Worth His Salt: Joy Morton's Role in the 1909 Plan of Chicago

Exhibit :

Today, Chicagoans remember Joy Morton as the man who sold salt and planted trees. Few realize the significant role he played in developing the 1909 Plan of Chicago. A long-time member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, Morton served on its Executive Committee, chaired its important committee on railway terminals, and joined other members of the Commercial Club in backing up the Plan’s rhetoric with his own money and influence. The Morton Arboretum, created thirteen years later from Joy Morton’s estate in Lisle, seamlessly fit the Plan’s vision of expansive preserved forest and natural areas in the city’s outlying areas