Mahlon D. Ogden Mansion

Mahlon D. Ogden
Life Span: 1859-1893
Location: Lafayette pl. between Clark and Dearborn
Architect:

Halpin & Bailey’s City Directory for the Year 1863

Ogden Mahlon D.

Edwards’ Annual Directory in the City of Chicago, for 1869
Ogden Mahlon D., (Ogden, Fleetwood & Co.) h. Lafayette pl., bet. N. Clark and Dearborn.

Edwards’ Annual Directory in the City of Chicago, for 1870
Ogden Mahlon D., (Ogden, Sheldon & Co. and Ogden, Sheldon & Scudder), r. ns. Lafayette pl. bet. N. Clark and Dearborn.

Edwards’ Annual Directory in the City of Chicago, for 1873
Ogden Mahlon D., (Ogden, Sheldon & Co. and Ogden & Scudder), and pres. Cook County Savings Bank, r. 1 Lafayette pl.

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1875
Ogden Mahlon D., (Ogden, Sheldon & Co.), and pres. Cook co. savings bank, r. 1 Lafayette pl.

Chicago Evening Post, November 8, 1871

MAHLON D. OGDEN,
of the Nineteenth Ward, is a leading citizen of the North Division. His house, a frame, is the only one left standing within a circuit of nearly three miles, but he has a constituency who are determined to be properly represented in the deliberations of the Council.

Mahlon D. Ogden Residence.

Surrounding Ruins of Mahlon D. Ogden Residence.

History of Chicago, A.T. Andreas, 1885

Oases of Unburned Buildings.—The preservation
of Mahlon D. Ogden’s mansion, located on the block bounded by Oak Street, Washington Square, Dearborn Avenue and Clark Street, was one of the many instances of the fire’s eccentric work. The building was of wood, surrounded by a wooden fence, and apparently as combustible as any edifice in the line of the flames. The open square immediately south of it, and the large grounds about the residence, rendered it ordinarily beyond danger, but the fierceness of the heat evaporated what little moisture remained in the wooden walls, and seemingly prepared them for ready combustion. The torrents of cinders, which fell upon every inch of the premises, were sufficient to destroy a structure of greater resistance; and the fact that the fire observed no method or order in its progress, but leaped wide spaces, and consumed buildings far in advance of the main column, pointed conclusively to the loss of the Ogden house. The family was absent on the night of the fire, but friendly hands were there to make a fight with the forces of the air. Washington Square had been filled with fugitives earlier in the night, but they had been compelled to flee, leaving their household goods scattered on the ground. These light goods quickly vanished in the flames. The fence and barn took fire. Blankets and carpets were spread over the exposed places. So long as the hydrants furnished a supply, water was freely thrown over everything, but when the pumping works were burned, recourse was had to the cistern on the premises. Rev. Robert Collyer acknowledges the generosity of those who had charge of this tank, for considerable quantities of water were given to those who sought to save his church.

It is often said that the Ogden house was the only building left standing in the burned area on the North Side. This is not a correct statement. A small frame house on Lincoln Place, about mid-way between Sophia Street and Webster Avenue, was saved by its owner, in a novel manner. There were vacant spaces contiguous, and Policeman Bellinger, who lived there, was encouraged to believe that he could preserve his home. He tore up the wooden sidewalks, raked the leaves in piles and burned them, and prepared for a battle with the flames in every conceivable manner. When the fire reached him, he covered his house with blankets and carpets, which he kept moistened. But when the fiercest wave of destruction came sweeping down upon him, he found his cistern dry. Even then his courage and presence of mind did not forsake him. His cellar contained a store of cider, and with that fluid he fought his foe, and triumphed. His hands were burned, his cider was gone, but his home stood amid the general ruin, and he had won the victory in the face of fearful odds.

Chicago National Bank

Chicago Tribune, October 9, 1893

STORY OF THE OGDEN HOUSE.
As the Sole Survivor on the North Side It Will Always Be Famous.
A faithful illustration is given in today’s issue of The Chicago Tribune of the most interesting relic of the great fire, the old Ogden mansion, which alone of so many thousand buildings survived the great catastrophe. The budding was the home of Mahlon D. Ogden, and stood in the center of a square. There was a frame barn to the north. winch alone remains today, the last relic of the fire. The site of the mansion is now occupied by the magnificent new Newberry Library Building.

The escape of the Ogden building from destruction constitutes one of the many miracles of the fire. On the night of the conflagration the family were away, but a few visitors fought the fire with such means as were at their command, using blankets and carpets saturated with water and pouring buckets of water on the roof. In front of the house and between it and the fast-approaching flames was Washington square, one vacant block. To the north and on the sides city houses were burning. Running out of water the courageous defenders of the historic homestead used several barrels of cider to saturate the carpets. The sidewalk burned up, the trees in the park followed, and a house in the rear of the mansion broke into a sheet of flame. A dozen times the surrounding wooden fences were ignited. Each time the flames were extinguished by the prompt application of water or cider.

The blaze passed away to the north, to spend its fading force in Lincoln Park, and when the morning dawned on such a scene of ruin and desolation as the world had never before beheld the grand old structure stood in all its strength and beauty intact and unharmed.

For many miles north and south extended a bare and blackened prairie. In the North Division not a house save the Ogden homestead was left. For many years the old building stood in its lonely grandeur, the one distinctive mark of the greatest conflagration of all time. But in Chicago all things change, and when it was decided to utilize the magnificent bequest of Mr. Newberry by the construction of a splendid library building the old house was doomed.

It was the Mecca of countless pilgrims from home and abroad, but it exists no longer. The barn still it stands, and long may it remain; a mute witness to the grandest scene of destruction and a silent observer of the most gigantic renaissance of a city that the world has ever known. Every Chicagoan knows the story of the Ogden mansion and has visited it and gazed with wonder on the old frame house. The hundreds of thousands of visitors within our gates will be equally attracted by the fine old relic, and. it is safe to say, will not neglect the opportunity to view Chicago’s last relic of the great fire, from which the city has sprung into new life and vaster influence. To such as cannot avail themselves of the opportunity to personally view the scene the fine colored sketch given in this issue will furnish a clear idea of the old building and will serve as an object lesson with which to illustrate the story of the great Chicago fire.

Chicago Tribune, March 3, 1929

Unveil Tablet Where House Survived Great Fire
The site of the only house to survive the path of the fire of 1871 received historical recognition from the Gen. Henry Dearborn chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution yesterday when a bronze tablet was unveiled. The residence, the property of Mahlon D. Ogden, later became the location of the Newberry library, 60 West Walton place. It was recalled at the unveiling that the house was saved from the fire through the quick wit of several men who were inside.

Mrs. William C. Fox, regent of the chapter, made the presentation which was accepted by Horace S. Oakley, in behalf of the library trustees. Short talks on the significance of the memorial were made by D. A. R. officers, and the tablet was unveiled by Philip Schuyler Ballard and Edwina Patterson, members of Children of the American Revolution.

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