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William B. Ogden’s Subdivision of Block 18, of Wolcott’s addition to Chicago
By:
Asa F. Bradley
Date:
June 1, 1846
Dimensions:
Size: 15.75 x 10 inches (40 x 25.4 cm)
Signatures:
Asa F. Bradley (Cook County Surveyor), William B. Ogden (Proprietor), Mahlon
D. Ogden (Justice of the Peace)
This map of William B. Ogden’s Subdivision shows the block surrounded by the streets of
Clark, Ontario, Dearborn, and Washington, divided in 17 separate lots with three alleys. All of
the lots include the names of the owners and some include their respective date of purchase.
Today this block is occupied by the Rainforest Café, the Hard Rock Café, and a large building
of condominiums. Of the three alleys shown in the map, only the alley running east and west is
still fully operational. While the alley to the east of lot #14 still exists, it has been walled off
from Ontario Street.
The second paragraph of script concerning William B. Ogden’s ownership of the land reads as
follows:
I, William B. Ogden of the City of Chicago, and State of Illinois, proprietor of Block Eighteen
(18) in Wolcott’s Addition to Chicago, do hereby certify and acknowledge that I have had the
same subdivision and laid out by Asa F. Bradley, surveyor of Cook County aforesaid into lots
and alleys, according to the above plat of such survey. And I do hereby acknowledge and adopt
said plat for the uses and purposes as therein set forth.
Witness my hand and seal on this First day of June A.D. 1846
William B. Ogden
The names of the lot owners include the following: Edward Burling, B.L.T. Bourland, Thomas
Snodgrass, Benjamin Johnson, Hiram Thomas, Hector N. Morgan, Julian S. Rumsey, Burns
Seba, S.H. Kerfoot, James Bierce, John L. Gray, William Dickens, William Anderson, William
Melvin, and Derastus Harper.
Condition:
Fine manuscript with intended folding contemporaneous with the piece. Minor
marginal fold separations. Manuscript on verso reads
William B. Ogdens subdivision of Block
18. Wolcott’s addition to Chicago.
Red ink on recto is still legible.