On Sunday evening October 8th 1871 a fire broke out in a barn owned by the O’Leary family on DeKoven Street that spread a little over three miles across Chicago, ultimately destroying 17,450 buildings, killing around 300 people, and leaving more than 100,000 residents homeless.
The Great Chicago Fire
On Sunday evening October 8th 1871 a fire broke out in a barn owned by the O’Leary family on DeKoven Street that spread a little over three miles across Chicago, ultimately destroying 17,450 buildings, killing around 300 people, and leaving more than 100,000 residents homeless.