History | Chicago History

Photos from the Great Chicago Fire

The Great Chicago Fire erupted on Oct. 8, 1871, and burned a large portion of the city until the fire died out on Oct. 10, 1871. It killed hundreds of people and destroyed a huge swath of the central business district, which was mainly m

History | Chicago History

The Chicago Fire

The whole Midwest was parched, caught in the thrall of a mighty drought. Chicago, with its preponderance of wooden buildings, inadequate fire codes and inferior firefighting equipment, was a conflagration waiting to happen. On this Sunday evening, it did.

History | History

Did a Cow Really Cause the Great Chicago Fire?

The Great Chicago Fire killed 300 people, left some 100,000 homeless, and destroyed $200 million worth of property. Was a cow really to blame?

And now you can also have the song stuck in your head!