1871 Chicago mayoral election once. 1871 Chicago mayoral election In the Chicago mayoral election of 1871 Joseph Medill defeated Democrat Charles C. P. Holden, who was president of the Common Council. The election took place on November 7, a month after Chicago suffered the calamity of the Great Chicago Fire. Medill promised to enact strengthened building regulations and fire codes. He ran on the "Union-Fireproof" ticket. The administration of the election was challenging due to the fact that the majority of Chicago's voting records had been incinerated by the Great Chicago Fire, meaning that there were few resources to prevent individuals from voting more
Great Fire of 1873 Italianate-style buildings built between 1878 and 1887. In December 1872, 8 months prior, there had been another fire which started in a Chinese laundry facility. This fire destroyed several blocks in the areas of Front and Morrison streets. The official cause of the 1873 fire is undetermined, however many people of the time believed it was started by anti-Chinese arsonists. The areas of the 1872 fire had yet to be rebuilt and acted as a buffer for the fire of 1873. Great Fire of 1873 The Great Fire of 1873 was a major fire which swept through the downtown of