1871: The Great Chicago Fire Of 1871

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was the effect of mistakes that happened when trying to respond to a barn fire. The barn fire originated at the O’Leary Farm, when Mrs. O’Leary was milking a cow and the cow knocked over a lantern that Mrs. O’Leary placed on the ground for some light.
Chicago “The Windy City”, had a vast amount of wood, coal, and other natural gasses, shipped in to build and and build fast because of the majority of people that were flocking in. Most buildings even with the most sturdy of bases were still heavily framed out of wood. These buildings were made out of wood because it was cheap, quick, and easy to build. Every building in the city used coal to heat it up, and coal was another thing that was cheap and easy to get. In Chicago homes, businesses, and industries were close to each other or they were all in the same
building. In the summer of 1871, there was a drought that cause there to be only 5 inches of rain between the months of June and September. During this time there were more fires that took place before they could get to extreme. Once the month of October rolled around, people started to stack up on wood and coal for the upcoming winter.

On October 8th, 1871, Mrs. Catherine O’Leary is milking her cow in her barn at 137 DeKoven Street on the city’s far southwest side. The fire was started when the cow Catherine was milking kicked over a lit lantern although the fire started off small, it quickly grew rapid. O’Leary’s neighbor at 9 P.M. ran to the local fire alarm box to send an alert to the fire watchtower at the city courthouse. When the night operator in the watchtower gets the alarm of fire he sends a telegram to firefighters, but fails to notify the firehouse closest to the fire. When firefighters reach the O’Leary barn just 20 minutes after the first alarm the fire has already consumed the block. The watchmen at the courthouse ring the bell to alert people of the danger of fire. The people outside look up to see the sky filled with flames and dark smoke clouds. The wind forces the fire to go north and east all the way to the banks of the river.
The fire at 11:30 made its way over the river, and catching it on fire as well.
The fire crossed the river because of an oily, greasy, residue that had built up. After the fire managed to cross the river a firestorm stirred up and tore through the city’s Business District. The heat from the fire helped to generate it’s own wind, and in those areas of extreme heat, the hot air was rising away from the fire while other air is rushing in with great force and it begins to produce twisters of fire. At 2:30 in the morning the fire once again jumps the river, and the rushing winds push smoldering ashes into the North District where the city’s only water pumping station resides. The roof of the station ignites and burns until it collapses in on itself and destroyed the city’s water supply. By 3:30 any and all hope of saving the city was lost. During the night of October 9th a strong cold front moves forward into the Chicago area. The temperature dropped from a blazing 85 degrees to a chilled 50. Along with this cold front, rain was brought on. The rain was caused by the cold front moving in and cause precipitation to occur over the
city.
Early Tuesday on October 10th, that morning it started to rain. Even though it was recorded only a tenth of an inch of rain (History.com). 30 hours after the fire began, the rain extinguishes what was left of the smoldering ashes, but it was along with the fire burning itself out as well.
The fire had burned four square miles of Chicago. It destroyed homes, businesses, lawyers offices, and banks. These buildings were the “strong fabric” that put the city together. 300 people were killed and over 100,000 people were left homeless (History.com). Once a thriving vast metropolis was reduced to smoldering ruins and great amounts of open land cover in ash.