1871: The City of Chicago was engulfed in a ferocious fire from October 8 to 10, a fire that became known as the Great Chicago Fire. For years, the start of the fire was blamed on a cow kicking over a lantern in the barn of Patrick and Catherine O'Leary. With so many buildings made of wood and windy, dry conditions in Chicago at the time, the fire spread rapidly causing more than 200 deaths and burning more than 2,000 acres of Chicago. The newly built stone Water Tower survived the fire as did the O'Leary home. The Water Tower is still standing today in downtown Chicago. Mrs. O'Leary and her cow were exonerated in 1997 when the City of Chicago's Committee on Police and Fire passed a resolution stating that Mrs. O'Leary and her cow did not cause the Great Chicago Fire. The resolution said the actions of "Peg Leg" Sullivan should be examined as the possible cause.