The Great Chicago Fire: A Chicago Stories Special Documentary

[@kentsmith5672]

The Chicago fire was horrific, but few people know about the the Peshtigo fire that burned on the same day near Peshtigo, Wisconsin. The Chicago fire is said to have claimed 300-500 lives. The Peshtigo fire burned the town of Peshtigo and the surrounding area and claimed 1500-1800 lives. When it finally burned out it had burned 1.2 million acres and is still the deadliest wildfire in US history. That same day the Great Michigan fire started and burned around 2 million acres, between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and I haven't seen a reliable number of the lives lost. The summer of 1871 was very dry for the upper Midwest and fuels were ripe for fire. There are several theories on how these fires started, including lightning and even a meteorite explosion. The Peshtigo and Michigan fires are still the largest wildfires recorded in the lower 48 states.

[@michelecarnduff5970]

I never knew that

[@Frankyouknow]

That's crazy

[@Test7017]

All lies

[@princesspiplaysbass]

​@@Test7017No, not lies. You can Google it yourself.

[@garylefevers]

I first heard of it on The History Guy. He specializes in forgotten history. Its a pity Peshtigo is overlooked.

[@amydavis4945]

I was born in 1962, and I was at least 25 years old before I learned that it **wasn't** "O'Leary's cow" that caused the Chicago fire. I had grown up believing that it was. Just goes to show how long a rumor can be believed and passed down through generations. I'm glad to hear that her family was finally able to exhonorate Catherine, once and for all.

[@stephaniebarrett6193]

Just about everyone believes that no matter how many of us come out and say that she had nothing to do with the cause of the fire. All they l ow is that she was Irish and therefore guilty.

[@jimothyslim7332]

Every firefighting textbook I've read continues to spread the myth that a cow started the fire.

[@i-35vagabond56]

Outside of Chicago, nobody talks too much about the Chicago fire, and when they do, it's just for a couple of sentences and then the conversation evolves into something else. Most people are not interested enough to investigate the Chicago fire. It happened such a long time ago, most people rarely ever think about the Chicago Fire until it's the "answer" to a "question" in a game of Jeopardy, or they stumble upon a KZbin video that tells all about it.

[@TheLittlered1961]

Amy, I am a touch older than you. Took much longer for me to learn the truth. Either way I am happy the fire happened. I say this because if not for the fire, I would not be here. My great great grand parents met in the lake during the fire.

[@sharlaynethompson5335]

z

[@YTjennifer]

I just clicked on this for something to use for background noise, and I ended up sitting in front of my computer the entire time watching every minute. Very enjoyable and informative.

[@jondishmonmusicandstuff2753]

Same here but I love KZbins documentaries. They are the best. You should check out The San Francisco earthquake or The Titanic and others.

[@cruisepaige]

Same here! I’m reviewing a fry contract, but this is so engaging. The narrator’s voice is perfect (is it that Star Trek guy?), the individuals involved are fascinating, great graphic and the interviews are great.

[@MsDisneylandlover]

in my apartment if u want a background noise u get it alright n my apartment building the lady behind keep up music and Probs.

[@dallas-sf1ib]

This is me now. LOL

[@angieowen1165]

Same here, but I've also been to Chicago several times, and have heard the legends

[@axer3515]

We had a family friend who lived through the fire and he told the story from his view and I thought it was better than any book or video I had seen. He lost friends and also had friends who he thought had died in the fire but ran into them years later. One thing he was positive about is people knew the city was a tender box. Houses built cheaply and yards full of trash. He lived to 104 and talked about the fire every time I saw him.

[@prometheusunbound7628]

Awesome. Living history is fascinating but sadly often ignored. Thank you for sharing your unique experience.

[@moeschorsch9656]

"He had friends "Who?" he thought died in the fire. CORRECTION: "WHOM" not WHO The city was not a tender box. It was a tinder box. Get it straight before you write. Perhaps someone needs to attend grammar school!

[@IgnoretheButter]

@@moeschorsch9656 wtf... is your life so boring that you have to troll someone who is probably much older than you. We know what the guy meant. It's a fascinating story

[@IndelibleHD]

@@moeschorsch9656 Shut up

[@airsickspace9272]

@@IgnoretheButter honestly they’re not worth responding to I just pretend they’re some middle schooler who when they older will cringe at their old comments

[@deanb4799]

I'm a documentary junkie and this is an above average production. Well told story by captivating storytellers. Thank you for this!

[@hoss-lk4bg]

thanks son

[@devonjones2803]

Me too

[@devonjones2803]

Oh good morning 🌄🌅🌄🌅

[@starblane1023]

If you like documentaries so much won't you look up the Birmingham bombing in 1963 when four little girls got killed check it out it's very educational and a lot of people don't know about it

[@anthonybanchero3072]

1889 wasn't a good year for wooden cities in Washington. Seattle, Ellensberg, and Spokane all had massive fires that year. In Seattle, they formed the professional Seattle Fire Department after the Great Fire. The anniversary is on June 6th, I believe.

[@stephaniebarrett6193]

Fact: same night as the Chicago fire was the Peshtigo (Wisconsin) fire. Although the Peshtigo fire claimed more people (around 1500 to the 300 in Chicago) you don’t learn about it because well it’s obvious. Chicago was a major city. Peshtigo fire burned 1.5 million acres compared to the 2,112 acres the Chicago fire claimed. The Peshtigo fire also totally destroyed the town and the town of Brussels. It cause about $169 million in damages, about the same as Chicago’s fire. So how many of you also knew about the great Peshtigo Fire and how many didn’t know? Which one was greater? And why is that? I learned about the Peshtigo fire as I grew up in the city of Menominee, MI ( about 30 minutes north) before I learned of the Chicago fire.

[@michaelwilliams3232]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXfUmHeLebSGq9U

[@litachambers3456]

I have never heard of this other fire. I would love to learn more.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

I have a book from the '70s called "Great Disasters" (Reader Digest books) that has a chapter about the Peshtigo fire. The following chapter is the Chicago fire. Until I saw a YT video about it, I'd never heard of it anywhere other than that book. The point that this video touches on is the prolonged drought of that summer and that both places were tinderboxes just waiting to explode. If the Chicago fire hadn't started in Mrs. O's barn (for whatever reason) it would've started somewhere else (as noted by the 20 fires in the previous days.)

[@stephaniebarrett6193]

@@indy_go_blue6048 it was the worst drought I. Recorded history at that time. It was awful. It’s too bad that it being way worse in the amount a human deaths and acres burned and small towns destroyed only a chapter was given it. I remember that when people all over the country heard about the degree of loss in the Peshtigo area aid was sent out to them also. If I remember right also a lot of it came from the Chicago area. Should you ever get the chance to visit Peshatigo, go to the museum and see if they still have tours. You’ll learn so much. Also the cemetery has a Mormon the victims graves including a mass grave for the children that died. It’s an amazing experience.

[@stephaniebarrett6193]

@@litachambers3456 That’s not surprising. A large amount of people haven’t. And it’s because Chicago was a major city and had a lot of the uber rich living there. There’s lots of material about Peshitgo and the fire. You just have to do a little more than the normal research. Like I had said over 1800 people, that’s like 5 times more than Chicago, lost their lives. And way more land was burned along with at least 2 towns, Peshtigo and Brussels, were a total loss. It’s well worth the research if you’d like to learn more. I grew up in the neighboring town of Menominee, just over the state border. I’d visit the museum and cemetery a lot after I got my drivers liscence. That’s and my aunt are how I learned that my family (my mother’s side) Bible is on display there. Also you can dig down about a foot or some and still to this day find ash from the fire. If you want a good starting place, i suggest getting in contact with the museum. They should have information to send to you.

[@weaz1964]

I grew up on a farm. Fresh hay that isn't completely dry will heat up and catch fire. This program did say she had fresh hay in the barn.

[@Nirrrina]

That makes more sense than there being a burning lamp being left during the middle of the night.

[@jadedheartsz]

yeah I read some eyewitness accounts from those who survived and one person theorized that the fire was started by green hay as it has a tendency to spontaneously combust.

[@danielmorse4213]

The kitchen table we have at the farm was saved from the fire. It's one of the last things we have left. The story goes that the family burried the China and such in the back yard. Escape from the city was impossable. My great great .....grandmother drove the horses into the lake. True story. The heat was so intense that they did not think they would survive.

[@hoss-lk4bg]

lie

[@pangaeaproximap.p4408]

Vindicated way after the fact. Live with the misery and the toxicity of the moronic people that live here.

[@Mars-77]

I have the lantern! My great great grandfather won it in a poker game in Cicero

[@lisadeklerk9946]

My great-great grandfather was literally the mayor of Chicago when this fire occurred. It’s weird to see personal family history within these greater historical events.

[@CONFUCIUS-f2x]

What was his name.???

[@seanbrown9048]

@@CONFUCIUS-f2x lol; Mayor DeKlerk?

[@michaelesgro9506]

@@CONFUCIUS-f2x Well I guess it would be Roswell B. Mason as he is mentioned more than once in the narrative!!!

[@treetop5752]

I heard he was a pimp.

[@Imissyoulou]

@@michaelesgro9506 They have a street in Chicago, named Mason. It was probably named after him.

[@dgtwo3724]

I knew someone who knew someone who was a child in 1871 in Chicago when this happened. I knew my grandfather's first cousin who lived from 1920-2016 and in 2008 during visit to Chicago, she told me about being in 5th grade in 1931, 60 years after the fire. Her teacher was a lady in her 60's at the time who was about 6 or 7 years old in 1871 and this lady told a story of people fleeing the fire and literally walking out into Lake Michigan during the night and her father having her sit up on his shoulders to keep her as dry as possible. I guess what is fun for me about is despite being born in 1969, I knew someone who knew someone who witnessed the fire, just teo degrees of separation.

[@adrianbarragan2930]

bs 😂

[@dgtwo3724]

@@adrianbarragan2930 not BS at all and quite plausible based on the fact that this cousin was a child whose teacher was an elderly woman who herself was a child 60 years earlier when the fire happened. My cousin was born in 1920 and her teacher was born around the mid-1860's, so it makes perfect sense. Today, there are still people living who would have met Babe Ruth when they were kids and he died 74 years ago, so a little critical thinking would make one realize this is very plausible.

[@adrianbarragan2930]

Yeah, sure 🤣, you need serious help with all those delusions.

[@raliekmajor8117]

@@adrianbarragan2930 this video just happened to be playing and i had to go thru the comments to make sure im hearing this nonsense right

[@zzydny]

@@dgtwo3724 Defintely not BS! I believe you. Stories like yours are hands reaching across time. My great-grandmother remembered the Civil War, and she also remembered her great-grandmother's stories of the Revolutionary War. Those stories passed down to my mother and then to me. It's surprising how few generations that really is.

[@Jules-fx2sc]

Really enjoyed watching this documentary. I am English but my mother was from the O'Leary clan. Some of her family had emigrated to America, some to north east England. Poor Mrs O'Leary, blamed the way she was for so many years afterwards

[@MikeADFirenze9]

I love WTTW. The window to the world. I lived in Chicago from 2004 to 2007. I visited the Chicago History Museum and even went through orientation to become a volunteer to teach young students about the great Chicago fire and other historical topics.

[@kevinquist]

Side story. After the fire. the town of Singapore MI., a lumber town, cut all the wood they had and cut the forest around them, to supply wood for Chicago. That winter, was really bad, and with NO trees left around the town, the wind blew all the sand from the dunes in and buried the town. Town was abandoned after this. NOW semi absorbed into the City of Douglas.

[@animalyze7120]

I realize they were caring and tried to help but even a Lumber town would know better than to strip an entire forest, I can only imagine what the town leadership was thinking. While good hearted that seems pretty wreckless, I can only hope no one died in that incident.

[@kevinquist]

@@animalyze7120 I really wish I had your optimism. And as I'm sure there was a lot of altruistic goals. I have to say I think it was most likely greed that drove them to completely deforest the area. Of all the history I've heard on it. NO ONE died in direct results of the deforestation and burring of the town. the demise of the town was not an over night thing. it would have taken MONTHS for real problems to start showing. With in a few weeks of that, it would have been impossible to deal with or reverse. People had time to pack all their stuff carefully. However being 1875, who knows what horrible things killed them. ever seen the movie. 'a million ways to die in the west'?.

[@eurekasquared9853]

Wow! Didn’t know that.

[@andydrewlinger9301]

@@animalyze7120 I think of this and compare it to the thinking (or lack of good thinking) that is attributed to causing the Dust Bowl of the '30s. If you haven't seen the PBS documentary about that, I'd recommend it; currently I know of it being in the PBS Documentaries section of Amazon Prime Video.

[@margaretmurphy9498]

I grew up north of Chicago and the fire story and its long term effects were taught in our school. At that time the guilty O'Leary cow was taugh. PBS did a show testing the trail & origin of the fire which was interesting. This documentary is really well done & its good to know the fire was not due to her or her cow. It also was interesting to learn how accomplished she was. The other terrible fire we learned about was the Our Lady of Angels fire. That happened when I was in Grammer school and because we had the same order of nuns in our school and they knew the Chicago nuns it really hit home. To this day I'm moved by that fire and all the children & nuns who died

[@derrickguffey4775]

Yes Our Lady of the Angels was just horrific. The needless loss of life was nearly unimaginable to me personally can't even conceive of the devestation and loss those directly involved had to deal with.

[@staringcorgi6475]

Blaming o leary was an excuse to be racist against the irish

[@spiritthingw]

It's unimaginable that 2 religious sects who worshiped the same God had such hatred. It boggles the mind and it's still happening. This disaster should have brought people together. Just proves hate still prevails.

[@samuelschick8813]

@@spiritthingw, Notice she said the priest prayed on his knees all night for the Virgin Mary to save his church and school? It's like fuck the rest of Chicago. LOL

[@ramblerdave1339]

​@@spiritthingw One of the things that has caused my belief in organized religion, to go the way of all of Mrs. O'Leary's cows. 🤔

[@rubengarcia_]

Thank you for posting this! Such an entertaining watch. It’s important that these videos are accessible to the Chicagoland community. Thanks!

[@wttw]

Thank you for the kind comment! We have so much more content to share - keep watching!

[@addamz3277]

Not that it helps that nasty city 🤣

[@jadedheartsz]

@@wttw Yeah this and the video on the Iroquois Theater fire were really good. BTW was that James Earl Jones doing the narration? it sounds a lot like him.

[@EvetteHeim1]

I was born and raised in Chicago and love my city and I am sad for all the people who lost their lives in the fire and I am proud Chicago was rebuilt and risen from the ashes literally....One of the best cities with pretty interesting history

[@mikebeesley3150]

Enjoy it while it lasts because it's going down in litefoot flames.

[@stephaniebarrett6193]

If you find the Chicago Fire of interest may I suggest that you look into the Peshtigo Fire that happened on the same night but had at least 5x more deaths and way more acres of land burned. The towns of Peshitgo and Brussels were both a total loss.

[@addamz3277]

Too bad there isn't more citizens that care about how dangerous that city is

[@adrianbarragan2930]

Nah, Chicago has so much crime and violence, it's actually scary over there.

[@TheBandit7613]

I won't be going there. Bad climate too.

[@Sadsasuke1]

At 14:20 they mention the barn being stocked with fresh hay that dray fall. I worked as a hay baller for my aunt to feed her horse. She would always tell me never to stack the hay directly again the barn walls because it could, overtime, heat up and start a fire. I’ve seen hay smoke like fog when wet from rain during a hot summer after been stacked. The density of the hay holds heat. I bet that’s what started the fire.

[@Dulcimertunes]

Good theory!

[@dianemauer4453]

You have explained it better than I did. Thank you.

[@inspiredwoodworks4131]

As a farm kid, my dad decided one year to grow sorghum to bale & feed. At the time, he didn’t know much about it (obviously jumping into something blindly…), so he let it grow longer than it should have been allowed. After almost a month of raking & crimping to reduce the moisture content, he finally decided to just bale it. In the hay shed it went. Months later, we could see that in several places, it had started to combust, only to smother itself out because of the excess moisture.

[@TabithaReminiec3399]

The ground was the culprit in the Chicago Fire

[@TabithaReminiec3399]

It may have contributed to the start of the fire Imagine the severe drought that they suffered that was caused by the extreme heat & a lack of rain Add to that the hay that was stacked in the shed,plus the land that heated up from under ground

[@TheIndependentLens]

I dig how the audio of people's statements add the accents rather than just narrating what was written.

[@MsGaella]

Yes. Very well done! Esp the inquiry of K O’Leary.

[@mickieswendsen1302]

Yes, Thank You.

[@TabithaReminiec3399]

Especially Cate O'leary's brogue

[@spiritthingw]

The loss of life is astounding, and all I keep hearing is they were more concerned with the loss of their fancy buildings. And the blame was not warranted. This was a tragedy in every sense.

[@ILoveOldTWC]

The writer of the great hymn "It It Well With My Soul", Horatio Spafford, went through several tragedies in his life, one of which was this - the Great Chicago Fire.

[@hoss-lk4bg]

everyone does son

[@thomastipton4666]

As was D.L. Moody he lost his home, the church he pastored and most of his possessions. He and his family barely escaped.

[@mackpines]

I was fooled in school! All the textbooks and the teachers said that O’ Learly’s cow was responsible for the Chicago Fire. Can’t believe I had accepted this as the actual cause. This was an amazing documentary! I learned so much. And I’ve never even been to Chicago. Love watching documentaries about major events in American Cities.

[@jameskulevich8907]

What makes you think this program is true???

[@KB8Killa]

Yes you were. But not how you think.

[@AMYV3]

The internet sure has brought to light just how much of what we were taught was pure propaganda!! Many of it is due to corruption. So much so I now question almost all of what I once was convinced of. I used to wonder how the Russian people could fall for the crazy Russian propaganda. Almost seeing them as ignorant uneducated 🤦🏼‍♀️. When we too receive so much ourselves. Some Fighting so hard to not believe it to be true when the truth is it’s been happening all around the world for centuries!! So what is the actual truth 🤷🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ An example of what is being told to us by popular western media channels about what is happening to the Palestinian people. When you actually know the truth of what’s really happening. You wouldn’t imagine they would flat out lie the way they are and support such horrendous acts on human beings. Sooooo much corruption sooooo many lies !!! Ouch

[@mickieswendsen1302]

Do they still teach U.S. History in (High) school, today???

[@Ronniejamesleo]

Nope​@@mickieswendsen1302

[@thomasgansevoort929]

An altogether excellent video. Beautifully structured! The special affects, through montage, are spectacular. Don't miss this one. It's a keeper.

[@eurekasquared9853]

Effects

[@thomasgansevoort929]

@@eurekasquared9853 NO, sorry, I meant Affects. I refer to the psychological affects.

[@valnpaulvanorden]

no its effects. that is a noun. affect would be an adverb :. "That movie really affected me, it has stunning special effects. i am affected by the weather. the chilly north wind has an effect on everyones mood today. clear as mud? dont feel bad. I've had fellow transcriptionists, with more time in than me, ask me about this word, affect. my mother was a Hillsdale college English major. She used to stop me in the middle of each of my sentences, when speaking to her, or telling her a story, as an 8-10 year old kid, and all my life, ( she died 1990, age 61), and she would "correct" me on my grammar and usage of English. when i came home after a couple of years of living across the state of Michigan, on the sw side in the kalamazoo area, my mother said to me :. " you talk like a "goat-roper"! wheres your English? ha ha, she thought i was lost to civilized society,! i spent most of my adult life "correcting, " or patchworking the "English" of foreign doctors, who dictated reports into tiny cassette players for for me to transcribe, type, 8 hours a day. finally, around 2008 or so, voice-to-text technology somehow replaced a the medical transcriptionists, except maybe a few as editors. Artificial intelligence had taken over, 0:00 and i was kicked to the sidelines in early retirement at the ripe old age of 51. My mom and I butted heads on many an occasion, esp. as a teenager, . and as a young woman. but, in the end, that is where my "bread and butter" came from. Mom's discipline in speech, inflection of voice, her manners even to telemarketers on the phone, were not lost on me. ers,

[@sargepent9815]

My uncles house had its chimney built from reclaimed brick from the great Chicago fire and they had to be replaced because they were brittle from the heat damage. This issue plagued many structures built from reclaimed brick

[@eurekasquared9853]

Wow!

[@bunk95]

Took bad slaves cant have bills/debts anyways.

[@bunk95]

The real estate that [was] used by the [French army] still green. Asking a slave faking Milwaukee for help? Thats fiction. Slaves fake government, religion and industry. I was sent here after burning the last commune, Paris. To the green. Green space for all.

[@jadedheartsz]

@@bunk95 huh?

[@huntrrams]

Awesome documentary! As a Chicagoan, this was some solid info and love that this is FREE to watch!

[@redbone8844]

I swear I can watch documentaries all day!! Thank you for this one ☝️ never heard of this like the old saying goes “You Never Stop Learning” and “ You Learn Something New Everyday”.

[@iwantthe80sback59]

Can’t fathom how terrifying this must have been.

[@whoever6458]

Hay is one thing that has been known to sometimes spontaneously combust under certain circumstances so it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the fresh hay in the barn for the livestock did actually spontaneously combust and start the fire. Another thing that can start fires is that sometimes things like broken glass can magnify the sun in rare circumstances so that it focuses the sun's rays and starts a fire, just like one can focus the sun's rays using a magnifying glass to start a fire. Since this fire started at night and in the barn, that's not what happened in this case but the point is that sometimes physics is to blame, not a human being or other animal.

[@hoss-lk4bg]

thanks for tha rambling manifesto junior

[@TheBandit7613]

We're not buying any of this. The cow knocked over the lantern. We've known about this for a long time. Nothing spontaneously combusted.

[@TheBatugan77]

Cow farts... 🐄💨💨💨💨💨

[@Rachaelann59]

Best documentary to exist on the great Chicago fire.

[@marvwatkins7029]

One of WTTW's best productions. The most professional yet and worthy of network (i.e. nationwide) viewing.

[@eurekasquared9853]

Agreed!

[@bettygreenhansen]

I came because of the KZbin recommendation. I stayed because of the high quality and very entertaining nature of this documentary. I left in tears. Thank you

[@dorothydromgoole8040]

Oh, boy do I know, I will be 60 this year and I too still believed that Ms. O' Lerey cow had started in her barn. It took documenters like this that showed us differently. Thank you for showing the difference.

[@TheBandit7613]

Of course the cow knocked over the lantern. We've known about this for over a hundred years now. The fire didn't just start with magic.

[@2ch.thenazaritelifestyle]

Well, ain't nothing like a old fool. They purposely started that fire for insurance. I'm 44 and wise enough to not believe this crap story.🙄

[@2ch.thenazaritelifestyle]

@@TheBandit7613 Of course not, they started it. Stupid is stupid does!

[@ShaneM420]

Now had she been Ms Jackson and not olearly she would have been hung.and her family hunted to this day.

[@joshgom6630]

Snapped ! I’m about 15% in this video and already love it so much , this videos showing me so many different pictures and videos I never seen , and I always look n search for old Chicago videos pictures and I always c the same ones , this is a great video and great story line appreciate it all💯

[@josephwolosz2522]

I never knew the extent of the fire. This is a very well done documentary. A tragedy of errors that burned a huge portion of the city. The barn was made of wood .And plenty of dry hay around. A small fire department. Times haven't changed. Immigrants are still to blame if something tragic happens.

[@stephaniebarrett6193]

If you’d like to learn an even more tragedy may I suggest you research the Peahtigo Fire that claim 5x more lives and burn hundreds of thousands of land on the exact same night. It’s well worth it.

[@jondishmonmusicandstuff2753]

@@stephaniebarrett6193 Hmmmmmm? I have never heard of this tragedy and I was born in Indiana. Thanks for this I will have to check it out. I love documentaries.

[@birdgvee4982]

Just the other day my dad explained to me how sometimes barns catch fire seemingly out of nowhere - but it is because hay, balled up in mass, builds heat at the centre. So much so, that when you have a whole house jammed with it, and air conditions are "right" it can just suddenly combust. Maybe from decompensation or some other chemical process?

[@TheBatugan77]

Cow farts. 🐄💨💨💨💨💨

[@ramblerdave1339]

I'm pretty sure you meant, decomposition. Decompensation, is when someone steals your paycheck. 😢

[@Nirrrina]

If I remember it right it's fresher hay that isn't dried enough that starts to get warmer & warmer until it just combusts. There's some comments that go better into it.

[@philipcallicoat3147]

The famous and beautiful hymn,"It is well with my soul", inspired by the fire's cost to the author... The man lost his beloved wife and daughter in a shipwreck and, the fire destroyed the poor man's holdings causing bankruptcy... Personal tragedy has been the inspiration for many hymns....💔🕊️💔🙏☝️

[@eurekasquared9853]

Awes song. One of my favorites!

[@derrickguffey4775]

That author was H.G. Spafford

[@heathergarnham9555]

His wife was saved, their three daughters were lost. The girls and their mother went ahead of Stafford, she sent a telegram 'saved alone, whatever shall i do' as he was passing the location of the wreck the words came to him.

[@ShaneM420]

Was he Black or white?

[@kimmiller4951]

Born in Chicago in 1962 and grew up singing this song: One dark night when we were all in bed Old Lady Leary lit a lantern in the shed And when the cow kicked it over She blinked her eyes and said There’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight. Fire! Fire! Fire! Was glad to find out it wasn’t true! Great doc. Thanks, love my hometown!!!! Go BEARS!!!!!!!!!

[@edwardmathews9041]

I was raised in Miwaukee and we sang this also. Do they still sing this?

[@kimmiller4951]

@@edwardmathews9041 hahaha I don’t know. Learned it around a campfire in scouts.

[@rebeccaroseland7931]

My great grandparents immigrated separately from Norway in the 90’s. They met and married in 1890 in Chicago! They moved to Iowa in 1900.

[@dianemauer4453]

There's a possibility that the Great Chicago fire was the result of storing too fresh hay in the barn. It overheated and spontaneously combusted. Every spring and summer farmers have thermometers in the hay mow (loft) keeping track of the temperature. It gets too hot, the fire department is called.

[@DLL8252]

Despite the high rent, rising food prices, violence and poverty, I've been a Chicagoan for 41yrs, having visited places such as Mississippi, Wisconsin, Philadelphia, and Louisiana, I always come back home to Illinois and I love My city, I really do 🫡🫡🫡❤ the food, architecture, monuments, history, landscapes, sports teams, music, AND people, there's no place like SWEET HOME CHICAGO !

[@cw4608]

There was a comment about pride of work and uniforms. I remember when uniforms were worn by gas station attendants, milk men, garbage men in their company coveralls. I think wearing your employers company name adds a level of commitment to doing well, a sense of pride.

[@phyllismeredith1888]

I was raised in Southern Indiana & had heard about the Chicago Fire in school and the devastation, but this brought it to reality. I'd stumbled on this site by chance, seeing the post about the 95 children lost in the school fire,but am glad i did. Thank you for your presentation manor.

[@ledicarusmedia]

I remember in the late 1980s being taught about the Great Chicago Fire and how it (may have) started when Mrs. O'Leary's cow knocked over a lantern setting the barn and the city ablaze. A hundred years after the disaster the myth prevailed to the point of being part of the education curriculum though it was said then to be one of the "possible causes" and the focus of the class was on poor construction and fireproofing rather than placing blame.

[@Art4ArtsSakeVideo]

The image at 30:25, of people standing in the lake water looking back at the city entirely on fire, was an eerie reminder of the people who recently fled the horrific burning of Lahaina in Hawaii. It's cinematic license these ageless Chicagoans seem so calm, when the modern evidence reminds us of the real fear, panic and worse.

[@zzzddd7]

The original lake front was at Halsted street. Later Grant Park was all water before. After the fire it was filled in with debris. These are amazing stories from my city.

[@moeschorsch9656]

Did you know Chicago was dubbed, "The Windy City", not because of the weather. In the 1800's, it was known as The Windy City because so many politicians had a lot of hot air....verbally criticizing one another.

[@BudsCartoon]

My family is pre-fire Chicago. The "patriarch" of our family, or the first to come from Germany, opened a carriage upholstery business on the west side (which would be considered downtown now) and did fairly well. It was wiped out in the fire, but he rebuilt and brought over his 4 nephews from Germany, one being by mom's grandfather. They all worked and hired about 50 workers and got a deal with Sears Roebuck to do the upholstery for their carriages. They eventually opened up a successfully furniture business as well, I imagine after the advent of the mass produced auto. I found a newspaper clip from the 50s where they said they sold their Sears stock back when they parted ways and they were saying that it would've been worth $34 million today (in 1950), which would've been worth $340 million today...Oh well.

[@robadams5799]

My little sister was born in Evergreen Park on October 17, 1971--Exactly 110 years and seven days after the Great Chicago Fire started.

[@eurekasquared9853]

Cool!

[@hobbscoblin1313]

My family goes way back in Chicago. We had a farm close to Alsop, way south of down town. The family story is that the Chicago fire was so bright you could read a newspaper from the farm. That would at least be 123 blocks from downtown.

[@tencents6]

Y'know, giving how Catherine O' Leary was Irish, and people used the Irish as scapegoats in those day; I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out the Great Chicago Fire started because of arson. Some douchebag set the barn on fire on purpose and left before he could be seen, because he knew people would just blame her and not look into it.

[@jackiebailey5717]

That same person must’ve started the fires in Wisconsin and Michigan at the same time on the same day and time just a thought

[@roxanneallas7596]

That would be some thing if that would of some thing.

[@coreym162]

Doesn't make sense of the idea of the "Irish Scapegoat" In Chicago. Irish made up 70,000 around that time. Meaning it was mostly Irish who's homes burned. Them scapegoating one Irish woman for being Irish in a town dominated by Irish is just grossly uninformed. Just because, someone was a woman or immigrant doesn't mean they are capable of doing no wrong. That is a moronic mindset. Any other way would be impossible to prove or disprove an account based on no evidence and "he said she said". What someone says isn't instant gospel. Least of all in the years on information break down before forensics and cellphones.

[@tencents6]

@@coreym162 I mean, I just said that based on what the documentary said. I didn't know mostly Irish people lived in Chicago, then. I thought they were the minority. All the same, I would like to know why people still thought Mrs. O'Leary and her cow were the ones who started the fire, even though she had an alibi.

[@jackiebailey5717]

I think people should check out Randall Carlson at least to get a different narrative PBS is just stuck like Chuck when it comes to real history

[@mikeblount4503]

Will be watching this along with my Father, a retired Firefighter and Fire Investigator.

[@whitenoiseihearu4018]

Windy city...so easy to imagine the wind roaring through the streets.

[@trr5291]

Illinois is a windy state in general. Especially in the country were I live.

[@emmasalzman2685]

The nickname isn’t because of the weather… chicago is called the Windy City because the politicians are always blowing hot air

[@sifridbassoon]

A lot of people now (and then) didn't realize that while the building may be built of brick or stone (and therefore can't burn), the contents inside may be flammable. If the fire gets hot enough, the contents can spontaneously combust. The same thing happened to the Palace Hotel and other supposedly fireproof buildings during the San Francisco fire.

[@hughwoatmeigh6999]

That's why engineers and firefighters will talk about "non-combustible construction," but never fireproof. Even a building made of only steel and concrete can be destroyed as the things inside burn.

[@stephenmoerlein8470]

Interesting history, especially how the citizens rallied afterwards to rebuild one of the world's greatest cities.

[@bettygreenhansen]

Joseph Edgar Chamberlain had some crazy eyes…

[@bnwo]

These Chicago Stories are great.

[@bunnygirl2448]

“We didn't start the fire No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it” 🎶 - Billy Joel

[@lithuaniangiant2676]

Great video, well worth watching.

[@PeterTea]

It goes to show that good can eventually come from tragedy. Chicago would be a vastly different place if not for that fire.

[@ShaneM420]

Hmmm! How so

[@animalyze7120]

I'm glad the Oleary's were finally vindicated and properly recognized as not the perpetrators, really sad story and as Chicagoan all my life, I have heard every rumor except what really happened. Was it an accidental fire started from a Pipe smoker?, was it the neighbors who were partying and getting rowdy? Teens out late causing mischief? We'll never really know for sure though I suspect it was a person or persons looking to rebuild a City that was dilapidated and She was the unfortunate owner of the house targeted to start the blaze, Arson for some reason for sure. Regardless all housing and building owners were responsible for the blaze which could have been started by a near lightening any time as is normal on the plains, blaming her was irresponsible on everyone's part.

[@SulliMike23]

I can't help but feel sorry for poor Mrs. O'Leary. She's become the scapegoat for this fire, and it haunted her to the end of her days.

[@TheDrjaydrjay]

37:00 so the prayer to save the church was answered but every single other prayer to save lives,, homes, property all went unanswered for 100K people?? nice logic

[@billolsen4360]

how do you know?

[@jamesdean258]

Fool.

[@angiebervinkle1575]

Nothing is fire proof like no ship in unsinkable

[@timothybutler9859]

AS A RETIRED FIREFIGHTER FROM NEW YORK, I LEARNED YEARS AGO THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A 'FIRE PROOF ' BUILDING

[@veggigoddess]

Same, but I did learn that you can be smart about what you build your home out of and would is just the stupidest fucking material you can use shouldn't even be legal

[@jadedheartsz]

tell that to the owners of the Iroquois Theater, it was billed as "absolutely fireproof" but it ended up killing twice as many people as the Great Chicago Fire as over 600 died from a fire in 1903 due to a faulty arc lamp short-circuiting and causing the curtain to catch on fire.

[@JoeyRammer]

I could learn about history all day and night

[@sabrinakegley3468]

That is so sad and messed up. I wish her to Rest In Peace.

[@lukes7027]

WOW! A really, really well done video!

[@deborrahshiffer9582]

This is very good, always wondered about the animals because they aren't mentioned? Thanks bunches it's the best I've ever seen on the 🔥.

[@birdgvee4982]

This was a great documentary!

[@Therealmoseslupai]

From the ashes of a great fire, a great city is born like a great Phoenix.

[@melissa-wilson]

Damn right I'm saving my animals first. You have a responsibility to provide lifelong financial and emotional support to any living creature in your care. So if you're home or property is on fire, you better grab your animals first. They cannot fend for themselves like humans can.

[@jenniferfields7113]

Right

[@hoss-lk4bg]

actually they fend for themselves leaps and bounds above humans

[@totallytalia]

@@hoss-lk4bg In a raging fire fueled by manmade infrastructure while they’re locked up in some sort of manmade infrastructure themselves? No, I think not. Your horse can’t unlock the stables. Your cat can’t open a closed door.

[@aukama]

I believe it was part of Beila’s Comet just like Peshtigo & others in the Great Lake region that happened the same day.

[@tomc.4860]

I read this story before and I've always wondered why in the world Catherine O'Leary stayed in Chicago? The city had already been burned to the ground she could have left when so many others did and been forgotten wherever she ended up?

[@stephaniebarrett6193]

Actually only around 2,200 acres of the city burned and 300 people lost their lives. Compare that to the Peshitgo Fire on the same night. 1800 people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands of land including two towns(Peshtigo and Brussels) were totally destroyed. I grew up in that area and learned about this fire before learning about Chicago.

[@danamaddox9886]

I lived just west of Chicago 45 miles away Wisconsin, stopped there on bus

[@thirdpedal4512]

Always heard that it was a cow that kicked a lamp, never anything about a person involved. Just figured it started at the massive cow yards they used to have. Seems like the fire cleaned up a lot of the city in a terrifying way.

[@annawilliams6382]

I cannot imagine living through the Great Chicago Fire of 10/08/1871. I remember reading about it during my junior year of high school in my US History class. Absolutely terrifying. I can only imagine the sound of that 5.5 ton bell falling to the ground with one final enormous ring.

[@solivagant2918]

It happened to destroy what was left of the Tartarian buildings.

[@Damidas]

Just like every other city full of Tartarian buildings that was destroyed by "fire"

[@jeannetteterhark7647]

I'm Irish/Catholic and PROUD to be one! Won't finish watching this!

[@questionablebackyardmeows]

29:15 What's so weird about that? I'd save my Chihuahua if I could. He's my baby...

[@billolsen4360]

I'd try to save my Chow-Chows!

[@jadedheartsz]

I remember being baffled when I read about a film director who died after trying to save his cat from a house fire(he was the guy that directed the 1991 movie "Eve of Destruction").

[@TheDuck632]

This popped up on my KZbin feed so I watched it and I learned something new and enjoyed it a great deal thank you

[@thevegimeatatarian]

Fascinating!

[@gracemir2]

This channel produces many great documentaries 👍👍

[@ShawnClarady]

I live in Port Huron MI and on that same night this town burned to the ground and many other places along the East cost of MI. The weather reports show a meteor shower that night. This is what I have always believed cause these fires.

[@Dan-ee4bv]

Manistee Michigan as well. Randall Carlson gave quite an interesting lecture about this very thing.

[@Zzus321]

Peshtigo Wisconsin went up in flames the same night

[@dianemauer6185]

People today (especially in small towns) flock to fires, accidents, any disaster that occurs. A very important program. Unfortunately, a much worse fire occurred the same time some 250 miles to the north in Peshtigo, WI. Some 2500 died that night in the Wisconsin conflagration.

[@brentgrady104]

I'm Mariah In 3rd grade and I need this for the Chicago fire

[@henrysantos121]

*this was absolutely amazing documentary very well done*

[@brsharp22]

I once saw a documentary that said there were many fires around Lake Michigan on the day and two days following the Chicago fire caused by a meteor shower.

[@Dan-ee4bv]

Randall Carlson

[@marniekilbourne608]

It would seem that learning from the history of the Great Fire of London hundreds of years earlier would be useful. They rebuilt as much of London as they could in brick and stone where it was previously wood.

[@n0tawhale902]

More people perished up in Peshtigo, Wisconsin from a fire...ON THE SAME EXACT DAY! RIP

[@veldawells2839]

Tragic history of Chicago, but how humans always find a scapegoat for its own failures is astounding. Humans learn from their mistakes, and the townsfolk eventually rebuilt and the O'Leary family absolved. Humans can be so fickle and not always see the bigger picture. The attitude of people historically blaming migrants (or slaves) for misfortune is defamation of character, not withstanding the abuse of their culture and circumstances and beliefs etc. Always the rich blame the poor, yet it is the poor (and highly skilled) individuals that have always run countries through blood and sweat by building and engineering skills to give businesses, banks, politicians their seat in the upper eschalons. Wonderful historical documentary.

[@DW-ts5ki]

You didn't mention the arsonist who did set the fire and then was instrumental in the rebuilding of the city. They also became very wealthy doing so. The Hartford Insurance Co. They put millions into it's rebuilding and everyone bought their insurance once rebuilt in return.

[@durandjohnson1321]

Check out the great Seattle fire of 1889!..

[@RangerMelB]

It would be great to find somebody who knows of the history who could help me track down the antecedents of my great-great-grandfather who was in an orphanage in the city in October of 1871 He remembered very little of his mother and father

[@QueenBee-gx4rp]

DNA? Get into a data base?

[@RangerMelB]

@@QueenBee-gx4rp My uncle who is the oldest surviving male descendant of the man is and so far not much connection

[@suzanneskeens5964]

Unfortunately, most Chicago records prior to the fire we’re lost. Those that do remain, are hard to come by. Then of course you also have records lost in the 1890 census fire.

[@mikekozi-lester3887]

How far Chicago Illinois became !!! Pretty favorite COW 🐄 LOOK

[@majortom1950]

If were not for the fire - my town would not exist -- I live in Blytheville Arkansas - N.E. corner 4 miles from the Missouri line - 8 miles to the Mississippi river -- this land use to be a forest - wet and muddy - prime wood like Cypress grew in abundance ---- the wood was cut and sent to Chicago for the rebuilding --- the town was was built in 1879 -- I guess I made a short documentary -- sorry --- but it is a good one ----- I grew up in a house built from cypress -- it is still there -- oh I forgot -- I sit on The New Madrid fault zone - 1811-1812 major quake - check it out -- still have small quakes almost daily - not noticed for the most part - but occasionally it lets ya know it is still around with a rumble and shake --

[@kath6252]

This just fell in my feed today Nov 29th 2022 and I am so glad. I really enjoyed watching this.

[@sharonwhiteley6510]

I am glad that Mrs. O'Leary and her cow have been OFFICIALLY ABSOLVED of all wrongdoing. Unfortunately, a much more devastating fire was happening at the same time near Chicago. Resulting in a much higher loss of life. It should have been mentioned.

[@LuckyJackson2020]

why when this was the specific topic?

[@thomaspowers5845]

On the same day 250 miles north of Chicago a fire in Peshtigo WI. killed thousands and burned million of acres in northern Wisconsin. The same dry weather was across the Midwest. In terms of lives lost it was the deadliest fire in the U.S.

[@claudermiller]

I heard there was a huge fire in Michigan or something the exact same time and there was some kind of theory about both being caused by a meteorite that broke apart. Wish I could remember more. I heard it years ago. Edit. I'm looking at another comment about a Pestigo Wisconsin fire? That must be the same one.

[@USAR8888]

Yes the Great Peshtigo Fire in northern Wisconsin and small parts of neighboring Michigan. The deadliest wildfire in history with around 2000 dead.

[@jeffbybee5207]

There were also fires that started at the other side of Lake Michigan and also at the west end of Lake Erie

[@Dan-ee4bv]

Randall Carlson

[@gjackyroxas2720]

Thank you WTTW. ❤️❤️❤️

[@DarkCloudNC]

anyone else find it rather odd that on October 8th a fire similar to this one happened in Michigan called “The Great Michigan Fire” ?

[@Dan-ee4bv]

Randall Carlson

[@TwoBs]

“People treated fires like entertainment… there’s a fire! Let’s go watch.” Well, at least that hasn’t changed. I’ve seen people in traffic get out of vehicles to go watch a house burn down since the firetrucks were blocking the road. Instead of going around and finding a different route, they’ll be nosey as all can be … and if they do get to drive by, you can guarantee they’re rubber-necking and going extremely slow, holding up traffic behind them, just so they can gawk and maybe ask someone out what’s happening. Tsk, tsk…