On October 8, 1871, a devastating fire spreads across the streets of Chicago. It would come to be known as the Great Chicago Fire.
With its frequent high winds and countless wooden structures, 1871 Chicago was prone to fires even before the “Great Fire” tore through the city. However, none were so destructive as this one, which killed hundreds of people and cost millions of dollars (billions, today) in damages.
Find more on this event in history with a search on Newspapers.com.
Yes, the Chicago Fire was horrible, however, The Peshtigo Fire, the same day did more damage and caused more loss of life.
From Wikipedia: The Peshtigo fire was a massive forest fire that took place on October 8, 1871, in and around Peshtigo, Wisconsin. It was the deadliest wildfire in American history,[1] with estimated deaths of around 1,500 people,[1] possibly as many as 2,500. [2]
Occurring on the same day as the more famous Great Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo fire has been largely forgotten.[3][4] On the same day as the Peshtigo and Chicago fires, Holland and Manistee, Michigan (across Lake Michigan from Peshtigo), and Port Huron at the southern end of Lake Huron also had major fires, leading to various theories of mutual cause by contemporaries and later historians.