investor in the Illinois and Michigan Canal, then switched his loyalty to railroads. Throughout his later life, Ogden was heavily involved in the building several railroads. He built the first railroad from Chicago in 1848, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, which ran from Chicago to a point ten miles west of town. When Eastern financiers refused to support the railroad, Ogden raised the money by riding on horseback along the proposed route and taking donations from the farmers he passed. The Galena and Chicago Union was the predecessor of the Chicago and North Western Railway.
Later he served on the board of the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad and lobbied with many others for congressional approval and funding of the transcontinental railroad. After the 1862 Pacific Railroad Act, Ogden was named as the first president of the Union Pacific Railroad. Ogden was a good choice for the first president, but his railroad experience was most likely not the primary reason he was chosen; Ogden was a clever man who had many political connections. When Ogden came to lead the Union Pacific, the railroad wasn't fully funded and hadn't yet laid a single mile of track — the railroad existed largely on paper created by an act of Congress. As part of the 1862 Pacific Railroad Act, Congress named several existing railroad companies to complete portions of the project. Several key areas needed to link the East (Chicago) to the West had none, and hence the Union Pacific was formed by Congress. Ogden was a fierce supporter of the transcontinental railroad at a time of great unrest for the country and was quoted as saying
- This project must be carried through by even-handed wise consideration and a patriotic course of policy which shall inspire capitalist of the country with confidence. Speculation is as fatal to it as secession is to the Union. Whoever speculates will damn this project.
As history now shows, eventually Ogden and many others got their wish. Several railroads later, Ogden Flats, Utah, where the Golden Spike was driven, was named for him.
On October 8, 1871, Ogden lost most of his prized possessions in the Great Chicago Fire. He also owned a lumber company in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, which burned the same day.
In 1860, Ogden switched his loyalty to the Republican Party, which shared his views regarding slavery, although he left the party over a dispute with Abraham Lincoln. Ogden felt that the Emancipation Proclamation was premature. Following his defection from the Republican party, Ogden retired from politics and moved back to his native New York.
A stretch of U.S. Highway 34, called Ogden Avenue in Chicago and its suburbs, is named after him. Ogden Elementary School, on Walton Place in Chicago, is also named after him.
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