The Great Chicago Fire Of 1871 When The Windy City Almost Burned Down

Still one of the deadliest disasters in American history, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 left one of the United States great cities in ruins.

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1 of 34The damaged post office and surrounding ruins, in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire.Archive Photos/Getty Images 2 of 34Rendering of people fleeing across the Randolph Street Bridge.Currier and Ives/Chicago Historical Society/Wikimedia Commons 3 of 34The ruins of the courthouse as seen from the Chicago Tribune building. Otto Herschan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 4 of 34A rendering of the blaze.John R. Chapin/Wikimedia Commons 5 of 34One year after the Great Chicago Fire, some structures are being rebuilt.Joshua Smith/Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images 6 of 34The ruins of the court house. Archive Photos/Getty Images 7 of 34A billboard for the destroyed Globe Theatre, surrounded by rubble. Archive Photos/Getty Images 8 of 34Looking across the ruins of the Field, Leiter and Co. store toward the standing walls of the First National Bank at State and Washington Streets.Bettmann/Getty Images 9 of 34A man stands in the ruins of a stove warehouse. Archive Photos/Getty Images 10 of 34A man stands in front of the stone arch of the Second Presbyterian Church, through which can be seen the remains of the Chicago Tribune building and court house.W.E. Bowman/Lightfoot/Getty Images 11 of 34View from the interior of the Union Depot. Jex Bardwell/Chicago History Museum/Getty Images 12 of 34The southern limits of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, located at 330-332 Wabash near Congress, blown up by General Sheridan to halt the fire. Chicago History Museum/Getty Images 13 of 34The aftermath of the fire. Archive Photos/Getty Images 14 of 34Men stand and look at the ruins of buildings. Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images 15 of 34View of the ruins of the Chicago Historical Society’s library building.G.N. Barnard/Chicago History Museum/Getty Images 16 of 34The rubble and broken buildings in the aftermath of the fire. Archive Photos/Getty Images 17 of 34Countless buildings lay in ruins.Archive Photos/Getty Images 18 of 34More than three square miles of the city burned during the Great Chicago Fire.Archive Photos/Getty Images 19 of 34View of the Marine Bank building as it was being rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.Chicago History Museum/Getty Images 20 of 34Destroyed buildings dominate the cityscape in the aftermath.Wikimedia Commons 21 of 34The hollowed-out facade of a building destroyed in the fire.Archive Photos/Getty Images 22 of 34Drawing of the ruins of the city’s business center looking southwest after the fire.Chicago History Museum/Getty Images 23 of 34A building left in ruins after the fire. Archive Photos/Getty Images 24 of 34State Street in the aftermath. Otto Herschan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 25 of 34A view along a street of ruined buildings.Archive Photos/Getty Images 26 of 34The damaged Great Union Depot, viewed from north to south.Archive Photos/Getty Images 27 of 34Two boys sit on top of a partial stone wall in the wreckage of a burned-out building at Madison and Clark Streets, with the court house in the background.Hulton|Archive/Getty Images 28 of 34New buildings under construction just a few weeks after the catastrophic fire. Chicago History Museum/Getty Images 29 of 34Rubble lines the streets as mere shells of buildings dot the landscape.Bettmann/Getty Images 30 of 34An illustration of the blaze in progress.Wikimedia Commons 31 of 34Catherine O’Leary’s cottage (which stood near the shed where the fire is said to have started) on DeKoven Street.Wikimedia Commons 32 of 34Drawing of the United States Marine Hospital as it burned during the Great Chicago Fire.Chicago History Museum/Getty Images 33 of 34View of the ruins of Trinity Church after the fire.Jex Bardwell/Chicago History Museum/Getty Images 34 of 34Like this gallery?Share it:

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The Great Chicago Fire Of 1871, When The Windy City Almost Burned Down View Gallery

The fire started on Sunday, October 8, 1871 and didn’t stop until October 10. When it was over, as many as 300 people were dead and 100,000 were left homeless.

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1 of 34The damaged post office and surrounding ruins, in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire.Archive Photos/Getty Images

2 of 34Rendering of people fleeing across the Randolph Street Bridge.Currier and Ives/Chicago Historical Society/Wikimedia Commons

3 of 34The ruins of the courthouse as seen from the Chicago Tribune building. Otto Herschan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

4 of 34A rendering of the blaze.John R. Chapin/Wikimedia Commons

5 of 34One year after the Great Chicago Fire, some structures are being rebuilt.Joshua Smith/Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images

6 of 34The ruins of the court house. Archive Photos/Getty Images

7 of 34A billboard for the destroyed Globe Theatre, surrounded by rubble. Archive Photos/Getty Images

8 of 34Looking across the ruins of the Field, Leiter and Co. store toward the standing walls of the First National Bank at State and Washington Streets.Bettmann/Getty Images

9 of 34A man stands in the ruins of a stove warehouse. Archive Photos/Getty Images

10 of 34A man stands in front of the stone arch of the Second Presbyterian Church, through which can be seen the remains of the Chicago Tribune building and court house.W.E. Bowman/Lightfoot/Getty Images

11 of 34View from the interior of the Union Depot. Jex Bardwell/Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

12 of 34The southern limits of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, located at 330-332 Wabash near Congress, blown up by General Sheridan to halt the fire. Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

13 of 34The aftermath of the fire. Archive Photos/Getty Images

14 of 34Men stand and look at the ruins of buildings. Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images

15 of 34View of the ruins of the Chicago Historical Society’s library building.G.N. Barnard/Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

16 of 34The rubble and broken buildings in the aftermath of the fire. Archive Photos/Getty Images

17 of 34Countless buildings lay in ruins.Archive Photos/Getty Images

18 of 34More than three square miles of the city burned during the Great Chicago Fire.Archive Photos/Getty Images

19 of 34View of the Marine Bank building as it was being rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

20 of 34Destroyed buildings dominate the cityscape in the aftermath.Wikimedia Commons

21 of 34The hollowed-out facade of a building destroyed in the fire.Archive Photos/Getty Images

22 of 34Drawing of the ruins of the city’s business center looking southwest after the fire.Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

23 of 34A building left in ruins after the fire. Archive Photos/Getty Images

24 of 34State Street in the aftermath. Otto Herschan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

25 of 34A view along a street of ruined buildings.Archive Photos/Getty Images

26 of 34The damaged Great Union Depot, viewed from north to south.Archive Photos/Getty Images

27 of 34Two boys sit on top of a partial stone wall in the wreckage of a burned-out building at Madison and Clark Streets, with the court house in the background.Hulton|Archive/Getty Images

28 of 34New buildings under construction just a few weeks after the catastrophic fire. Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

29 of 34Rubble lines the streets as mere shells of buildings dot the landscape.Bettmann/Getty Images

30 of 34An illustration of the blaze in progress.Wikimedia Commons

31 of 34Catherine O’Leary’s cottage (which stood near the shed where the fire is said to have started) on DeKoven Street.Wikimedia Commons

32 of 34Drawing of the United States Marine Hospital as it burned during the Great Chicago Fire.Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

33 of 34View of the ruins of Trinity Church after the fire.Jex Bardwell/Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

34 of 34Like this gallery?Share it:

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The Great Chicago Fire Of 1871, When The Windy City Almost Burned Down View Gallery

The Great Chicago Fire Of 1871, When The Windy City Almost Burned Down

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The blaze, which later became known as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, is said to have started inside a barn that was located on DeKoven Street. A shed beside the barn was the first building that caught fire. From there, the flames quickly spread across the city.

Because, at the time, most of Chicago was made out of wood, the fire had every opportunity to spread and grow. To make matters worse, the city had seen practically no rainfall for four months prior, meaning that severe drought conditions were present at the time of the fire.

As unlucky as the situation was, it was about to get even worse. When the firefighters were first notified about the blaze, they were accidentally sent to the wrong place. Thus, by the time they actually reached DeKoven Street, the fire had spread so much that little could be done.

Soon, the fire had spread across the Chicago River, where it ravaged the waterworks building and left the city with no water supply.

On October 9, the city saw a glimmer of hope as it began to rain. But by that time the fire was dying out anyway — and most of the city had already been destroyed.

The fire died out completely the following morning and the city’s inhabitants were shocked beyond belief when they first saw the extent of the damage that the fire had caused. Chicago was but a sad skeleton of its former self, with most than three square miles destroyed and hundreds dead. At least a third of the population was left homeless.

But nothing, not even a horrendous fire, could crush the spirits of Chicago’s citizens. The October 11, 1871 edition of the Chicago Tribune contained a short albeit supremely optimistic article titled “CHEER UP,” which stated:

After Chicago did rebuild, the city reworked its fire standards, which eventually led to it developing one of the best firefighting forces in the country.

But when it was all said and done, to this day no one knows how exactly the fire started. Legend has it that it began when one Mrs. O’Leary, an Irish immigrant, was milking her cow. The animal supposedly kicked over a lantern and the rest is history.

Others blame a man named “Pegleg” who allegedly knocked over a gas lamp when he was stealing milk from Mrs. O’Leary’s barn. Still others claim that the fire resulted from a meteor shower even though this theory has found no support in the scientific community.

Whatever its cause, experience the devastation of the Great Chicago Fire in the gallery above.

After this look at the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, read up on the Cocoanut Grove Fire, the deadliest nightclub disaster in history. Then, see the most devastating natural disasters of the 21st century.

Still one of the deadliest disasters in American history, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 left one of the United States great cities in ruins.#

Still one of the deadliest disasters in American history, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 left one of the United States great cities in ruins.