Pullman. 1 Former town, since 1889 part of Chicago, Ill. It was founded in 1880 by George M. Pullman as a model community for workers of his sleeping-car company; all property was company owned, and administration policies were paternalistic. The residents voted for incorporation with Chicago, and Illinois courts later (1898) required the company to sell all property not used for industrial purposes. In 1894, Pullman was the site of one of the most memorable strikes in U.S. history. A protest against wage cuts led (May, 1894) to the strike, then to a boycott by the American Railway Union, and ultimately to the imprisonment of its president, Eugene V. Debs. A sharp contest ensued during the strike between Gov. John P. Altgeld and President Grover Cleveland over the sending of federal troops to the area. The strike was broken in July. See also Pullman strike. A number of historic buildings in the former town are included in the Pullman National Monument.
2 City (1990 pop. 23,478), Whitman co., SE Wash., at the junction of the three forks of the Palouse River, near the Idaho line; inc. 1888. It is an agricultural center for a region producing wheat, barley, oats, alfalfa, peas, lentils, sheep, and hogs. Electronic equipment and machinery are manufactured. The city, named for George M. Pullman, was a major stop on the Northern Pacific RR. Washington State Univ. is there.
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