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The O’Leary Barn will forever be enshrined in the history of Chicago as being the location from which emanated the 1871 Great Chicago Fire. Is it urban legend that the kerosene lantern used by Mrs. O’Leary for milking her dairy cow in the evening was the spark igniting a fire that would leave 100,000 people homeless and 300 people dead? Upon browsing www.thechicagofire.com interesting discourse is revealed about the people, actions, and confusion leading up to and after the fire. The information given to the reader on the website, in my opinion, attempts to prove the misalignment between the actual accounts from eye witnesses with the urban legend.
Unfortunately similar to the judicial system of the time I to find myself scratching my head, in a perplexed manner, at the details and evidence affiliated with the fire itself. Newspapers and other social mediums of the time exploited the story of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow because it made for good news and allowed those directly affected by the fire to find solace. The case against Daniel “Peg Leg” Sullivan seems to be a more fitting explanation for the cause of the fire. In the related texts addressing Daniel Sullivan, he admits to multiple accounts of trespassing and his association with Dennis Regan predisposes him to commit acts of debauchery. Sullivan admitted to visiting the O’Leary’s barn “In the evening over a hundred times in the past”, which Mrs. O’Leary had no knowledge of. The incrimination of Daniel Sullivan seemed even more practical to me after interpreting the diagram of the O’Leary’s home and their surrounding neighbors, http://www.thechicagofire.com/diagram.php. In Sullivan’s inquiry he described his location at the time of the fire to be resting against a fence, which from that fence his view of the O’Leary’s barn would’ve been entirely obstructed.
Even further primary source readings, which included Mrs. O’Leary’s testimony to the Board of Police and Fire Commissions, builds a case against Sullivan. In her testimony she recounts the night and provides evidence to support her claim of innocence. The O’Leary’s rented out the front rooms of their home and claimed their renters were throwing a party the night of the fire, which would have increased their inability to be awaken by early alarms of the incineration of their barn. Even Sullivan in his inquiry supports the O’Leary’s claim because he used the partygoers as a “false” alibi. In Mrs. O’Leary’s testimony she also describes the inefficiencies with the Chicago Fire Department because it was brought up that the fire engine reporting to the seen broke down in the midst of fighting the fire.
The http://www.thechicagofire.com does a good job providing its readers with a shallow, but effective collection of primary sources. The reader can leave with their own opinion and ruling on who started the Chicago Fire of 1871 and even debunk the myth of Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow. With links to suggested readings, visitors can continue with more intensive research, if so desired. Overall, the website does its job of educating its readers with sources available and allows he or she to come to their own conclusion as to which actions instigated the Chicago Fire of 1871.