Matthew Laflin (December 16, 1803 – May 20, 1897) was an American manufacturer of gunpowder, businessman, philanthropist, and an early pioneer of Chicago, Illinois.

He was born on December 16, 1803,[1] an American of Ulster Scots and early New England ancestry, at the Laflin-Phelps Homestead in Southwick, Hampden County, Massachusetts.

The opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848 allowed shipping from the Great Lakes through Chicago to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.

[21][22] With the money he made in the gunpowder business, he began to purchase large tracts of real estate and once owned 140 acres (0.57 km2) of land within the city limits.

[21][22] In 1849, he purchased 100 acres (0.40 km2) of land on the west side, extending eastward from Madison Street and Ogden Avenue.

[21][22] The hotel was constructed complete with barns, sheds and cattle pens and so established Chicago's first stock yards.

Waukesha was once known for its extremely clean and good-tasting spring water and was called a "spa town."

"[24][25] In the summer of 1905 the Fountain Spring House was sold by the heirs of Matthew Laflin to the Metropolitan Church Association of Chicago.

He operated the first omnibus line to carry his hotel patrons to his stock yards and the State Street markets.

Laflin Street in Chicago begins 1500 West from 356 North to 12258 South, it is named in his honor.