Where did the Great Fire of 1871 take place? Rain put out the fire more than a day later, but by then it had burned an area 4 miles long and 1 mile wide.Īmerica’s Most Devastating Wildfires Fire While there is little doubt that the fire started in a barn owned by Patrick and Catherine O’Leary, the exact cause of the fire remains a mystery. The Great Chicago Fire started on the evening of Oct. By the time the fire ended, it had consumed 1.5 million acres, and an estimated 1,200-2,400 lives, including approximately 800 in Peshtigo. Fire reached Peshtigo during the evening of Sunday, October 8, 1871. Map showing the burnt area of the Peshtigo fire. From the barn at 137 DeKoven Street, on the city’s southwest side, the fire spread north and east, into the heart of Chicago’s business district. Why did the Chicago fire spread so quickly?Ĩ, 1871. The 1938 film In Old Chicago is centered on the fire, with a highly fictionalized portrayal of the O’Leary family as the main characters. Why did the great Chicago fire spread so quickly?Ĭity officials never determined the cause of the blaze, but the rapid spread of the fire due to a long drought in that year’s summer, strong winds from the southwest, and the rapid destruction of the water pumping system, explain the extensive damage of the mainly wooden city structures. Not much is known about 44-year-old Catherine (or Cate) and her husband, Patrick O’Leary, prior to that Sunday evening of October 8th, beyond the fact that they were Irish immigrants. It was at this exact site, in 1871, that a cow belonging to Irishwoman Catherine O’Leary was blamed for starting the Great Chicago Fire. Who was wrongly accused for starting the Great Chicago Fire? Yet, just 20 years after the fire, the city’s population had grown from 300,000 to 1 million people. The center of Chicago and the heart of the business district were wiped out. How did Chicago change after the Great Chicago Fire?Īn estimated 300 people died and 100,000 were left homeless by the three-day inferno that erased 2,100 acres of the city. That wasn’t quite the case, Samuelson said: The fire did do a great deal of damage, spreading from the O’Leary barn at 558 W. It is sometimes suggested the only building that survived was the Water Tower. More than a few people seem to think the Great Fire burned all of Chicago down. What is the only building to survive the Great Chicago Fire in 1871? Cohn confessed to starting the fire by accidentally knocking over a lantern when running away from an illegal card game. Some people believe a thief knocked over a lantern while stealing milk from the barn. It began in a barn belonging to Patrick and Catherine O’Leary. In what kind of building did the Great Fire of 1871 begin? What code changes were based on the Great Chicago Fire?įollowing the fire, Chicago`s building code was changed to require unlocked fire exit doors opening outward from theaters, fireproofed scenery, sprinkling systems above stages and steel stage curtains able to serve as fire walls.
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