Charles Farwell – "one of the principal builders in the business district after the Chicago Fire"

https://grandoldpartisan.typepad.com/blog/2023/07/charles-farwell.html

Grand Old Partisan honors Charles Farwell, born in western New York, July 1st 1823. The ambitious youth moved to rural Illinois in his teens, then settling in Chicago. He started out as a bank teller.

In 1853, Farwell was first elected Cook County clerk. He achieved success as a merchant during the Civil War. His returned to politics was chairing the county’s board of supervisors.

In 1870, Farwell won election to the U.S. House of Representatives. While serving a third term, the Democrat-controlled House ousted him in favor of a Democrat claimant. On behalf of the RNC, he helped secure the Rutherford Hayes presidential campaign's victory in Louisiana. Farwell recaptured his House seat in 1880.

In 1887, the legislature elected him to the U.S. Senate upon the death of Senator John Logan. Of note was his support, decades before it passed, for a women's suffrage amendment. He did not run for re-election, as his pro-tariff sentiments proved very unpopular amid the economic depression of the early 1890s.

It is as a promoter of the City of Broad Shoulders that Farwell deserves to be best remembered. A biographer credits him for being "one of the principal builders in [Chicago's] business district" after the Chicago Fire. He championed federal legislation that encouraged the region's farming and manufacturing sectors. His political influence proved instrumental in Chicago beating out New York, Washington and St. Louis to host the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.