Fort Dearborn

Fort Dearborn
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
1856 drawing showing Fort Dearborn as it appeared in 1831[1]
Location	Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates	41°53′17″N 87°37′26″W / 41.88806°N 87.62389°W / 41.88806; -87.62389
Built	1803
Architect	U.S. Army
Architectural style	log-built fort enclosed in a double stockade
Part of	American frontier, Michigan–Wacker Historic District (ID78001124)

Fort Dearborn was a United States fort, first built in 1803 beside the Chicago River, in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by U.S. troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. The original fort was destroyed following the Battle of Fort Dearborn during the War of 1812, and a replacement Fort Dearborn was constructed on the same site in 1816 and decommissioned by 1837.

Parts of the fort were lost to the widening of the Chicago River in 1855, and a fire in 1857. The last vestiges of Fort Dearborn were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The site of the fort is now a Chicago Landmark, located in the Michigan–Wacker Historic District.