Hunt v. City of Chicago

98 Ill. 147, 1881 Ill. LEXIS 236
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 25, 1880
StatusPublished

This text of 98 Ill. 147 (Hunt v. City of Chicago) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Illinois Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hunt v. City of Chicago, 98 Ill. 147, 1881 Ill. LEXIS 236 (Ill. 1880).

Opinion

Mr. Chief Justice Dickey

delivered the opinion of the Court:

Block 10, in Rockwell’s addition to Chicago, before its subdivision into lots, was 660 feet long from east to west, and 431 feet wide from north to south. *'

This block was first subdivided into 17 lots, by a plat which was not filed for record until July 18,1854.

That plat was as follows:

Plat Showing Lots 11 to 17, inclusive, of Block 10, Rockwell’s Addition to Chicago. Filed for record July 18, 1854, Book 85, p. 40.

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The figures upon the plat evidently relate to the entire size of the block, embracing 33 feet on the east and 33 feet on the south of what was intended to be made into lots, which was indicated upon the plat as dedicated or proposed to be dedicated, by a dotted line for half a street on the east and half a street on the south. It will be observed that at the south-east corner of the block, is a stone, which is a monument from which the plat could be traced. This left lot 17, 627 feet long from east to west and one chain or 66 feet from north to south. While lots 14, 15, and 16 are marked upon their eastern front as 1.843 (chains), yet it is evident, on inspection of the plat—and the scale—that the 1.843 at the' east end of lot 14, represents the distance to the center of the street south of the corner of the lot (14), and that that lot was left 88f feet front, while lots 15 and 16 each had a front of 121$ feet, and these lots 14,15 and 16, although marked by the figures on the plat as 5.46 chains long from east to west, were evidently but 327 feet long from east to west, representing the 5 chains and 46 links, less half a chain, or 33 feet, which was proposed to be cut off the east end of these lots, to constitute a part of what is now Leavitt street, and was formerly called Cross street, so that the ground embraced in the lots 11 to 17 inclusive, was 627 feet from east .to west, and 398 feet from north to south; leaving one half of Cross street to the east and one-half of Jackson street to the south.

Of this ground, lots 11, 12 and 13, were 332 feet from north to south, and 300 feet from east to west. Their distance from east to west is marked upon the plat in chains at 91, 1.818, 1.818, which makes 300 feet. These three lots were subsequently bought by Mrs. Hunt, the appellant.

Subsequently, Freeman and others became proprietors of lots 14, 15, 16 and 17. These lots, as shown upon the plat, consisted of lot 17, which was 66 feet from north to south and 627 feet from east to west; and lots 15 and 16 were each 327 feet from east to west, and 121$ from north to south; and lot 14, which was 327 feet from east to west, and 88$ feet from north to south.

Being thus the owners of this piece of land, which, on its longest line from east to west, was 627 feet, they subdivided it into lots, as shown by the following plat:

Fbeeman’s and others Subdivision in Rockwell’s Addition to Chicago, Block 10, Lots 14, 15, 16 and 17. Filed for record July 5, 1854. Recorded in Book 85, p. 25.

Upon -the inspection of this plat it will be seen that in making it, these proprietors have embraced in it 33 feet more ground from east to west than they owned, unless they owned the 33 feet on the east—shown on the first plat as part of a street. Beginning at the north-west corner, they by their plat evidently dedicate, as part of a proposed street, or lay off for a lot, a piece of ground 30 feet from east to west and 66 feet from north to south. The dotted line would indicate that it was intended to be, then or thereafter, appropriated as half a street. Traveling east on the north line, we have a lot 125 feet, an alley 23 feet, a lot 125 feet, a street 60 feet, a lot 140 feet, and alley 17 feet, and then a lot 140 feet, which, being added together, makes 660 feet from the north-west corner of their lot 17 to the north-east corner of their lot 17, whereas their lot 17, was in fact, by the original plat, but 627 feet long.

Three hundred feet from the north-west corner of their plat, strikes the line of what, as shown upon the plat, is a street 60 feet wide, running north and south, and marked Elizabeth street, and this plat was duly acknowledged and placed upon record July 6th, 1854. Although recorded before the plat first above mentioned, it evidently was made after, for this shows Cross street at the east end of the block, as indicated upon the subdivision of Rockwell’s addition.

After these plats were placed upon record, Mrs. Hunt being the proprietor of the residue of the block not platted by Freeman’s subdivision, consisting of the original lots 11, 12 and 13, made a plat, by which she subdivided these three original lots into 27 sub-lots, ah alley, and a half street. The following is a copy of her plat:

Subdivision of Lots 11,12 and 13, in Block 10 of Rockwell's Addition to Chicago. Filed for record Oct. 9th, 1855, Book 98, p. 5.

This plat was made and recorded the 9th of October,1855. To it is attached the following certificate:

“State of Illinois, County of Cook, \ City of Chicago, j '
“I hereby certify that.I have surveyed lots 11, 12 and 13, in block 10, in Rock well’s addition to Chicago; also that I have subdivided the same into lots, alleys and half street, as represented on the above plat of the same. I further certify said plat to be a correct representation of said survey and subdivision. Samuel S. Greeley, City Surveyor.”
October 8, 1855.”

And a certificate of Mrs. Hunt, by her attorney, was added, declaring that she owned lots 11, 12 and 13 in block 10, and that she has caused the same to be subdivided as represented on the plat; and a certificate of a justice of the peace that the plat was duly acknowledged and that the subdivision was the same as represented thereon.

It is claimed by appellee, that by the acknowledgment and recording of this plat, which was recorded October 9th, 1855, Mrs. Hunt dedicated from the east part of her land, one-half of what was designated as Elizabeth street on the map of Freeman’s subdivision. This she denies, and the controversy is as to whether that dedication was made.

It seems exceedingly clear that the making and recording of that map is not evidence of a dedication, by her, of any laud on the eastern side of her lots as part of a street. She knew that she owned the three lots in the southwest corner of this block 10, which three lots embraced a piece of land 300 feet from east to west, and a little over 330 feet from north to south, excluding 33 feet on the south for half of Jackson street. She found upon the records the Rockwell plat and the Freeman plat, each purporting to be a plat of the whole of this block 10, so far as its north boundary is concerned. On Rockwell’s plat it was laid down at ten chains or 660 feet. On Freeman’s plat it was laid down as 660 feet. The fair inference to be drawn from that fact was, that the north-east corner of Freeman’s plat Avas intended to be identical Avith the north-east corner of Rockwell’s plat; and the north-west corner of Freeman’s plat Avas intended to be identical with that of Rockwell’s plat.

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98 Ill. 147, 1881 Ill. LEXIS 236, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hunt-v-city-of-chicago-ill-1880.