an informative essay on the great chicago fire

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Chicago Fire of 1871

By: History.com Editors

Updated: August 21, 2018 | Original: March 4, 2010

The Chicago Fire of 1871, also called the Great Chicago Fire, burned from October 8 to October 10, 1871, and destroyed thousands of buildings, killed an estimated 300 people and caused an estimated $200 million in damages. Legend has it that a cow kicked over a lantern in a barn and started the fire, but other theories hold that humans or even a meteor might have been responsible for the event that left an area of about four miles long and almost a mile wide of the Windy City, including its business district, in ruins. Following the blaze, reconstruction efforts began quickly and spurred great economic development and population growth.

Chicago Fire: October 1871

In October 1871, dry weather and an abundance of wooden buildings, streets and sidewalks made Chicago vulnerable to fire. The Great Chicago Fire began on the night of October 8, in or around a barn located on the property of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary at 137 DeKoven Street on the city’s southwest side. Legend holds that the blaze started when the family’s cow knocked over a lighted lantern; however, Catherine O’Leary denied this charge, and the true cause of the fire has never been determined. What is known is that the fire quickly grew out of control and moved rapidly north and east toward the city center.

Did you know? The same day the Great Chicago Fire began, a fire broke out in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, in which more than 1,000 people perished.

The fire burned wildly throughout the following day, finally coming under control on October 10, when rain gave a needed boost to firefighting efforts. The Great Chicago Fire left an estimated 300 people dead and 100,000 others homeless. More than 17,000 structures were destroyed and damages were estimated at $200 million.

The disaster prompted an outbreak of looting and lawlessness. Companies of soldiers were summoned to Chicago and martial law was declared on October 11, ending three days of chaos. Martial law was lifted several weeks later.

Chicago Fire: Aftermath

The month after the fire, Joseph Medill (1823-99) was elected mayor after promising to institute stricter building and fire codes, a pledge that may have helped him win the office. His victory might also be attributable to the fact that most of the city’s voting records were destroyed in the fire, so it was next to impossible to keep people from voting more than once.

Despite the fire’s devastation, much of Chicago’s physical infrastructure, including its transportation systems, remained intact. Reconstruction efforts began quickly and spurred great economic development and population growth, as architects laid the foundation for a modern city featuring the world’s first skyscrapers. At the time of the fire, Chicago’s population was approximately 324,000; within nine years, there were some 500,000 Chicagoans. By 1890, the city was a major economic and transportation hub with an estimated population of more than 1 million people. (In America, only New York City had a larger population at the time.) In 1893, Chicago hosted the World’s Columbian Exposition, a tourist attraction visited by some 27.5 million people.

Today, the Chicago Fire Department training academy is located on the site of the O’Leary property where the Great Chicago Fire started. In 1997, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution exonerating Catherine O’Leary, an Irish immigrant who died in 1895, and her cow.

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The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 Essay Example

The Great Chicago Fire burned as viciously as a roaring lion on the day of October 8th, 1871. Hence, the city of Chicago obtained over 200 million dollars in damages, an estimated 300 citizens in graves, and thousands of burned buildings. You could compare this to a roaring lion. The lion roars, then comes the run to its prey, and finally, the prey is eaten. The Chicago Fire of 1871 started as a small, harmless fire, but it resulted in a city of ruins with a substantial effect on Chicago’s future. Relatively, the unsolved mystery of the cause, the affected buildings that were burned to ashes, and the aftermath of the boomed economy of the Great Chicago fire all advance into Chicago’s history. 

People had various opinions on what caused the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. One article claims. “ Lee demanded the key to the alarm box that was mounted on the outside of the store. Bruno Goll refused to hand it over, insisting that a fire truck had already passed.” (The Great Fire ) This situation heavily impacted the Great Chicago Fire because as Lee headed back to his family’s house his house was about to catch on fire. Goll declared that fire trucks had already arrived, but they didn’t. This resulted in the firetrucks not being able to arrive at where they needed to.  A passage by the University of Michigan states, “There is one man who admitted to starting the fire.” According to the article, a man named “Louis Cohn'' and a few other young men were shooting dice in the hayloft, and then one of the boys accidentally overturned a lantern, which resulted in the barn setting a fire that would then turn into the Great Chicago Fire. (Umich.edu)  Northwestern University was the University that released this statement briefly before his death after Cohn turned his 35,000 dollar estate to them, In actuality, this story was supported by several facts, such as the fact that there are records of several Cohn's living within a walking distance of the barn. All in all, various theories are in place explaining what happened on October 8th, 1871 but there’s no confirmation of what accurately happened. 

The innumerable amount of buildings that were burned to the ground in this dreadful fire was astonishing. A document from National Geographic disclosed, “Buildings often had a single layer of fireproof material on the outside, hiding the wooden structure beneath.” Various buildings had a configuration similar to this, but it was not a very good one, considering how this fire proved this statement by burning entire buildings to the ground. One example of this “The Waterworks,” which was the main source of water for the city’s fire department. During the first few hours of the roaring fire, a burning ember attacked the roof of this building, and it was quickly destroyed. (National Geographic) Quoted by The Chicago Tribune, “Among its prey: Potter Palmer's hotel, Marshall Field's Marble Palace, the city's brothels and the Tribune building, a spanking new, four-story, "fireproof" structure.” One, in particular, the “Palmer Hotel,” was a newly constructed hotel that fell victim to the Great Chicago Fire only 13 days after its opening. (Palmer Hotel) The owner of this hotel was determined to reopen the building as soon as possible, so he rebuilt the Palmer Hotel and was able to open its doors in 1875 by labeling the building “The World’s Only Fire-Proof Hotel.” (Hotel News) In conclusion, a countless number of buildings were burned and destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. 

The aftermath of the Great Chicago fire heavily impacted Chicago’s economy and stability. “Reconstruction efforts began quickly and spurred great economic development and population growth, as architects laid the foundation for a modern city featuring the world’s first skyscrapers,” conveys the paragraph. (History.com) An example of this is the fact that 6,000 temporary structures were built within a week. (Chicago Tribune) Not only that, the demand for laborers increased astoundingly, so salaries rose by a whopping amount, and farmers from as far away as 150 miles rode into the city for jobs. Another article quotes, “By 1890, the city was a major economic and transportation hub with an estimated population of more than 1 million people.” (History.com) This quote demonstrates how the economy of Chicago boomed after the fire by declaring the power this city had gained in less than 20 years. After the fire, morale was low, but it picked up soon after, and many people described it as “a phoenix, rising from the ashes” (“The Great Fire”) One example of this was the story of “Wilbur Storey.” He was the owner of the Chicago Times, and he had lost all hope for his newspaper. Wilbur thought that Chicago was gone, and he thought it was going to be the end of his newspaper. Fortunately, he saw various other newspapermen who were looking for ways to write, and he was inspired by all of them. Wilbur was able to get the Chicago Times up and running within ten days. Ultimately, after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, several efforts were made for the rise and stability of the city’s economy.

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