The Great Chicago Fire
No one knows how the fire started in the cow barn at the rear of the Patrick O'Leary cottage at 137 DeKoven Street on Chicago's West Side.
A report on the cause may be found in Chicago’s Public Library's Deaths, Disturbances, Disasters and Disorders in Chicago Selected Bibliography.
The blaze began about 9 p.m. on Sunday, October 8, 1871. By midnight the fire had jumped the river's south branch and by 1:30 a.m., the business district was in flames. Shortly thereafter the fire raced northward across the main river.
The waterworks were evacuated although the tower was not badly damaged and still stands. During Monday the fire burned as far as Fullerton Avenue.
Rainfall, which started about midnight, helped put out the last of the flames. 300 Chicagoans were dead, 90,000 homeless, and the property loss was $200 million.
Chicago quickly rebuilt and by 1875 little evidence of the disaster remained.
The 100th anniversary of the fire was commemorated during the period October 3-10, 1971, with a series of events including a fire centennial dinner during which the Mayor expressed thanks to cities and countries that sent money after the fire.
Other events were a fire prevention parade on State Street and an enormous lakefront fireworks display.
A report on the cause may be found in Chicago’s Public Library's Deaths, Disturbances, Disasters and Disorders in Chicago Selected Bibliography.
The blaze began about 9 p.m. on Sunday, October 8, 1871. By midnight the fire had jumped the river's south branch and by 1:30 a.m., the business district was in flames. Shortly thereafter the fire raced northward across the main river.
The waterworks were evacuated although the tower was not badly damaged and still stands. During Monday the fire burned as far as Fullerton Avenue.
Rainfall, which started about midnight, helped put out the last of the flames. 300 Chicagoans were dead, 90,000 homeless, and the property loss was $200 million.
Chicago quickly rebuilt and by 1875 little evidence of the disaster remained.
The 100th anniversary of the fire was commemorated during the period October 3-10, 1971, with a series of events including a fire centennial dinner during which the Mayor expressed thanks to cities and countries that sent money after the fire.
Other events were a fire prevention parade on State Street and an enormous lakefront fireworks display.
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