The Great Chicago Fire

“Chicago, October 9: The most terrible conflagration that ever occurred in the United States has been in progress in this city for nearly 24 hours, laying the whole business portion of the city and ⅕ of all the buildings in ashes. The fire broke out last evening between 9 and 10 o’clock, in a barn in West-Taylor street, owing to the inflammable nature of its contents, the building was wrapped in flames before the firemen arrived. From this insignificant source sprang this terrible calamity. The portion of the city where the fire originated was built up almost entirely of wooden buildings, closely packed together, tenanted by carpenters, cabinet makers, coopers, varnish manufacturers, interspersed with lumber yards and stores of other equally inflammable materials. The wind was blowing a terrible gale and the devouring element spread so rapidly that all attempts to stay its ravages proved fruitless.” The New York Tribune. October 10, 1871. 

Welcome to Civics and Coffee. My name is Alycia and I am a self-professed history nerd. Each week, I am going to chat about a topic on U.S history and give you both the highlights and occasionally break down some of the complexities in history; and share stories you may not remember learning in high school. All in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee. 

INTRO MUSIC

Hey everyone. Welcome back. 

One evening several weeks ago I received a random phone call from a friend of mine whose son had a very important historical question - what caused the Great Chicago Fire? Apparently mom and son were out and about and Von, her son, heard about the fire and wanted to learn more. Unable to answer the question, she dialed my number and put me on the spot. Luckily, I knew the answer - but it made me think: why not cover the fire on the podcast? 

Starting in the late evening hours on October 8th, 1871 the Great Chicago fire would cause significant damage to the city and its residents. Roughly a third of the city’s population would lose their homes and more than 2,000 acres turned to ash as the inferno engulfed the city. A major hub of commerce and transportation, Chicago faced unprecedented devastation. 

So this week, I am covering the Great Chicago Fire. What happened? How did it start? And how did the fire impact the nation? 

Grab your cup of coffee - or, in Von’s case, your hot chocolate - let’s do this. 

Before I dive into the blaze itself, I think it is important to lay the groundwork - or context - first. Just six years removed from the Civil War, the city of Chicago was a rapidly growing, bustling metropolis. It was one of the fastest growing cities and as historian John J. Pauly argued, many Americans saw Chicago as quote “the perfect emblem of the new industrial order - brash, vulgar, ambitious, indifferent to tradition, and enormously successful,” end quote. Incorporated as a town in 1833, Chicago experienced a period of incredible growth and industrialization, going from a population of 300 at its inception to over 300 thousand by 1871. The city’s rapid growth was in part thanks to the fact that Chicago was a major transportation hub for the rest of the country. It was behind only New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis when it came to total population. Despite this massive growth, Chicago was still built mostly out of wood - making the windy city a prime target for a natural disaster. 

Not only was the city made of naturally flammable material, but it was also experiencing a bit of a drought. In the months immediately preceding the fire, the city received a scant amount of rain - under 3 inches since July - meaning that the buildings were dry and perfect kindling for a spark. And it wasn’t exactly like city leaders weren’t aware of the potential for devastation should something happen - in 1870, Chicago averaged 2 fires per day and 20 fires in the week leading up the great fire. Despite this knowledge, very little was done to prevent a catastrophic event from leveling the city. 

The blaze began in the late evening hours of Sunday, October 8th, 1871 in the southwestern part of the city. The origin of the fire has been traced to a barn belonging to Patrick and Catherine O’Leary. The exact cause of the fire remains unknown - there was early speculation that communists were to blame, while other theories claim that the blaze erupted thanks to cows knocking over a lantern. Still others at the time claimed the fire was an act of providence - a punishment from god for not living a pious, virtuous life. Even the city’s mayor, Roswell Mason, declared October 29th a quote “special day of humiliation and prayer,” end quote. Regardless of the cause of the blaze, the city made of wood had little protection from the high winds, described as hurricane in strength. The wind proved so strong that it carried debris engulfed in flames to other parts of the city, igniting new fires and taxing the already overburdened fire department. 

Residents were unsure of what to do and how to appropriately combat the flames. In a letter written just six weeks after the blaze, Thomas Harding Ellis described to his brother the utter chaos of the moment, writing partially quote: “the burning district appeared as a sea of fire, the waves of which rolled as madly as in a tempest,” end quote. In his letter, Ellis describes returning to his home after church and seeing a fire off in the distance. While his wife was worried about the flames, Ellis was unconcerned - perhaps a bit desensitized from the numerous fires that plagued the city in the months and weeks before. In fact, just a day before on October 7th, Chicago fell victim to a fire that caused nearly 750 thousand dollars in property damage. For Ellis, the sight of a fire in the distance was nothing to be concerned about. 

That all seemed to change a few hours later as the fire inches closer, gaining ground in part thanks to the quote unquote gale force winds. Writing to his brother, Ellis said quote, “I saw the flames, like fiery serpents in the great and terrible wilderness through which the Israelites passed, where there was no water, creeping along the wood balustrade of a building on the same block with terrace row and near to Mrs. Muchmore’s corner,” end quote. While Ellis sent his wife to safer ground, he decided to stay behind and see what valuables he could save and convinced that his home would remain unharmed from the oncoming inferno. Unfortunately, the fire cared little about the occupants. Shack and mansion alike were fair game to the blaze as the fire fed desperately on the copious amounts of severely dried wood that built the windy city. And winds played an important role in the fire’s spread. In his letter Ellis described the wind as a quote “perfect hurricane” end quote, and how it not only knocked him down to his knees, but also several other grown men - all unable to withstand the wind’s power. 

The high powered winds ensured the fire’s destruction. As the gale force winds blew, the blaze quickly pushed its way toward Lake Michigan, destroying everything in its path. More than 17,000 buildings covering over four square miles were destroyed, causing 200 million in damages. And that figure is using contemporary figures; when adjusted for inflation, that amounts to roughly 4 billion dollars. For context, the Camp Fire, which ravaged the city of Paradise, California in 2018, came with a 16 billion dollar price tag. Roughly 2100 acres were destroyed, leaving almost 100,000 people without a place to live - roughly ⅓ of the city’s population at the time. As the fire engulfed the city, some residents would be forced to evacuate multiple times as their initial place of rest came under threat. Surprisingly only 300 people lost their lives - a true miracle considering that there were no cell phones or alarm systems in place to warn residents of the need to leave the area. 

Thanks to the powerful winds and the intense heat caused by the blaze, firefighters were not able to gain control over the fire until two days later on October 10, 1871. While the fire raged and city residents continued to seek safe shelter, technological advances in communication, namely the telegraph, made it so the entire country learned of the fire almost immediately. Details of the destructive fire made national headlines within 24 hours, serving as the leading story for many newspapers throughout the country including New York, where the Tribune documented the fire’s movements closely - and a portion of which I quoted in the beginning of the episode. The power of the telegraph also meant that aid could be supplied faster than ever before. News no longer took weeks or months to spread - it was as quickly as someone getting to a telegraph office and sending word. Almost immediately city leaders were claiming to the world that Chicago would return bigger and better than ever. But how, exactly, would they accomplish this task? Remember, this was a time before federal disaster relief was standard and no federal office like FEMA - the Federal Emergency Management Agency - existed.  

The answer? Private donations. All told, Chicago received over 4 million dollars from outside contributors, with a bulk of the funding coming from the cities of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. Surrounding cities pledged money almost immediately after the fire started - perhaps recognizing that Chicago was more than an average american city. As historian John J. Pauly argued in his article about the fire, Chicago was quote unquote lucky in that it was the center to national water and rail transportation networks which, as Pauly argued, quote: “assured a rapid return to normal business,” end quote. The city owed significant debts to bankers in Boston and New York which meant there was a lot of motivation to see the city rebuilt quickly. 

The fire in Chicago also offered something else; it provided Americans a chance to rally together. The nation was at war with itself less than 10 years prior - could it rally in support of each other in the face of tremendous tragedy? Again from Pauly quote, “It (ie the fire) offered Americans their best opportunity since the war to affirm publicly that their country was whole once again,” end quote. Americans from throughout the country seemingly rallied in support of the residents of Chicago. Not only did they donate cash, but also supplied things like clothing and cleaning supplies. In a piece about the fire and the city’s recovery efforts, the New York Tribune wrote partially quote, “As Chicago was a representative city in the nation, so it shares in all the recuperative qualities of the Republic,” the article continued, “A nation that has has survived a great rebellion and has grown stronger and mightier in the work of replacing the wreck of a four-years war has an interest in rebuilding Chicago and making it strong, nobler, and more admirable than before,” end quote. 

While the public proclamation of national unity in the aftermath of the Civil War made for good copy, it was not entirely reflective of the situation at hand. When analyzing the source of the donations to the windy city, an overwhelming majority came from the north. Almost 45% of the donations came from only three northern cities while southern donations equated to just $79,000. Of course, some of this could be the result of the southern economy which was still trying to find its footing in the aftermath of the war. But even personal donations - from residents throughout the various counties south of the Mason Dixon line - were lacking. Another indicator that perhaps not all was forgiven was the tone of the news coverage of the fire up north. While most northern city periodicals were sympathetic in their coverage of the fire, southern newspapers chose a different path. 

In Indiana, the Rushville American newspaper wrote of the fire quote, “Chicago did her full share in the destruction of the South. God adjusts balances. Maybe with Chicago the books are now squared,” end quote. Despite the remnants of regional differences, most Americans rallied to the aid of Chicago and endeavored to ensure the city was rebuilt stronger and better than before. As historian John J. Pauly observed, the reaction to the fire quote, “underlines the persistence of Americans’ quest for unity,” end quote. Pauly argued that it was the telegraph that helped compel this sense of unity throughout most of the country. The telegraph and the ability to share information almost instantaneously, provided an opportunity for Americans to come together and share a quote “common experience” end quote. 

As the initial shock of the blaze wore off, city leaders went to assess the full extent of the damages. Everyone could see that thousands of structures were lost, but what about the infrastructure? How impacted were sewage and transportation lines? Significant damage in these areas could prove catastrophic to any rebuilding efforts. As luck would have it, despite the fact that the fire leveled a good portion of the city, their infrastructure remained intact. Not only that, but many of the city’s grain elevators and coal bins managed to escape unscathed. The next question on everyone’s mind was: how to rebuild. 

The Great Fire proved that a city made of wood was untenable and dangerous. Several critics argued that the blaze and the destruction that came with it proved that better infrastructure was needed. Some, including architect and landscaper Frederick Law Olmstead, made the case that the fire demonstrated cities should stop building with wood and that using a non-flammable material - such as brick - would be a much better solution. A new technological innovation, structural steel, proved to be the city’s saving grace. Structural steel meant that builders who were lucky and rich enough to afford a plot of land could build as high as they wanted. Out of the ashes emerged a new city skyline leading to quote unquote brilliant innovations in the skyscraper. City planners throughout the country learned from the devastation of the Great Chicago Fire and began transitioning away from wood and using sturdier materials to build. 

The Great Chicago Fire leveled a city. But it also seemed to rally the nation. Thanks to the telegraph, Americans across the country were able to jump in and offer assistance, ensuring that the windy city had support in their rebuilding efforts. The national sense of unity was also a healing balm for a country that was still reeling in the aftermath of a Civil War. Although support was not as pronounced south of the Mason Dixon line, it was enough to demonstrate that perhaps the nation was on the path to healing old wounds. 

A big thank you to Von for inspiring this episode. I hope you learned a few new things about the fire and continue to ask your mom historical questions. If you ever have a topic you’d like me to cover, let me know. You can find me on most of the social channels including Blue Sky and Threads, or through my website at www dot civics and coffee dot com. The website also has things like source material, transcripts, and information about the Patreon series, Civics & Cocktails - what I like to call Civics & Coffee after dark. Be sure to check it out if you haven’t already. 

Thanks, peeps. I’ll see you next week.

Thanks for tuning and I hope you enjoyed this episode of Civics & Coffee. If you want to hear more small snippets from american history, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening and I look forward to our next cup of coffee together. 

OUTRO MUSIC