The
Great Chicago Fire was a
conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871. The fire killed up to 300 people, destroyed roughly of
Chicago,
Illinois, and left more than 100,000 residents homeless. Though the fire was one of the largest
U.S. disasters of the 19th century, and destroyed much of the city's central business district, Chicago was rebuilt and continued to grow as one of the most populous and
economically important American cities. The same night the fire broke out,
an even deadlier fire annihilated
Peshtigo, Wisconsin, and other villages and towns north of
Green Bay, Wisconsin.