1853, November 18th, The North Side M.L. Keith Distillery Fire, Chicago.

A fire broke out at 7 o'clock Friday morning in the Distillery owned and occupied by M.L. Keith, on the North Side, by McCormick's Factory [1]. The building was entirely consumed, also about 700 bushels of corn and other grains valued at $1,000. Loss in the vicinity of $7,000 ($278,000 today)—insured for $3,000 ($119K) at the North Western Company of Oswego, New York. How the fire originated is not known. Several of the men had been at work and left for breakfast, and others were arriving when the flames broke out.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

[1] The McCormick Reaper Factory was located at 22-24 West Kinzie Street, Chicago. It was on the north bank of the Chicago River.

McCormick Works, Chicago, 1867. Looking North from the Chicago River.

The factory was built in 1847 by Cyrus McCormick, who invented the reaper, a horse-drawn machine that revolutionized the harvesting of wheat. The factory was one of the first industrial buildings in Chicago, and it helped to make the city a major center for manufacturing. The McCormick Factory was located in an area that was then known as the North Side Manufacturing District. This district was home to a number of other factories, including the Fairbanks, Morse & Company machine shop, the Western Union telegraph office, and the Chicago Gas Light Company. The North Side Manufacturing District was a major center for innovation and economic growth in the 19th century. The McCormick Factory was demolished in 1906.