FREE ESSAY ON GREAT FIRE

GREAT FIRE

In 1871 a great fire killed 250 people, left 90,000 homeless, and destroyed about 10 sq km
(about 4 sq mi) of central Chicago. On a Sunday night, October 8, 1871 at 137 De Koven
Street, in the O'Leary barn The Great Fire would burn from Sunday to early Tuesday. The
fire was fed by lusty prairie winds, cinders from a Saturday night blaze, and structures,
even streets and sidewalks, built almost entirely of wood. The fire had consumed block
after block of homes, businesses, and bodies, eventually leaving 100,000 people homeless.
There was a party at the McLaughlins' to celebrate the arrival of a relative from
Ireland. The one-legged Sullivan stopped bye to visit his neighbors, the O'Learys' but
they were already in bed. Sullivan, at the party, left after fifteen minutes when he
spotted a barn on fire. He yelled, FIRE! as loud as he could. This barnyard fire at the
O'Leary's house blazed and went into flames so fast that Sullivan barely had enough time
to rescue the calf inside the barn. Chicago had 59,500 buildings including the Courthouse
and the Tribune Building. The fire continued with a blaze. Early Tuesday the fire was put
out with the help of firefighters and rainfall. No one really knows for sure how the fire
started or who was the blame for this. The city was quickly rebuilt and continued its
rapid growth. 
Bibliography
read the book The Great Fire by Jim Murphy. Was a Historical Fiction.