1. Great Chicago Fire

2. Bell-ringer
1) On the back of the handout we will be completing about the Great Chicago Fire, answer the following:
A: What do you ALREADY KNOW about the fire?
B: What do you WANT TO KNOW about the fire?

3. The fire took place on OCTOBER 8-10, 1871

4. BEFORE THE FIRE…..

5. Chicago had grown steadily before the fire… here is the city in 1820,1854, and 1857

6. By the 1860s, Chicago was a bustling city, known for numerous businesses and a busy port

7. By 1871, on the eve of the Great Chicago Fire, Chicago was also a sizable city with over 300,000 people

8. So…why was Chicago almost destined to have a huge fire?
Buildings, bridges, sidewalks, and just about everything else was made out of wood
Hay and tar roofs made the city even more flammable
The summer and fall had been dry and hot, with very little rain

9. The day before the Great Chicago Fire, there had been another huge fire; it held the record for Chicago’s biggest fire…..for ONE DAY

10. The firemen were very tired from fighting this fire, which would make them slower to respond when a huge fire broke out again on October 8

11. On Sunday night, OCTOBER 8, 1871…
On Sunday night, OCTOBER 8, 1871….. The GREAT CHICAGO FIRE broke out in Mrs. O’Leary’s barn

12. The barn was located on DeKoven Street near Jefferson and Taylor

13. Did a cow kick over a lantern?

14. That’s what the legend says…
That’s what the legend says….but it might just have been a story created by newspaper men

15. On the day that the fire started, there was a watchman at the top of the city’s Courthouse

16. Here is what he would have seen to the NORTH and EAST of the Courthouse

17. Here is what he would have seen to the SOUTH and WEST

18. When he saw a fire burning to the south and west, he set off the alarm, and firemen raced to fight the fire….but he misjudged where the fire was, and they went to a place a mile away

19. DURING THE FIRE...

20. At first the people did not panic because they saw so many fires; but when they realized how big it was, THEY RAN FOR THEIR LIVES

21. Chicago burned!

22. Why did the fire spread so quickly?
The watchman misjudged the location of the fire, and that wasted time
Firemen were exhausted from fighting the fire that took place the night before
There were 20 mile per hour winds
All the dry wood everywhere gave the fire lots of things on which to feed

23. Fleeing across the river did not help, since the fire followed, destroying bridges and almost everything else in its path

24. THE FIRE SPREAD QUICKLY
Mapping the Fire Inside the Burning City     
Fire
A. O'Leary barn 8:30
B. Bateham's Mills
C. Parmelee's Stables
D. Gas Works Conley's Patch
E. Court House
F. Wright's Stables
G. Polk Street
H. Northwestern Elevator
I. Galena Elevator
Time of Starting
8:30 pm, October 8
10:00 pm, October 8
11:30 pm, October 8
12:00 midnight, October 8-9
12:20 am, October 9
1:30 am, October 9
2:30 am, October 9
7:00 am, October 9

25. It would eventually burn its way as far north as Fullerton Avenue, destroying an area FOUR MILES LONG and ONE MILE WIDE

26. Mass panic began as people realized the fire was spreading further and further

28. Not everyone panicked; some people just calmly left the city
This drawing was made by a boy named Justin showing how his family marched out of Chicago
He’s the one leading the goat

29. 300 people died, and over 90,000 (about 1/3 of the city’s population) were left homeless

30. Some fled to Lincoln Park, which had recently been a cemetery, or jumped into the lake for cover

31. AFTER THE FIRE…..

32. The fire finally ran out of things to burn, and rain put out the remaining flames…but Chicago was a mess!

33. The Courthouse, from which the fire was first spotted, was in ruins

34. In most cases, only the shells of buildings remained

35. This was the view from the southwest corner of Dearborn and Monroe

36. The Van Buren Street Bridge and Union Depot in ruins

37. BEFORE…AND AFTER BOOKSELLERS’ ROW, STATE STREET NEAR MADISON
POST OFFICE AND CUSTOM HOUSE
BOOKSELLERS’ ROW, STATE STREET NEAR MADISON

38. BEFORE…AND AFTER PALMER HOUSE, STATE AND MONROE STREETS
RUMSEY HOUSE, RUSH AND HURON

39. BEFORE…AND AFTER
ST. JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH AT HURON AND CASS (NOW WABASH)
PINE STREET (NOW MICHIGAN AVENUE) LOOKING TOWARD THE WATER TOWER

40. SEVERAL BUILDINGS DID SURVIVE THE FIRE…
SEVERAL BUILDINGS DID SURVIVE THE FIRE…. ONE WAS THE O’LEARY BARN, AND HERE ARE SOME OTHERS…

41. THE OGDEN MANSION (ON WALTON BETWEEN DEARBORN AND CLARK) WAS SAVED BY PEOPLE PUTTING WET CARPETS ON IT. THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY STANDS THERE TODAY.

42. THE LIND BLOCK (Randolph and Market, now Wacker Dr.) survived

43. THE NIXON BUILDING at the northeast corner of Monroe and LaSalle.
After the disaster it was adorned with the inscription, "This fireproof building is the only one in the city that successfully stood the test of the Great Fire of October 9, 1871.“
It was made partly of iron and brick, which might have helped save it.

44. THE WATER TOWER
This is probably the most famous structure still standing today that survived the fire

46. The Bellinger House in the Lincoln Park neighborhood survived the fire and is still standing today as well

47. COPING AND REBUILDING

48. General Sheridan was put in charge so that people would stay controlled; soldiers patrolled the streets

49. LEAVE CHICAGO OR STAY? Most people chose to stay
About 30,000 people left Chicago after the fire using free railroad passes like this one
Most people chose to stay
Area churches helped those who were homeless

50. The mayor banned smoking until water service could be restored
The price of bread was kept at 8 cents by law so that greedy people would not overcharge those in need for basic food supplies

51. The nation tried to help Chicago
Why? Because other places had also experienced tragedy in their histories….AND
More importantly, Chicago was a growing city with businesses such as meatpacking that impacted the whole country

52. People all over the country tried to help Chicago; this flier is from Cleveland, Ohio,and the goods are from New York City

53. Queen Victoria of England gave us books to help found our public library

54. Ladies in particular founded relief and aid societies, but much of the distribution was based on merit

55. Some people in other parts of the country thought Chicago deserved the fire because of our vice and the North’s burning of the South in the Civil War

56. BUT THE CITY WOULD NOT LET ANYTHING GET IN THE WAY OF REBUILDING….

57. State and Madison—people started rebuilding businesses pretty quickly
Damages from the fire were estimated at over $250 million
Despite this, people had hope for a good future, and over 3000 buildings were constructed in the year after the fire

58. Temporary buildings were put up on Michigan Avenue

59. The first store in the burnt district sold apples, grapes, cigars, and cider.

60. This real estate agent seemed to embody the spirit of Chicago.

61. People even got married and preachers held church services in the midst of the ruins

62. The Palmer House was rebuilt, and Palmer dared people to come and try to set it on fire

63. CHICAGO WAS ON ITS WAY AGAIN TO BECOMING A WORLD-CLASS CITY

64. Chicago in 1898…bigger and better than before!

65. The world’s first skyscraper was built here because important architects came to help rebuild the city after the fire…this paved the way for the city we know today.

66. Today, on the spot where Mrs
Today, on the spot where Mrs. O’Leary’s barn stood, you will find the Chicago Fire Academy and a sculpture commemorating the fire.

67. SOME PEOPLE COMPARE CHICAGO TO THE PHOENIX… A MYTHICAL BIRD THAT DIES IN A FIRE AND IS REBORN STRONGER THAN BEFORE. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

68. Exit Slip
On the back of the handout where you put your bell-ringer, now answer this question:
C: What are the most important and/or interesting THINGS YOU LEARNED about the fire?