The Great Chicago Fire

In 1871 there were a drought in Illinois. Only an inch of rain fell all summer and fall. Chicago averaged about two fires a day the previous year, including twenty in the preceding week. On October 8 a fire broke out in a crowded Chicago neighborhood somewhere in or very near the O'Leary barn. No one knows the exact location where the fire began.

Hot winds spread the flames. The fire, driven by a strong wind out of the southwest, headed straight for the center of the city. The streets, sidewalks, and bridges which were made of wood  burned easily.  By 1:30 the fire reached the Courthouse tower. When city officials realized that the building was itself doomed, they released the prisoners from the basement just in time. Thousands of people ran from the city to the shores of  Lake Michigan.

The Great Fire burned out of control for 24 hours. The flames were so hot that the wheels on streetcars melted. Train tracks turned into twisted steel snakes. On Tuesday morning the rain began to fall. The flames finally began to die out.

After the fire died down there were stories of  brave rescues and  narrow escapes. There were also stories of  looting. The fire left Chicago in ashes. At least 17,000 buildings were destroyed and 100,000 people were left homeless.  Three hundred Chicagoans were dead. The fire burned more than 2000 acres, and the property loss was $200 million.

Chicago quickly rebuilt and by 1875 little evidence of the disaster remained.