On sunday, october 8, 1871, a fire started on the south side of chicago. Over 60,000 buildings 90% made of wood were squeezed into the city limits, along with hundreds of miles of wooden streets and sidewalks. One of the disastrous events during his presidency was the great chicago fire of 1871. Patrick blanco slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. It destroyed over 17,000 buildings, left 100,000 homeless and killed between 200 and 300 people. Home the great chicago fire the great conflagration the refugees.
The great fire in chicago homeless citizens taking refuge from the flames among the ruins. The deadly night of october 8, 1871 chronicles the story of two of americas deadliest fires. Discover the story of the great chicago fire of 1871, an inferno that forever changed the citys skyline, in this epic graphic novel. Sep 30, 2011 for those interested in chicago s history the weather channels short videos on this fire are linked together here for the first time. The chicago fire of 1871, also called the great chicago fire, started on october 8 and lasted until october 10, 1871. History of the great chicago fire, october 8, 9, and 10, 1871.
The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly 3. On the saturday evening of october 7, 1871, a man named george francis train stood on the stage of chicagos farwell hall and, in the midst of his speech, made a statement that added to his fame as an author, world traveler, and lecturer an extra dimension of uncanny prophecy. On october 8, 1871, four decades after its founding, chicagos destiny was rewritten with a pen of fire. This day in history great chicago fire begins 1871. What followed was a series of fatal errors that set the fire free. October 8 10, 1871 in october 1871, chicago was the fourth largest city in the united states with over 334,000 residents.
October 810, 1871 in october 1871, chicago was the fourth largest city in the united states with over 334,000 residents. The great chicago fire was one of the worst disasters in u. The great chicago fire, 1871 a picture from the past art. Lessons from the chicago fire foundation for economic education. Before the great chicago fire, no one took notice of patrick and catherine oleary, two irish immigrants who lived with their five children on the citys west side. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The great chicago fire was a large fire that started on sunday october 8, 1871 in chicago, illinois, united states.
Catherine olearys cow kicked over a lantern, touching off the great chicago fire. When the fire brigades general alarm bells sounded on the night of october 8, 1871, most chicagoans paid no special notice. It burned until tuesday october 10, 1871 when rain started to fall. She lost her family in the civil war and fled from geor. Back in 1871, the great chicago fire killed an estimated 200 to 300 people. Chicago historical societys recently published book, the great chicago fire. May 12, 2015 in 1871, the most famous fire in american history swept across chicago and destroyed much of the city. The peshtigo fire was a very large forest fire that took place on october 8, 1871, in northeastern wisconsin, including much of the southern half of the door peninsula, and adjacent parts of the upper peninsula of michigan. Louis as the fourthlargest city in america and sat poised to become a major player on the international scene.
Though no one really knows if the cow was responsible, the great chicago fire claimed 18,000 buildings and nearly 26,000 acres of the thriving city. History us history before 1900 the great chicago fire was one of the worst disasters in u. Listen as casey grant from the national fire protection association and bestselling author lauren tarshsis of the i survived book series talk about the lessons we. Did the great chicago fire really start after a cow kicked over a lantern in a barn. Although folklore states that the fire continue reading. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the great chicago fire and the peshtigo fire like never before, in no time at all.
The population reached nearly 30,000 in 1850 and was triple that a decade later. I survived the great chicago fire, 1871 by lauren tarshis book 11 of the i survived series. The fire began in a neighborhood southwest of the city center. According to legend, the great chicago fire was started when a cow owned by an irish immigrant. In 1871, the most famous fire in american history swept across chicago and destroyed much of the city. Fiction and nonfiction about the great chicago fire of 1871. The fire originated on october 8, 1871 and spanned over the course of two days. At least 1,200 people died possibly twice as many as a result of the fire. On october 8, 1871, flames spark in the chicago barn of patrick and catherine oleary, igniting a twoday blaze that kills between 200 and 300 people, destroys 17,450 buildings, leaves 100,000. Oct 08, 2015 144 years ago, the great fire of chicago took over the city, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
Teachingbooks i survived the great chicago fire, 1871. The great chicago fire of 1871 living history of illinois. Search across the pictorial collections on the keyword fire to access images including fire fighting equipment, firehouses, and fire fighters. The story of the blaze that destroyed the midwests largest city charles river editors on. The great chicago fire, as the horror happened in 1871. The day america burned the great chicago fire started that terrible sunday, but so did two other massive and deadly wildfires. I just finished a brand new book entitled the great. If you had ancestors living in the city of chicago, illinois in 1871, they were surely affected by the events of sunday, october 8 through the 10th in that year.
The great chicago fire of 1871 was one of the largest disasters in american history. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the deadly night of october 8, 1871. The story of the great chicago fire, 1871 the new york times. Oleary and the great chicago fire did start in her barn. Before the great fire, chicago had no free libraries.
Legend has it that on the evening of october 7, 1871, mrs. October 8 1871 great chicago fire begins craig hill. Two boys sit on top of a partial stone wall in the wreckage of a burnedout building at madison and clark streets, with the court house in the background following the great chicago fire of oct. The great chicago fire, the haymarket bomb, and the model town of pullman. Read this book and over 1 million others with a kindle unlimited membership. This, he said, is the last public address that will be delivered within these walls. Chicagos growth in the mid19th century was unprecedented. On the droughtstricken evening that the fire started, a 30. Oct 04, 2012 before the great chicago fire, no one took notice of patrick and catherine oleary, two irish immigrants who lived with their five children on the citys west side. The great chicago fire was a conflagration that burned in the american city of chicago during october 8 10, 1871. Before tracing the progress of the fire further northward must be mentioned the burning of the water works, and the curious or rather incomprehensible manner in which it caught fire almost two hours before the time that the fire first reached the north division across the main branch. In this imaginative and penetrating study, ross miller considers the mythic proportions of the great chicago fire as the city reshaped its own tragedy into an archetype of the modern struggle against adversity. Second, the chicago fire relief effort challenges those who contend that private charity is insufficient to cope with disasters and that strong government action is necessary.
The summer had been the hottest and driest of many seasons, and october. Lasting from sunday, october 8, to the morning of tuesday, october 10, 1871, the great chicago fire killed an estimated 200 to 300 people, while destroying more than three square miles of the city including 73 miles of roads, 120 miles of sidewalks and 17,500 buildings and left 100,000 people a third of the citys population homeless. Lessons from the chicago fire foundation for economic. It was tiny at first, a glowing dot, some wisps of white smoke. The great chicago fire of 1871 essay 1465 words bartleby. The largest community in the affected area was peshtigo, wisconsin. The great chicago fire, 1871 a picture from the past. Set the mood for students by explaining that they are going to hear about a terrible time in chicagos history.
The great chicago fire of 1871 chicagos population had exploded from about 4,000 people when it gained its first city charter in 1837, to 30,000 in 1850, then to an astounding 330,000 by 1871. Catherine o leary kicked over an oil lamp, igniting the barn, which started the threeday fire that raced across chicago, destroying everything in its path. It burned approximately 1,200,000 acres 490,000 ha and was the deadliest wildfire in american history. That set the stage for the unseasonably warm evening of october 8. Chicago fire of 1871, conflagration that began on october 8, 1871, and burned until early october 10, devastating an expansive swath of the city of chicago. The great chicago fire and the peshtigo fire kindle edition by charles river editors. Before the fire there was a large drought causing everything to be dry and flammable, then a fire broke out in the olearys barn and spread. History of the great chicago fire, october 8, 9, and 10. Audio excerpt from i survived the great chicago fire, 1871 series grade. The great chicago fire, as the horror happened in 1871 and a. The great chicago firea fire that would ultimately kill 300 people and destroy more than 17,000 buildingsstarted in a cow barn owned by patrick and catherine oleary around 9 p. For those interested in chicagos history the weather channels short videos on this fire are linked together here for the first time. 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.
This star stands for the great chicago fire of 1871. On october 8, 1871, a huge fire started near chicagos downtown area and burned four square miles to the ground before it was. Look for the book fire and ice, which is about the peshtigo fire. Includes pictures includes accounts of the fires by. M y chicago c h i c a g o the great 3 chicago fire. Destruction of pompeii, japanese tsunami, sinking of the titanic, shark attacks, hurricane katrina, bombing of pearl harbor. The great chicago fire was one of the most devastating fires in the history of the united states of america. The great chicago fire was a blaze lasting for two days from 8 october 1871. On sunday, october 8, 1871, fire leveled a broad swath of michigan and wisconsin, including the cities of peshtigo, holland, manistee, and port huron.
Davis, from harpers weekly, november 4, 1871 ichi02881 the great fire in chicagohomeless citizens taking. October 8, to the morning of tuesday, october 10, 1871, the great chicago fire. With extensive back matter, including a bibliography, extended reading list, glossary, and further internet sources, young readers will gobble up this actionpacked comic book about. That rather hot day for october, was when a fire started on the oleary property on dekoven street about 9 p. Dramatic illustrations and fastpaced text provide a youarethere experience. According to richards illustrated and statistical map, the fire covered 2,320 of the 22,400 acres that were part of the city of chicago, with the exact area destroyed marked in red on the map. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website.
You might be surprised at some of the things you might grab in the middle of the night. Oct 01, 2014 the great chicago firea fire that would ultimately kill 300 people and destroy more than 17,000 buildingsstarted in a cow barn owned by patrick and catherine oleary around 9 p. The great chicago fire was a conflagration that burned in the american city of chicago during october 810, 1871. Between illinois street and chicago avenue the fire progressed with irrepressible fury and rapidity, soon enveloping the whole section, including in it both the most beautiful and the most forbidding portions of the north division. The great chicago fire, as the horror happened in 1871 and.
Great chicago fire of 1871 for kids ulysses grant was the 18th american president who served in office from march 4, 1869 to march 4, 1877. Practically overnight the great city of chicago was destroyed. The chicago fire of 1871, also called the great chicago fire, burned from october 8 to october 10, 1871, and destroyed thousands of buildings. M y chicago c h i c a g o 15 the great chicago fire. It did not end until about 10 am the following tuesday morning. The great chicago fire october 9, 1871 if you woke up and your house was on fire, what would you take with you before getting out. From the evening of october 8, 1871, until the early hours of tuesday, october 10, 1871, chicago was essentially defenseless against the enormous fire. Thousands of homes were reduced to cinders, along with hotels, department stores, newspapers, and government offices. Includes pictures includes eyewitness accounts of the disaster includes a bibliography for further reading the fire was barely fifteen minutes old. Search on chicago fire in the collection making of america external to access several books on the subject, such as chicago and the great conflagration, by elias colbert and everett chamberlin 1871 and. The fire began on october 8, 1871 and burned for two days until october 10th. The fire completely destroyed the heart of chicago including an area four miles long and nearly a mile wide. Approximately 800 fatalities occurred in peshtigo, wisconsin. We cant say for sure that one of her cows actually knocked over the lantern.