Great Chicago Fire: A City Rebuilt From Ashes
The Great Chicago Fire began on October 8, 1871, in or near the O'Leary barn on DeKoven Street. The popular story blames Mrs. O'Leary's cow for kicking over a lantern, but a reporter later admitted he invented that detail. What actually fed the fire was a city built almost entirely of wood after years of drought. Firefighters were already exhausted from a large blaze the night before, and a watchman sent them to the wrong location. Winds off the prairie drove the flames northeast through the business district. The fire burned for three days, destroying 17,450 buildings across 2,000 acres and leaving 100,000 of the city's 300,000 residents homeless. Roughly 300 people died. Chicago rebuilt rapidly, adopting fire-resistant construction codes that pioneered steel-frame architecture and the modern skyscraper.
October 8, 1871
155 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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