Salvation on the Shoreline: How Lake Michigan Weathered Chicago Through the Great Fire of 1871

By Heidie Senseman October 9, 1871 — Chicago is on fire. “The fire in the west division is now raging with unabated fury,” writes The New York Tribune, and “the city of Chicago in ashes,” writes The (Washington D.C.) Evening Star, and “fiery clouds, with flames leaping!” writes The Chicago Tribune, and “doomed city,” writes The Charleston (SC) Daily News. Eyewitnesses confirm the reports. John Chapin draws sketches of the fire. He says the flames are like towers. The ...