The Story of the Great Chicago Fire — and Its Great Recovery

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The Story of the Great Chicago Fire — and Its Great Recovery

Through ingenuity, optimism and character, one of America's signature cities overcame a test of flames on Oct. 10, 1871

by Lee Habeeb | Updated 10 Oct 2017 at 10:04 AM

Some say the fire was caused by a cow. Others cite bigger factors at play. Regardless of the cause, by the time the flames were extinguished, much of Chicago had been burned to the ground.

“The one thing you can say for sure is that the fire started in the cow barn behind the O’Leary home on De Koven Street,” said Tim Samuelson, a Chicago city historian. But what turned that small barn fire into a conflagration tha

Much of what happened on Oct. 8, 1871, had to do with Chicago's meteoric rise. In 1840, it was a small town of 4,470 and ranked 92nd in population in the United States. That number grew to nearly 30,000 by 1850, and by 1860 the city shot past the 100,000 mark. In 1870, just a year before the great fire, Chicago was closing in on a population of 300,000, making it the fifth-biggest city in the America — and the fastest-growing city in not only the country but the world.            http://www.lifezette.com/popzette/story-of-the-great-chicago-fire-and-the-great-recovery/