A City Ablaze: Chicago and the Great Fire of 1871 - Term Paper Example

here Your here here here A Ablaze: Chicago and the Great Fire of 1871 There are not many people in the country of the United States of America that have not heard of the city of Chicago, Illinois. Indeed, it boasts many honors, including the fact that forty million people visit it annually to take advantage of all that it has to offer, from its famous deep-dish pizza to museums and galleries (City of Chicago). It is the third largest city in the United States, home to 237 square miles of land and over two million residents as of 2010 (City of Chicago). Its history dates back to the late 1770s and includes such events as the “roaring twenties”, when gangsters and crime ran rampant in the streets, and the first Ferris wheel, which made its debut at the 1893 World Exposition (City of Chicago). However, before Al Capone walked its streets, before the Ferris wheel was constructed, and before it swelled to become home to its two million residents, the city of Chicago endured the Great Fire of 1871. The picturesque skyline of Chicago today that is seen by its over forty million visitors looked quite different on October 8, 1871, when pitch-black smoke and leaping flames jumping from one house to another ignited the city and send people running in a panic through its streets. It should be noted that the residents of Chicago were not strangers to fire. Between 1858 and October 1871, there were nearly 3,700 fires, including eight that were considered “major loss” infernos (Cowan 15). The growth of Chicago between the first non-Native Americans and the Great Fire had happened quite swiftly. There were those that said it was too fast; many buildings were slapped together without thought to safety (Bales 11). Though stone was used in some buildings, wood had still been the main building medium of choice due to readability and price (Bales 11). Also, though the city had grown, the fire department had not. Pleas for more fire hydrants and attempts to explain the limited means of the department in fighting fires had gone unheard (Bales 13). These two factors combined alongside a drought (only 0.11 inches of rain had fallen since July 4, 1871), to create almost the perfect backdrop to a roaring blaze (Bales 16). Chicago would soon take its place in the history books of the United States forever for the fire that would burn through its streets. October 8, 1871, began just as any other day in the city. Firefighters were exhausted from having already battled a blaze the previous day, one that had taken seventeen hours to put out (Cowan 16). A mill had caught fire, along with its surrounding lumber and coal yards, and aided by a strong south wind had taken out at least two streets of the city buildings (Cowan 16). The fire had severely depleted the supply of coal needed to pump water from the hoses, and the hoses themselves were in precious supply after many were destroyed (Cowan 16). Firefighters did not know that this was just the tip of a fiery iceberg, and much worse awaited them. History details are sketchy on what citizens of Chicago had been doing. It was a Sunday, so it may be assumed that most went to church, while others went on about their Sunday business. Chores, however, still needed to be taken care of, which may have prompted the legacy of the fire being started by a cow owned by the O’Leary family kicking over a lantern, almost before the flames had died on the ruined city (Bales 53). The fact that the fire started in the O’Leary barn around 9:00PM and on that day was not disputed (Cowan 17). The cause, however, was more difficult to find, and remains to this day an elusive mystery, considered one of the greatest “whodunits” of Chicago (Bales 6). Though three viable theories would emerge, all of these put the cause down to an unfortunate occurrence, whether from a stray spark, a casually tossed-away cigar, or some other means that quickly engulfed the O’Leary barn and the surrounding area (Cowan 16). The flames spread to nearby houses, barns, and other structures within minutes (Cowan 17). Mercifully, it left the West Division mostly alone, but soon reduced the South Side, which doubled as the business and financial district to nothing but ashes and smoldering, blackened boards (Cowan 18). The fire department was dispatched, but could do little. Though the fire company of Engine 6, known as The Little Giant, was stationed only six blocks away, the flames simply moved too fast to be put out (Cowan 17). Both the citywide fire systems of the time as well as humans responding to the fire failed, for though there was a firebox in a nearby drugstore, the alarm never reached fire headquarters (Cowan 17). Human failure occurred in the form of a spotter, standing in the courthouse tower north of the river, when he inaccurately gave the location of the fire as Halstead and Canalport, instead of DeKoven and Jefferson, the actual location (Cowan 17). In this case, the alarm that was sounded by the spotter was received across the citywide telegraph system, but it hardly mattered; the fire had grown so big that firemen simply headed for the reddish-orange glow (Cowan 18). They soon discovered, however, that they were too late to save the city, and the fire spread even further despite their best efforts. Nothing less than common, ordinary air (in the form of wind) aided the fire that night. Superheated drafts known as “convection devils”, called so for their spinning motion upon contact with cooler surrounding air, wordlessly and without bias carried the flames a half-mile or more (Bales 20). Residents recounted in later years about “fire tornadoes” that had been seen throughout the city, giving credence to the whirling masses of fire (Bales 20). Driven by strong southwest winds, the fire and its surrounding drafts took aim on the center of the city and burned without mercy (Chicago Historical Society and Northwestern University). It formed branches that flew across the South Branch of the Chicago River and began to burn buildings and grass on the other side (Chicago Historical Society and Northwestern University). It made short work of what was known as “Conley’s Patch”, a ruinous network of shacks and shanties, home to the lower-income residents of the area (Bales 24). Factories were obliterated and everything seemed to disappear in the path of the angry, burning beast that was wreaking havoc on Chicago (Cowan 18). At first, people were more curious about the fire than they were concerned. It was believed that what began at one end of town would certainly be done well before it reached the other (Chicago Historical Society and Northwestern University). Also, Chicago was split into three distinct sections by the Chicago River, helping people believe that the flames would be confined by this to one section of the city only (Bales 10). Though the clanging of the bell in the downtown courthouse was heard far and wide, most people at first desired more to watch the flames, believing that the fire department would soon contain things (Chicago Historical Society and Northwestern University). Some of those that were still awake even walked to downtown buildings considered “fireproof”, or constructed with asbestos inside, to see the spectacle (Chicago Historical Society and Northwestern University). Safety was a thought in the back of the mind only. As the fire continued to race through Chicago, thoughts shifted from watching to survival. Residents realized that instead of enjoying themselves, a better idea might be to start collecting any family members and valuables (Chicago Historical Society and Northwestern University). Even criminals were given a reprieve. By 2:00AM, when flames had reached the courthouse, more than 100 criminals in the basement were freed and told to make a run for it; minutes later, the roof crumbled and the bell in the tower fell through the building, landing squarely in the middle of basement prison (Cowan 18). Other residents, regardless of whether or not they could swim, jumped into the river in a last-ditch attempt to escape (Cowan 19). Horace White, editor-in-chief of the Chicago Tribune, wrote of the fire in a letter to Murat Halstead, editor-in-chief of the Cincinnati Commercial on October 14, 1871: “Billows of fire were rolling over the business palaces of the city and swallowing up their contents. Walls were falling so fast that the quaking of the ground under our feet was scarcely noticed, so continuous was the reverberation. Sober men and women were hurrying through the streets from the burning quarter, some with bundles of clothes on their shoulders, others dragging trunks along the sidewalks by means of strings and ropes fastened to the handles, children trudging by their sides or borne in their arms…” (Milestone Documents) The fire raged on through the city, through the night and all of the next day. By 1:30AM on October 9, the gas works were ignited, though due to quick thinking by engineers, they did not explode entirely (Cowan 18). The waterworks and water tower succumbed to the fire at 3:30AM, taking with them any hope of fighting the fire, as the ability to pump water was lost when the water mains ran dry (Cowan 18). There was nothing more that could be done except to watch the city burn to the north and to the south, and mourn the loss of whatever had been taken by the flames (Cowan 20). Even a last-ditch attempt by the mayor and city engineers to blow up buildings and create a firebreak ultimately failed (Bales 35). Ironically, the water tower that had done its faithful best before going dry was made of limestone, and survived the fire (Chicago Historical Society and Northwestern University). Parts of the rest of the city, including some of the residents, were not so lucky. The flames were not stopped by any means from the fire department. When the fire reached the prairie surrounding the city, it burned itself out (Cowan 19). On October 10, 1871, at approximately 3:00AM rain began falling, finally putting out the remaining hot spots (Chicago Historical Society and Northwestern University). This still did not mean that the worst was over; when businessmen cautiously opened their safes a day or two later to check for paperwork, reports of the paper bursting into flames upon exposure to cool air were not unheard of (Chicago Historical Society and Northwestern University). A city of rubble soon became a city of rubble without vital pre-rubble records. Chicago was in ruins. The fire had consumed a three and a half square mile area, taking with it 15,700 buildings, at least 300 lives, and leaving almost 100,000 out of a city of over 300,000 homeless (Cowan 19). Damages were estimated at $200 million, and 60 out of the 250 operating insurance companies in the city filed for bankruptcy (Cowan 20). It was soon found to be impossible to identify all the victims of the fire, as some were burnt beyond recognition, and others were not deaths due to the fire itself but from drowning (Cowan 20). Most residents faced the sobering fact of starting over with little to nothing. Despite the heavy losses, Chicago vowed that it would rebuild. Two years after the fire that ravaged its city streets, Chicago was once again a bustling metropolis, refusing to let anything or anyone hold it back from rebuilding. The city, rising from the ashes and rubble, never stopped growing, holding true to its word and becoming the modern municipality that stands at the shores of Lake Michigan today. Mrs. O’Leary and her cow eventually were exonerated in 1962, despite the ugly rumors that plagued her for the rest of her life as being the sole cause of one of the worst disasters in history (Bales 106). Today her home is the site of the Chicago Fire Academy (Cowan 20). But absolutely nothing will ever make or cause the city of Chicago, or even the nation, to forget those two days in October 1871, when a scorching, faceless enemy without bias burnt through the city and threatened to erase Chicago from the history books forever. Works Cited Bales, Richard F. The Great Chicago Fire and the Myth of Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, 2002. Print. City of Chicago. “Chicago Fun Facts.” Explore Chicago: The City of Chicago's Official Tourist Site. City of Chicago, 2012. Web. 6 Mar 2012. Chicago Historical Society and Northwestern University, The Great Chicago Fire & The Web of Memory. The Chicago Historical Society, 2011. Web. 7 Mar 2012. Cowan, David. Great Chicago Fires: Historic Blazes That Shaped a City. 1st Edition. Chicago: Lake Claremont Press, 2001. Print. Milestone Documents. “Horace White’s Eyewitness Account of the Great Chicago Fire.” Schlager Group, Inc., 2012. Web. Accessed March 7, 2012.  Read More