The Possible Causes of the Great Chicago Fire Essay Example

The summer of 1871 was unusually dry in Chicago. Only five inches of rain had fallen over the summer months, and these dry conditions led to an outbreak of fires in the Chicago area. The most notable of these was the Great Chicago Fire, which burned from October 8th to October 10th, 1871. Over those three days the fire destroyed three point three miles of the city. The destruction included homes, businesses, and an estimated three hundred lives lost. The damages were figured to have cost two million dollars. The cause of this great fire has been debated for many years, and there are many theories as to how the fire started, however the true cause has never been determined. 

The most popular theory as to how the Great Chicago Fire started is the  Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow Theory. This theory states that Catherine O’Leary was milking her cow in the barn with a lantern, which the cow kicked over and started the fire. While there is no doubt that the fire started in the O’Leary’s barn, there is no evidence to support the cow kicking over the lantern. However, every media source at the time of the fire were reporting that Mrs. O’Leary and her cow were the cause of the fire despite the fact that there was no evidence or witnesses. One newspaper even reported this before the fire had stopped burning.  Despite the press Mrs. O’Leary always stood by the fact that she never milked her cows after dark and was in bed at the time the fire started (“Was the Great Chicago Fire Really Started by a Cow?”). Over the days, weeks, and years following the fire newspapers continued to blame her for the destruction of the city because she was an easy target. Mrs. O’Leary made an easy scapegoat as to the cause of the fire because she was an Irish immigrant, which was a group that was highly disrespected in America. Mrs. O’Leary eventually moved to Michigan to escape the constant blame and questions of news reporters. The author of the original story, Michael Ahern, admitted in 1893 that his story was a false tale used to gain interest (“Her Lamp Gave Out”).  However, many people tried to clear Mrs. O’Leary’s name. Richard Bales, an attorney and historian, spent more than two years reviewing transcripts and land records to discover the true cause of the fire. His extensive research proved that Mrs. O’Leary was not responsible for the fire, as she was in bed at the time that it started and the only eye witness to the fire was found to be very unreliable. Using this information the Chicago City Council absolved Catherine O’Leary and her cow of any wrongdoing in 1997 (Service). 

Since the Mrs. O’Leary’s cow theory was shown to be false; many historians developed new theories as to how the fire started. One of the oldest and most popular theories is the Bielea’s Comet theory. This theory states that pieces of Bielea’s comet, a periodic comet that disintegrated around the time of the fire, fell to the earth and sparked several fires in the Chicago area on October 8th, 1871. There is some evidence to support this theory as firemen reported seeing blue flames on the night of the fire, which could indicate the burning of natural gasses found in comets. While this may be true every comet that has fallen to earth in the past has been cool by the time it reached the ground. This would make it very unlikely that a comet fell to earth and was hot enough to start the fire. Many historians also cite the other fires that night as evidence of the Bielea’s Comet Theory, but the fires were more than likely caused by the uniform dry and windy conditions of the area. While there is viable evidence to support this theory it is unlikely that it is the true cause of the fire (Latson). 

The most accepted theory as to how the fire started is a tale of teenage boys gambling in the O’Leary’s hayloft. The story states that a group of young men, including one of the O’Leary’s sons and Louis Cohen, were gambling in the hayloft of the barn when Mrs. O’Leary came out to send them home around nine o’clock. When she walked into the barn the boys began to grab the money they had won and head for the door. However, in the hustle and bustle of running away one of the boys knocked over the lantern and started the fire. Louis Cohen who was eighteen at the time claimed that he was the one that knocked over the lantern when he stayed behind to grab his money. Cohen admitted to knocking over the lantern when he made a public statement in his will, which was released after his death in 1942. The only evidence against this theory is that Mrs. O’Leary always claimed that she was in bed at the time the fire started, not in the barn with the gamblers. However, despite this this theory has the most supporting evidence. It is also the only theory to have someone admitted to involvement in the fire, and for this reason it is the most widely accepted among historians and the general public today (Singer). 

In conclusion, the cause of this great fire has been debated for many years, and there are many theories as to how the fire started, however the true cause has never been determined. The theory that has become the most well known over the years is the Mrs. O’Leary’s cow theory, however this theory was found to be untrue many years ago. Other theories have included stories about comets and gamblers, but all have been discounted for various reasons. The most trusted and supported theory is that of the gambler, but we will never know if this is true because the boys that were present died many years ago. While no theory has yet been proven historians are still working hard today to collect data and determine the true cause of the tragic Great Chicago Fire.