The Chicago Union Stockyards could handle at any one time:
75,000 hogs
21,000 cattle
22,000 sheep
Livestock came from all over by rail and by truck to the south side of Chicago from 1865 to 1971. After the Stockyards closed, the Chicago-Joliet Stockyards opened and some area farmers shipped their livestock there. Other marketing outlets also opened but eventually farmers sold livestock directly to packers.
