On This Day in 1871: Great Fire of Chicago Begins in Mrs. O'Leary's Barn

Her Half of History · Oct 8, 2026 · 8m

On October 8, 1871, a fire broke out in Kate O'Leary's barn. It quickly got out of hand and became the Great Fire of Chicago. Vote for me in the Signal Awards! It's free, and I'd really appreciate it. Go to https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2026/shows/genre/history to vote. I am currently on research break preparing Series 17: Women Together. This is a special bonus episode from the On This Day in Women's History newsletter. There are two ways to sign up for the newsletter: ⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) ⁠Substack ⁠(https://bit.ly/4wpOe5h) Either way, the…