The Great Chicago Fire was famously started by Catherine O'Leary's cow kicking over a lantern. That cow started a fire that ultimately engulfed more than 2,000 acres. The Chicago fire seems to seems to claim all the notoriety as far as "great fires" are concerned, and as a result the Great Seattle Fire tends to be overlooked. Our fire, while not as large as the Chicago fire that preceded it, was equally devastating to the city of Seattle and forced major reforms after the blaze was contained.

Back in those days Seattle was a city run by the logging industry. Our plentiful forests provided many of the raw materials necessary for California to expand as it did around the turn of the 19th century. Henry Yesler owned the first steam-powered timber mill in the Pacific Northwest. His mill supported a logging industry that in turn largely supported Seattle and provided the materials for it to grow right along with California. 

Not suprisingly pretty much 100% of the construction in early Seattle was done using our native timber which was plentiful but also flammable! On the afternoon of June 6th, 1889 a small fire started in a woodworking shop near modern-day Madison Street. That fire quickly consumed the shop and by the time firefighters arrived it had spread to neighboring buildings. The blaze moved outward rapidly engulfing more than 30 city blocks.

By the morning of June 7th the blaze had been subdued after it laid waste to 32 city blocks including the entire business district and the railroad terminals. Seattlites are a historically resilient bunch and began rebuilding immediately and instead of relocating built right on top of the ashes. A new ordinance required brick and stone buildings instead of wooden ones, many of which are still standing in Seattles Pioneer Square, a prominent feature of our Seattle Walkabout Tour as well as our Walk, Bike and Paddle Adventure.