1871 Chicago Fire and Agnes’ House Part I: Roses & Blackbirds By Leu Seyer – November 5, 2025 The Old Chicago: Old Chicago still remembers in the way ash remembers flame: quietly, in its bones. They say the wind carries names if you listen at dusk—Sofia, Agnes—and that blackbirds learned those names long before the fire learned the city. Chicago Before the Fire Chicago's development in the nineteenth century was fueled by a large influx of foreign immigrants and internal migrants, all of whom transformed the city into a vibrant industrial and cultural hub (Chicago Historical Society, 2005; PBS, n.d.).