Cooley, Wadsworth & Co.

John V. Farwell & Co. was a department store in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The store's history traces back to 1836, when the Wadsworth brothers came to Chicago to sell goods. E. S. Wadsworth eventually formed a partnership with Thomas Dyer and John Putnam Chapin as Wadsworth, Dyer & Chapin. Following a series of ownership changes, the company fell under the executive control of John Villiers Farwell, for whom the company was renamed. A profitable clothing store, Philip Wadsworth & Co., was later spun off from the company. John V. Farwell & Co. was the most successful store in the city until the 1871 Great Chicago Fire. The store continued to operate after the fire, but faced stiff competition from former partners Marshall Field and Levi Leiter. It was purchased by Carson, Pirie & Co. in 1926.

In 1836, E. S. Wadsworth came to Chicago, Illinois from New England to make land purchases and sell goods. His brother Julius soon followed. They soon formed a partnership with Thomas Dyer and opened a shop on Lake Street in a building owned by F. C. Sherman. The partnership later built their own store on South Water, between Clark and LaSalle Streets. The Wadsworths and Dyer then built a warehouse across the street from this second store to hold and sell grain. They also built a meatpacking house south of the Twelfth Street Bridge. As an investment, the Wadsworths built a store on the corner of Lake and Wabash Avenue.

In 1843, Julius Wadsworth left the company due to poor health. In his place, John Putnam Chapin joined the operation, which became known as Wadsworth, Dyer & Chapin. They built a new slaughterhouse on the South Branch of the Chicago River and arranged a deal to slaughter cattle raised by Jesse and Isaac Funk. Wadsworth focused on retail operations while Dyer and Chapin concentrated on the meatpacking interests. In 1846, Chapin was elected the 10th Mayor of Chicago. Wadsworth moved the company to a retail focus while Dyer left to start his own meatpacking operation. Before the firm split, Wadsworth, Dyer & Chapin became one of the thirteen entities to support the creation of the Chicago Board of Trade; Dyer was named its first president.

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