The Burning of Chicago

The legend goes, The cow kicked over a lantern, the lantern set fire to the shed, and the shed set fire to the rest of Chicago. Although, Mrs. Patrick O`Leary swore under oath that she never took a lantern to the shed on the night of Sunday, October 8, 1871, many witnesses verified the ramshackle building on the West Side as the starting point of the fire. In Chicago, it had been a very dry autumn. …

…an engraving. Keeler stated that there weren't enough ruins to make an accurate sketch. Many important buildings were lost. Headlines in the Chicago Tribune read; 'Chicago shall rise again!'. The western mentality of hard work made it possible to rebuild the city. One year later Waud returned to Chicago on an assignment to make new sketches of the city, found pleasure in illustrating pictures with all new buildings. Most of the city was rebuilt.