Samuel Eberly Gross

Born in Dauphin, Pennsylvania, in 1843, Samuel Eberly Gross served in the Union Army during the Civil War and later trained as a lawyer. He eventually moved into business and became one of Chicago’s most active real estate developers in the late nineteenth century.

Gross is especially remembered for building and marketing large subdivisions aimed at working- and middle-class buyers. His name became closely tied to the rapid growth of Chicago neighborhoods, and places such as Grossdale and Gross Park still reflect his influence.

He was also a writer with a flair for self-promotion, publishing works including The Merchant Prince of Cornville. That mix of entrepreneur, showman, and author helps explain why he remains an unusually colorful figure in Chicago history.