The Great Fire of 1871 was one of the most colossal disasters in American history. Overnight, the flourishing city of Chicago was turned into a smoldering wasteland. The damage was so profound that few people believed the city could ever rise again. There had been little rain that year, and various other fires occurred. More than 600 fires occurred in 1870, and 27 in the first week of October alone. Murphy 19-20) Most of these fires originated in barns …showed first 75 words of 1894 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1894 total…once more!" (Murphy 131) In 1871, few people were able to look so many years ahead to see the success of rebuilding after the fire. What was clear to people like Catherine and Patrick O'Leary and 100,000 others, was that they were touched by the Great Fire in a way that would change them and their city for all time. The flourishing city of Chicago rose through the ashes and reclaimed its title as "Queen of the West."