Research Paper On The Great Chicago Fire Of 1871

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 The night of Sunday October 8th, 1871 was a night to go down in the history books for the city of Chicago, Illinois. Prior to that night the city was growing at a rapid rate, then the big fire broke out and the city would never be the same again. Prior to the Great Chicago Fire the city of Chicago was working hard to develop and grow into one of the largest, most influential cities in the US. Their population was increasing at a steady rate, buildings were being refurbished or replaced and large businesses were swarming to the area. Because of this development the city replaced their volunteer fire department with a full time staffed department in 1858. At this time the fire chief proposed many changes to

The chief had specifically requested larger water mains throughout the city, updated and increased numbers of fire hydrants, more manpower and 2 fire boats. They even tried to implement fire inspections to local businesses. All of these requests were denied by the officials on grounds of being too expensive. Even with the updated buildings the streets and sidewalks were still made of wood. City blocks were lined with an abundance of small wooden buildings packed closely together. If you were to walk down the streets you would barely be able to see sun light between the buildings. The spring, summer and fall of 1871 was one of the driest on record making matters worse. In the 100 days prior to the Great Fire they received less then 1 inch of rain. "The absence of

There was a downward spiral of looting and lawlessness. The city officials actually had to call in soldiers to come and protect the structures and belongings of the businesses and residents. Martial law was eventually declared, ending the 3 days of chaos. It took several weeks for them to feel safe enough to lift the martial law. Once the smoke cleared and the soot settled the city jumped on the opportunity to rebuild. “Chicago will rise from the ashes!" Potter Palmer said. Famous architects and businessmen fled to the area to help resurrect the city. Soon the city was unrecognizable, the buildings being built were modern for their time and skyscrapers began to emerge from the ground. In less then five years the population would grow from 324,000 to over 500,000, making Chicago the second largest city in the USA. Some say the fire was a blessing in disguise, allowing the city to become what so many had dreamed