Faced with filthy waterways and a worsening public health crisis, Chicago’s authorities took a radical step to literally reverse the flow of the Chicago River in 1900. Needless to say, the move did not help relations with the city of St Louis, whose residents suddenly found themselves downstream of a river brimming with garbage, human excrement, industrial waste, and other assorted nasties. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

The story begins in the late 19th century when Chicago was the nation’s fastest-growing city , fueled by a booming industrial economy and massive immigration from Europe and elsewhere in the US. Between 1850 to 1910, Chicago went from a town of barely 30,000 people to a thriving metropolis of over

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