{"nrhp_refnum":"76000690","name":"Du Sable, Jean Baptiste Point, Homesite","other_names":["Pioneer Court"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"401 N. Michigan Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.88969364900004,"lon":-87.62346286999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-05-11","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1976-05-11","areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Black","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic site at 401 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, where Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable built a log home and trading post. It is now partly covered by Pioneer Court Plaza, dedicated in 1965.","why_significant":"The site is where Du Sable, described as the first permanent non-Indian settler of Chicago, set up a trading post before 1779 at the Chicago portage. The nomination argues that this laid the foundation for the city's growth and represents Afro-American contributions to the nation's early economic development.","narrative":"Pioneer Court, a public plaza at 401 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, occupies part of the land where Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable built a trading post and home before 1779. Du Sable, born in Haiti in 1745, was a fur trader and farmer who settled at the Chicago portage, which linked the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. His log house measured twenty-two by forty feet and was surrounded by barns, a mill, a bakehouse and other outbuildings. He sold the post in 1800 to Jean Lalime. The nomination describes him as the first permanent non-Indian settler and founder of Chicago, and as an example of Afro-American contributions to the country's early development. Today the site is a red-brick plaza of about 100,000 square feet, dedicated in 1965, with planters, a fountain naming Chicago pioneers, and bronze plaques recounting the history of the site, including its later resident John Kinzie.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific date c. 1779, establishment of Du Sable trading post)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as excellent and original site; the plaza is occupied and open to public use, with plaques marking the site's history.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.821149-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/52/8915/28891552/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/76000690_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000690/d40a80cdb0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000690/d40a80cdb0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Dmadeo","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean_Baptiste_Point_Du_Sable_Homesite.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Dmadeo</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean_Baptiste_Point_Du_Sable_Homesite.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"78001124","name":"Michigan-Wacker Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/michigan-wacker-historic-district-78001124/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891552","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Baptiste_Point_Du_Sable_Homesite","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6170210"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/du-sable-jean-baptiste-point-homesite-76000690/"}