Over the span of just a few days in October 1871, the Great Chicago Fire devastated the city, claiming the lives of more than 300 people and leaving over 100,000 residents homeless.

The 1871 fire, a second large fire that occurred in 1874, the Iroquois Theater fire of 1903, the St. Anthony’s Hospital Fire in 1949, the Our Lady of the Angels School Fire in 1958, and the ...

Chicago History Museum keeps the past alive with Great Chicago Fire relic 02:06. CHICAGO (CBS) -- On the night of Sunday, Oct. 8, 1871, a fire broke out in or near a barn on what we would now call ...

October 1871: Chicago is a tinderbox. In three months, only an inch of rain has fallen. For days a strong, hot wind has blown in from the southwest.

In The Burning of the World: The Great Chicago Fire and the War for a City’s Soul, Scott W. Berg offers new conclusions about the 1871 fire and its aftermath.

When the monumental fire of October 1871 struck Chicago, the city, which had been a tiny frontier outpost only four decades earlier, was home to about 330,000 people.

On this day in history, Oct. 8, 1871, a terrible fire broke out on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, killing 300 people and leaving a third of the city's population homeless.

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 reduced the city’s entire commercial center and adjoining residential neighborhoods to a smoking ruin. It killed an estimated 300 people and left about 90,000 ...

Chicago after the Great Fire of 1871 accelerated its rise as a dominant metropolis. ... burned in the 1872 fire, was rebuilt in a new location and became a celebrated architectural landmark.

Corpus Christi’s first firefighting operation began as a volunteer service. On Aug. 1, 1871, William Roger’s new home at the corner of Chaparral and Coopers Alley caught on fire. People awoke ...

Corpus Christi’s first firefighting operation began as a volunteer service. On Aug. 1, 1871, William Roger’s new home at the corner of Chaparral and Coopers Alley caught on fire.