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The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Oct. 8-10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying several square miles in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S. disasters of the 19th Century, the rebuilding that began almost immediately spurred Chicago's development into one of the most populous and economically important American cities.

The fire's origin

The fire started at about 9 p.m. on Sunday, October 8, in or around a small shed that bordered the alley behind 137 DeKoven Street.

The best-known story of the fire is that it was started by a cow kicking over a lantern in the barn owned by Patrick and Catherine O'Leary at the address above. Catherine O'Leary was the perfect scapegoat: she was a woman, immigrant, and Catholic-–a combination which did not fare well in the political climate of the time in Chicago. This story was circulating in Chicago even before the flames had died out and was noted in the Chicago Tribune's first post-fire issue. Michael Ahern, the reporter who created the cow story, admitted in 1893 that he had made up the story because he thought it would make colorful copy. The Great Chicago Fire by Robert Cromie, published by Rutledge Hill Press ISBN 1-55853-264-1 and ISBN 1-55853-265-X (pbk. edition)

More recently, amateur historian Richard Bales has come to believe it was actually started when Daniel "Pegleg" Sullivan, who first reported the fire, ignited some hay in the barn while trying to steal some milk. However, evidence recently reported in the Chicago Tribune by Anthony DeBartolo suggests Louis M. Cohn may have started the fire during a craps game. Cohn may also have admitted to starting the fire in a lost will, according to Alan Wykes in his 1964 book The Complete Illustrated Guide to Gambling.

An alternative theory, first suggested in 1882, is that the Great Chicago Fire was caused by a meteor shower. At a 2004 conference of the Aerospace Corporation and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, engineer and physicist Robert Wood suggested that the fire began when Biela's Comet broke up over the Midwest and rained down below. That four large fires took place, all on the same day, all on the shores of Lake Michigan (see Related Events), suggests a common root cause. Eyewitnesses reported sighting spontaneous ignitions, lack of smoke, "balls of fire" falling from the sky, and blue flames. According to Wood, these accounts suggest that the fires were caused by the methane that is commonly found in comets. Another theory is that the fire was started by boys smoking pipes in a haystack.

Spread of the blaze

When the fire broke out, neighbors hurried to protect the O'Leary's house in front of the cowshed from the blaze; the house actually did survive with only minor damage. However, the city's fire department didn't receive the first alarm until 9:40 p.m., and strong winds were blowing from the southwest, toward the heart of the city. Soon the fire had spread to neighboring frame houses and sheds. Superheated winds drove flaming brands northeastward, and the fire crossed the south branch of the Chicago River by midnight. Helping the fire spread was ample fuel in the closely packed wood buildings, ships lining the river, the city's elevated wood-plank sidewalks, and the commercial lumber and coal yards along the river. The size of the blaze generated extremely strong winds and heat, which ignited rooftops far ahead of the actual flames.

As it raged through the central business district the fire destroyed hotels, department stores, Chicago's City Hall, the opera house and theaters, churches and printing plants. The fire continued spreading northward, driving fleeing residents across bridges over the Chicago River. The blaze leapt over the river's north branch and continued burning through homes and mansions on the city's north side. Residents fled into Lincoln Park and to the shores of Lake Michigan, where thousands found refuge from the flames.

The fire finally burned out, aided by diminishing winds and a light drizzle that began falling late on Monday night. From its origin at the O'Leary property it had burned a path of near complete destruction for some 48 blocks to Fullerton Avenue on the north side.

Once the fire was extinguished, the smoldering remains were too hot for a survey of the damage to be completed for several days. Eventually it was determined that the fire destroyed an area about four miles (6 km) long and averaging 3/4 mile (1 km) wide, encompassing more than 2,000 acres (8 km²). This area included more than 73 miles (120 km) of roads, 120 miles (190 km) of sidewalk, 2,000 lampposts, 17,500 buildings, and $222 million in property, about a third of the city's valuation. Out of 300,000 inhabitants, 100,000 were left homeless. The fire was said by local newspapers to be so fierce that it surpassed the damage done by Napoleon's siege of Moscow in 1812. Remarkably, some buildings did survive the fire, such as the then-new Chicago Water Tower, which remains today as an unofficial memorial to the fire's destructive power. It was one of only five public buildings spared by the flames within the disaster zone; another was Holy Family Church, the Roman Catholic congregation of the O'Leary family.

After the fire, 125 bodies were recovered. Final estimates of the fatalities ranged from 200-300, considered a small number for such a large fire. In later years, other disasters in the city would claim more lives: 571 died in the Iroquois Theater fire in 1903; and, in 1915, 835 died in the sinking of the Eastland excursion boat in the Chicago River. Yet the Great Chicago Fire remains Chicago's most well-known disaster, for the magnitude of the destruction and the city's subsequent recovery and growth.

Land speculators, such as Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard, and business owners quickly set about rebuilding the city. Donations of money, food, clothing and furnishings arrived quickly from across the nation. The first load of lumber for rebuilding was delivered the day the last burning building was extinguished. Only 22 years later, Chicago hosted more than 21 million visitors during the World's Columbian Exposition.

In 1956, the remaining structures on the original O'Leary property were torn down for construction of the Chicago Fire Academy, a training facility for Chicago firefighters.

Related events

In that hot, dry and windy autumn, three other major fires occurred along the shores of Lake Michigan at the same time as the Great Chicago Fire. Some 400 miles (600 km) to the north, a prairie fire driven by strong winds consumed the town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin along with a dozen other villages, killing 1,200 to 2,500 people and charring approximately 1.5 million acres (6,000 km²). Though the Peshtigo Fire remains the deadliest in American history, the remoteness of the region meant it was little noticed at the time. Across the lake to the east, the town of Holland, Michigan and other nearby areas burned to the ground. Some 100 miles to the north of Holland the lumbering community of Manistee, Michigan also suffered a tremendous fire.

Resources

  • The Great Chicago Fire and the Myth of Mrs. O'Leary's Cow - Richard F. Bales, McFarland & Co., 2002
  • "Who Caused the Great Chicago Fire? A Possible Deathbed Confession" - by Anthony DeBartolo, Chicago Tribune, October 8, 1997 and "Odds Improve That a Hot Game of Craps in Mrs. O'Leary's Barn Touched Off Chicago Fire" - by Anthony DeBartolo, Chicago Tribune, March 3, 1998 - *

See also

External links

History of Chicago | 1871 | Fires | Fire disasters in the United States

Den store brand i Chicago | Großer Brand von Chicago | Grand incendie de Chicago | Великий чикагский пожар | Den stora Chicagobranden

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Great Chicago Fire".

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