Chicago was a rapidly growing city on the great lakes and one of the country’s main railroad depots. In the autumn of 1871, however, the city suffered a terrible drought. On the night of Sunday, October 8th, a fire broke out near the O’Leary family barn on 137 DeKoven Street. The blaze caused approximately three billion dollars in damage, tore through three and half square miles in the city’s center, and destroyed the homes of one-third of Chicago’s inhabitants. The blame infamously fell on Mrs. O’Leary and her cow, a false account that keeps a place in Chicago and American lore but was finally redressed by the city.