This Day in History: The Great Chicago Fire, Oct. 8, 1871
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008
The fire started on Sunday, October 8, 1871, in the Chicago barn of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary, and burned through early Tuesday, October 10, 1871. The blaze killed hundreds of people, destroyed about four square miles in Chicago, and caused billions of dollars in damages. Despite the devastation, reconstruction efforts encouraged the world’s first skyscrapers and great economic growth. See where Chicago’s Great Fire raged, read accounts of the people who lived through it, and watch a video re-creation of the Great Chicago Fire, from the PBS doc Chicago: City of the Century.
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