Campbell, James L.

James L. Campbell Soundex Code C514

Alderman James L. Campbell (1832-1916 Republican, term: 12th and 13th Wards 1869-1896), in the long tradition of Chicago statesmen, mixed politics, natural disaster, and land speculation to pile up a fortune.

Campbell was born in Caledonia, New York and joined the Iowa Bar Association in 1862. He moved to Chicago that same year and before the decade was up, he was elected Alderman of the West Side’s 12th Ward, a post he would hold for the next 27 years.

In the days after the Great Chicago Fire, Campbell stood back and surveyed the rubble. He fixed his eye on the hundreds of homeless people wandering among the smoking ruins, and he decided then and there on a career change: real estate. Within the next few years, Campbell, hustling between City Hall and his real estate office, bought up huge tracts of land on the Near West Side, erected more than 1,000 buildings, and got rich.

Maggie Gourley, the daughter of Arthur Gourley and Jane Gourley, married James L. Campbell, (Maggie Campbell).

Campbell Avenue is named for him.