Librarian
Introduction
From Wisconsin Historical Society
An engraving representing escapees from the Peshtigo Fire, originally appearing in Harpers Weekly
A combination of drought, logging practices, and a strong southwesterly wind created a firestorm that devastated the town of Peshtigo and burned around 1.5 million acres of land in early October, 1871. At the time, Peshtigo was a major western settlement with a strong sawmill and woodenware industry. However, on October 8, 1871, a fire suddenly bore down on the town, obliterating most of the buildings and killing somewhere between 500 and 800 people. The fire burned into the next day and was extinguished by rainstorms on October 10th. Most of what occurred in Peshtigo is known through the account of Rev. Pernin, a parish priest who published his account of the fire in 1874. The total fatalities from Peshtigo, surrounding communities, and isolated logging camps was between 1200 and 2500 people. It is largely regarded as the deadliest wildfire in American history but is historically overshadowed by the simultaneous Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The fires of 1871, from Peshtigo to the Great Chicago Fire to the Michigan wildfires, created general public awareness of the importance of responsible logging practices (such as not leaving piles of logs near train tracks where a spark from a passing locomotive might land) and the danger of all-wooden construction.
Resources
Firestorm at Peshtigo by Call Number: F589 .P48 .G78 2002ISBN: 0805067809Publication Date: 2002-08-02On October 8, 1871 - the same night as the Great Chicago Fire - an even deadlier conflagration was sweeping through the lumber town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, 260 miles north of Chicago. The five-mile-wide wall of flames, borne on tornado-force winds of 100 miles per hour, tore across more than 2,400 square miles of land, obliterating Peshtigo in less than one hour and killing more than 2,000 people... Through accounts of newspaper publishers Luther Noyes and Franklin Tilton, lumber baron Isaac Stephenson, parish priest Father Peter Pernin, and meteorologist Increase Lapham - the only person who understood the unusual and dangerous nature of this fire, authors Denise Gess and William Lutz re-create the story of the people, the politics, and the place behind this monumental natural disaster, delivering it from the lost annals of American history.
Ghosts of the Fireground by Call Number: F589.P48 .L47 2002ISBN: 9780062517777Publication Date: 2002-07-01On October 8, 1871, a wildfire of staggering immensity transformed the lumbering town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin (population 2,000), into a literal, burning hell. It was the deadliest fire in North American history. At least 1,200 people died, and the actual number of fatalities is unknown. Eighteen hundred square miles of woods, fields, and settlements were burned. By cruel coincidence, it was the very day and hour of the Great Chicago Fire.... The unlikely simultaneity of the two infernos has rendered Peshtigo unknown to most Americans. April 2000: On the brink of one of the most ferocious fire seasons ever recorded, and faced with the challenge of commanding an elite attack helicopter team, wildland firefighter Peter Leschak discovers Father Pernin's written account of surviving the wildfire that devastated Peshtigo.
The Great Peshtigo Fire by Call Number: F589.P48 .P47 1999 2nd ed.ISBN: 9780870203107Publication Date: 1999-05-13Reverend Peter Pernin was the parish priest for Peshtigo and nearby Marinette, whose churches burned to the ground. He published his account of the fire in 1874. The late William Converse Haygood served as editor of the Wisconsin Magazine of History from 1957 to 1975. He prepared this version of Father Pernin's account on the occasion of the Peshtigo Fire's centennial in 1971. Foreword writer Stephen J. Pyne is a professor at Arizona State University in Tempe and author of numerous books on wildland fire, including Fire in America.
Articles marked IN-PERSON are available at the IFSI Library's physical location, and clicking on the link will take you to the catalog record. Those marked ONLINE can be directly accessed by clicking on the link.
- IN-PERSON - Overshadowed by a Cow: the Great Peshtigo Fire of 1871This article, from Wildfire News and Notes September 1997 issue, contains an eyewitness account of the Peshtigo fire.
- ONLINE - "The air was fire": Fire behavior at Peshtigo in 1871The article on page 20 gives an excellent analysis of what lessons may be drawn from Peshtigo, despite how long ago it was.
- ONLINE - Remembering the Great Peshtigo Fire of 1871This article from Fire Engineering reflects on the fire and its causes and lessons learned that can be applied by firefighters today.
- National Weather Service - The Great Midwest Wildfires of 1871The bulk of this article discusses the Peshtigo fire, specifically the weather and underlying causes of the fire.
- Wisconsin Historical Society - Peshtigo FireHere is a brief overview of the fire, as well as access points to the Wisconsin Magazine of History Archives and other collections. Try searching "Peshtigo Fire" in the search box in the upper right corner.
- Peshtigo Fire MuseumHoused in the first church completed during the reconstruction, the Peshtigo Fire Museum has online resources including stories of individual families who experienced the fire.