Peshtigo is a town of about 3,500 people that sits on the Peshtigo River about eight miles from Marinette and 50 miles from Green Bay. It sits a few miles inland from the western side of Green Bay, directly across the water from Egg Harbor in Door County.
People remember October 8, 1871 as the date of the Great Chicago Fire, but there were actually numerous Midwestern fires that day, in Michigan and Wisconsin. But the fire that devastated Peshtigo, Wisconsin that day is the deadliest wildfire in American history.
The fire started as a small, controlled burn that was being done to help clear the way for railroad tracks. But 50-110 mph hour winds that came into the area as part of a cold front quickly turned the small, controlled fire into something else entirely.
In addition to the uncontrollable winds, the area had experienced extreme drought that summer. The town was surrounded by old-growth white pines. Most of the town buildings were made of wood and Peshtigo was home to the country's largest woodenware factory. Perhaps most damning for the town was that the streets were "paved" with sawdust. Once the fire picked up speed, there was nothing in its way and tons of accelerants to help it grow.
There is no actual, accurate death toll from this fire because the fire itself destroyed all the town documentation. Estimates are that 1,500-2,500 people died. At the time, Peshtigo was Wisconsin's 10th largest city.
There is a memorial and mass grave in Peshtigo where at least 350 bodies that were unable to be identified were buried. So many of the town's people perished that there weren't enough survivors let to identify all the bodies.
That night, there was a separate fire across Green Bay in Door County. Legend says the Peshtigo Fire "jumped" the bay, but historians say that's unlikely. Regardless, this area of Wisconsin was devastated. It's said 1.2 million acres of Wisconsin were scorched - an area at least 10 miles wide and 40 miles long or about 1,875 square miles. That's an area equal to 1.5 times the size of Rhode Island.
The damage estimate was at $169 million, about the same as for the Chicago Fire.
The fire also burned 16 other towns, but the damage in Peshtigo was the worst. The city was gone in an hour. In Peshtigo alone, 800 lives were lost.
According to History.org, "two hundred people died in a single tavern. Others fled to a nearby river, where several people died from drowning or hypothermia. Three people who sought refuge in a water tank boiled to death when the fire heated the tank."
Despite the complete and utter devastation, many people are unaware of the Peshtigo Fire tragedy. Headlines of the day were dominated by the Chicago Fire, leaving the biggest wildfire in American history to be a footnote and often forgotten to history.
Though the town of Peshtigo rebuilt using the lessons they learned from the fire, the town cannot forget its tragic past. There's a Peshtigo Fire Museum housed in the first church built after the fire decimated the town.
