GREENWICH, N.Y. — The Great Chicago Fire is one of the most remembered disasters in American history. While the cause of the fire has never been determined the possible explanation that has most often been remembered is that it began when a cow owned by a Mrs. O’Leary kicked over a lantern while being milked. Even though this has been proven untrue the legend lived on and is still remembered today.
The Great Chicago Fire began on the evening of October 8, 1871 in the barn of Patrick & Kate O’Leary, an Irish family that lived on DeKoven Street. Chicago and much of the surrounding areas had experienced a very dry summer and fall. The weather was also abnormally warm making for an environment conducive to fire. This coupled with the fact that most buildings, streets, and sidewalks in the city were wooden provided tinder to feed the flames.
A strong southwesterly wind spread the fire quickly toward the central parts of the city throughout the next day. The flames consumed the city’s courthouse, pumping station (limiting firefighting capabilities), and other institutions like the Chicago Tribune’s offices. The fire was so intense it created its own weather system consuming structures in its path. Upscale mansions and poorer living areas alike were destroyed in the blazes. The city was a chaotic scene as residents fled to other parts of the city many with whatever valuables they could save. City firefighters and outside aid alike worked hours trying to suppress the fire.
Rain on the morning of October 10, 1871 helped in the firefighting efforts and the fire was finally contained after two days of carnage. The fire left behind a “Burn District” about four miles long and ¾ of a mile wide. The tragedy left 100,000 people homeless and killed 300 people. 18,000 buildings were destroyed resulting in around $200 million worth of damage. As the city started to clean up from the disaster an answer as to what caused it all was on the minds of residents. A possible explanation was soon found in Mrs. Kate O’Leary.
Catherine O’Leary was born in County Kerry, Ireland and she and her husband, Patrick, came to the United States as part of the large wave of Irish immigrants escaping the Irish Potato Famine. The O’Learys arrived in Chicago in the mid-1850s and Patrick served in the Civil War. In 1864 the family purchased the property on DeKoven Street for $500. The property included two separate homes adjoined to each other (the O’Learys lived in one and rented the other to another family) and the infamous barn. Out of the barn Kate operated a small dairy business that at the time of the fire included six milking cows, a calf, and a horse used for deliveries of milk.
The idea that the fire was started by Kate O’Leary began before the flames had been contained as an October 9th edition of the Chicago Evening Journal reported: “the fire broke out on the corner of DeKoven and Twelfth streets, at about 9 o’clock on Sunday evening, being caused by a cow kicking over a lamp in a stable in which a woman was milking.” The cow was often referred to as Daisy, but was also named Madeline or Gwendolyn depending on the story.
From this initial report rumors spread about Kate O’Leary. Some claimed that she admitted to being in the barn when the fire started. Other nosy people claimed to have found pieces of the broken lantern on the site after snooping on the property. Other rumors became more fanciful and sinister such as one claiming that she was a welfare cheat who set the fire on purpose after being cut off by the city.
With reports still swirling an official investigation into the fire was launched by the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners and the O’Leary’s were able to tell their side of the story. The family reported that prior to the fire two tons of hay and coal each were delivered to the barn to prepare for winter likely contributing to the fire taking off. Kate reported that she milked the cows late in the afternoon, fed the horse around 7:00 P.M. and went to bed around 8:00 P.M. with the rest of the family. The fire began at 9:00 P.M. that night. The family was awakened by a neighbor and alerted them that their barn was on fire. They could not do much to contain it and the family lost each of their animals in the fire except for the calf.
When asked about the cause Kate said, “I could not tell anything of the fire, only that two men came by the door. I guess it was my husband got outside the door and he ran back to the bedroom and said, ‘Kate, the barn is fire!’ I ran out, and the whole barn was on fire. Well, I went out to the barn, and upon my word I could not tell any more about the fire.”
More than 50 other individuals in the neighborhood were interviewed in the investigation and all corroborated the O’Leary’s story. The fire did indeed start in their barn, but Kate was not in the barn when it happened. The investigators released their findings in December 1871 concluding, “There is no proof that anybody had been in the barn after nightfall that evening. Whether it originated from a spark blown from a chimney on that windy night, or was set on fire by human agency, we are unable to determine. Mr. [O’] Leary, the owner, and all his family, prove to have been in bed and asleep at the time.”
Other theories of how the fire began existed at the time. A group of neighborhood boys hiding in the barn to gamble or smoke started it by accident. A neighbor named Dennis “Peg Leg” Sullivan who tended to drink too much accidently dropped his cigar in the barn while drunk. The hay spontaneously combusted. A spark from a chimney blew into the barn. The most far-out, yet highly studied theory, suggested that pieces of a passing meteor or comet started the blaze since the Chicago fire was a part of a series of fires that happened in the Great Lakes region that particular day. None were proven to be true.
Although the investigation deemed the O’Learys innocent the story that Kate and her cow started the fire did not go away. Curious or suspicious city goers frequented the O’Leary house (which ironically survived the fire despite being close to the origin). Newspaper stories continued to link Kate to the fire’s origins. Many stories included fabricated details and false quotes from Kate herself. Images of the supposed event appeared depicting Kate as a witch-like, haggard old woman even though she was only in her early 40s at the time of the fire.
Much of this misrepresentation likely stemmed from the anti-Irish sentiment that existed in Chicago and in the U.S. in general at the time. Irish immigrants were often viewed as lazy, shifty, heavy drinkers, rabble rousers and worse. Their Catholic religion drew suspicion since they were perceived to be loyal to Rome and not to the U.S. They were often relegated to poor living conditions and poor jobs because of this prejudice. For a city looking for someone or something on which to place their frustrations in the wake of such a catastrophic event, an Irish woman and her clumsy cow made for an easy target.
The O’Leary family continued living in the city however Kate became more of a recluse in later years. Each year on the anniversary of the Fire reporters would often show up at the home hoping to interview her, however she never gave one. Eventually it was reported that she only left the house to attend mass at her local church throughout the week. Patrick O’Leary passed away in 1894 and Kate O’Leary died a year later in 1895. Both of their obituaries mention their cow starting the fire.
The legend of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow continued to live on in the popular memory of the city through books, stories, and songs. An 1898 popular song called “A Hot Time in the Old Town” includes the lyric:
“One dark night, when we were all in bed,
Mrs. O’Leary left a lantern in the shed.
And when the cow kicked it over,
She winked her eye and said,
There’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight!”
Still later a popular film titled In Old Chicago depicting the Great Chicago Fire and the O’Leary family was released in 1937. The fictious depiction of events was nominated for several Academy Awards and helped perpetuate the legend.
However, the true story events have slowly come to light. In 1911 Michael Ahern, the last surviving reporter that covered the fire, admitted that he and other journalists made up the story of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow starting the fire after the real cause could not be quickly determined. Some of the O’Leary children and other descendants continually defended their mother’s name. In 1997 the Chicago City Council passed a resolution officially exonerating Kate O’Leary and her cow of any involvement in the Great Chicago Fire.
The cause of the Great Chicago Fire remains unknown to this day. Even though their names are finally cleared of wrong doing, Mrs. Kate O’Leary and her cow will likely remain connected to the event for centuries to come, although now there is a clearer picture of their involvement. Fittingly, today the Chicago Fire Academy now sits on the property where the O’Leary barn once stood transforming the spot where a great fire once started to a place where fire prevention is taught.
Chandler Hansen grew up and lives in Easton, NY. He is a graduate of Gordon College where he earned a bachelor’s degree in History. He serves as a writer and editor for Morning Ag Clips.
