Around seven in the evening a fire broke out in Chicago just west of the river on Lake Street. Flames from a bookstore and a boot and shoe factory spread quickly and took hold across several blocks. Firefighters struggled to contain the blaze but were able to do so thanks to the recent fall of snow on many neighboring roofs. Nevertheless, the damage was the greatest the city had suffered from fire up to that point. Fortunately no serious injuries were reported but the overall cost of the disaster was estimated at $3,000,000. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
E.J. Goodspeed, History of the Great Fires in Chicago and the West ... (New York: H.S. Goodspeed, 1871), 664.
"The Great Fire in Chicago," Harper's Weekly Magazine, February 15, 1868, p. 97-98.
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Crime/Disasters
