1865. Philadelphia. 50 buildings burned, February 8. 20 persons killed. Loss, £100,000.
1851. Washington. Part of the Capitol and the whole of the Congressional Library were burned.
1851. San Francisco. On May 4-5 a fire destroyed 2500 buildings. A number of lives lost. More than three-fourths of the city destroyed. Loss, upwards of £2,000,000. In June another fire burned 500 buildings. Loss estimated at £600,000.
1857. Chicago. A fire destroyed over £100,000. 14 lives lost.
1859. Chicago. Property destroyed worth £100,000, Sept. 15.
1866. Chicago. Two fires on August 10 and November 18. Loss, £100,000 each.
1871. Chicago. The greatest fire of modern times.
It began in a barn on the night of the 8th of October and raged until the 10th. The area burned over was 2124 acres, or 31⁄3 sq. m., of the very heart of the city. 250 lives were lost, 98,500 persons were made homeless, and 17,430 buildings were consumed. The buildings were one-third in number and one-half in value of the buildings of the city. Before the end of 1875 the whole burned district had been rebuilt. The loss was estimated at £39,000,000.
1862. Troy (N.Y.) was nearly destroyed by fire.
1866. Portland (Maine). Great fire on July 4. One-half of the city was burned; 200 acres were ravaged; 50 buildings were blown up to stop the progress of the fire. Loss, £2,000,000 to £2,250,000.