1885 Cabery, Illinois fire

The smoldering debris of Cabery's business district.
Date	May 3, 1885 (1885-05-03)
Time	Started 3:00 AM Central Time
Location	Cabery, Illinois, United States
Cause	Millinery shop
Deaths	Zero

The 1885 Cabery, Illinois fire was a disaster that took place on May 3, 1885, in the village of Cabery, Illinois. The blaze would ultimately destroy 24 businesses and 14 homes while unbelievably causing zero deaths or injuries.

In the early hours of May 3, 1885 an unnamed individual happened to be walking by a millinery shop owned by the Hilborne family when they noticed flames growing from the building. Thanks to this unknown person, the family was able to escape from their upstairs home without trouble. However, the flames quickley spread to the general store next door and the rest of the business district. Similarly to other villages of the era, Cabery's businesses were almost all entirely made of wood. It is also worth noting that Cabery had no fire department, only a bucket brigade. Which, despite the townspeople's efforts, had little effect. The largest structure in the district was the Commercial Hotel which also within hours arrupted in flames, of which the guests residing within barely managed to escape.^[1] By sunrise the entire south side of Main Street was reduced to rubble, many of the structures only having their foundations remain. By early afternoon the flames were finally quelled.

Despite zero deaths or injuries being reported, the village was left in complete shambles. A total of twenty-four businesses and fourteen homes were completely destroyed.^[2] The entirety of the south side of the street was gone (the portion of the village located in Ford County) along with a furniture and butcher shop on the north side within Kankakee County. Fifteen families were left homeless and the village suffered an estimated total of $100,000 in damages, or about $3.25 million in 2025.^[3] With only around $25,000 being covered by various insurances. For several years the community's retail market stagnated as not a single business was left standing. It is unknown if the state of Illinois sent any resources to the small village following the fire, but it is likely that then Governor Richard Oglesby was notified. Either way, Cabery slowly recovered and Main Street was rebuilt by the early 1900s.

Cabery built its first firehouse in 1965 and in 2022 a new/modern station was built.^[4]