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Essay Archive - The Chicago Fire of 1871
The Chicago Fire of 1871
The summer of 1871 had been an unusually dry one in Chicago. Between
July and October, only 5 inches of rain fell. In addition to twenty-seven
fires in the first week of October, on Saturday night, October 7, a blaze broke
out in a planning mill on the West Side and destroyed almost every building in a
four block area before it was brought under control Sunday morning. They lost a
hose and other fire-fighting equipment, including one of seventeen steam fire
engines and a hose cart. Nearly half of Chicago's 185 firemen fought this fire
and many were on duty all day, so they were already exhausted when ....
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