George Armour was born in Campbelltown, Argyleshire, Scotland in 1811. He came to Illinois as a young man; settling first in Ottawa, then Joliet and Lockport before coming to Chicago. He became a contractor and his firm built a section of the Illinois & Michigan Canal and a part of the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad. He arrived in Chicago in the 1850s and in 1860 he established one of Chicago leading grain warehouses: Armour, Dole & Co. He was also the President of the Chicago Board of Trade, director of an insurance company, director of a gas company and a trustee of a bank. He died in Brighton, England on June 13, 1881.