How far north did the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 spread?

When you walk around Lincoln Park you can sense the history. I once heard that the Great Chicago Fire burned out at Fullerton. Lincoln Park was sparsely developed and, according to legend, there are three extant houses that escaped the inferno. My daughter and I went for a walk down Cleveland St (called something else in 1871) and there was a couple decorating their front yard for Halloween. The woman invited my daughter to help and I asked the husband if their house, the southern more one of the two in the photo, was one of the survivors.

“Yes, it was.” He said and he invited me to look at the south exterior wall along the driveway.

“We know these two houses were built during the Lincoln Administration.” We approached a two story scaffold.

“We began re-siding the house and pull off three layers.”

He pulled up the tarp.

There was cheap late-night TV remodeler vinyl, Fred Flintstone asphalt and then the last layer... cedar covered thick with lead paint. But below was the smell of fire... The sheathing was charred as if it burned for shou sugi ban, the art of Japanese preserving wood with fire. Of course the first Japanese building designed by Japanese architects and built by Japanese craftsmen outside of Japan was in Chicago but not until 30 years later.

“When we pulled this off, the smell of burnt wood soot was fresh and sharp in the recesses of your nose. The lore tells that the fire stopped at Fullerton Ave, then called Asylum Road.

Encyclopedia of Chicago

Like I said sometimes all you need to do is take a walk around and an adventure awaits. #chicagofire #greatchicagofire #chicagofire1871 #lincolnparkcentralassociation