It is often said that The Great Chicago Fire was one of the most destructive disasters of the 19th century. Through our history we have learned how the Great Chicago Fire started, why the fire was so server during that time, and the fires impact the city.
It has been historically said that on October 8, 1871 that Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over a lantern, which started the blaze and in turn lead to The Great Chicago Fire. (The Great Chicago Fire of 1871) The O’Leary family lived on the southwest side of the city. (Chicago for of 1871) Even though the O’Leary family denied the allegations of their cow starting the fire. It has not been every truly proven that the cow started the fire. (Chicago for of 1871) Furthermore, due to the fire not being…show more content… (The Great Chicago Fire of 1871) The City of Chicago had less than 3 inches of rain, from the months of July until October. (The Great Chicago Fire of 1871) One thing to keep in mind is that during the 1800s, there was a significant about of buildings that were made of wood. This was due to wood being so economically cheap. Also, during that era most city’s had buildings that were built very close to one another. (The Great Chicago Fire of 1871) The City of Chicago was built with mostly wooden structures, which was one of the leading causes on why the fire was able to spread so quickly. (The Great Chicago Fire of 1871) With Chicago’s population growing, and with so many immigrants moving into the city, most of them were sheltered by poorly made Shanties. (The Great Chicago Fire of 1871) This lead to the construction regulations and fire codes not being enforced. (The Great Chicago Fire of 1871) “In early September, a month before the fire, the city’s most prominent newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, criticized the city for being made of “firetraps,” adding that many structures were “all sham and shingles.” (The Great Chicago Fire of 1871) “Another part of the problem was that Chicago had grown quickly and had not endured a history of fires. New York City, for instance, which had undergone its own great fire in 1835, had learned to enforce building and fire codes.” (The Great Chicago…show more content… One of the main things that stick in my mind is what would have happened if most of the buildings were not made of wood? With Chicago becoming a very populated area and the housing continuously growing. Did the city ever really think that building everything so close together and using material like wood would be such a good idea? I know that when we read things from our history, it is a lot easier to say they should have done this versus that, because we are the outside looking in. There is no doubt that The Great Chicago Fire was traumatic in more than just the loss of buildings, many people lost their lives. Since, the city of Chicago had basically burned to the ground. This gave the city the ability to rebuild quickly, safely and more