GREAT PESHTIGO FIRE OF 1871 This research paper

This research paper chronicles the great fire which destroyed the village of Peshtigo in northeastern Wisconsin on October 8, 1871 and analyzes its origins, consequences and aftermath.

During the late evening of Sunday, October 8, 1871, a great forest fire destroyed the village of Peshtigo, Wisconsin and went on to wreck havoc in the surrounding area, the farmlands, wooded areas, swamps and communities bordering on Green Bay and both sides of Lake Michigan. The total death toll from the fire and related perils, including injuries from falling debris, suffocation, drowning, exposure to the elements and suicide came to approximately 800 persons in Peshtigo and about 1200 in the area (Estep 1). Hardest hit were Peshtigo, Sugar Bush, a nearby farming community to the southwest in which 300 farm families lived, and the villages of Menekaune and Williamsonville, Wisconsin and Menominee, Michigan, to the north and east. Fourteen other towns and villages were damaged, including Marinette in the north and portions of Door and Kewaunee Counties to the East and settlements across Lake Michigan in Michigan. The fire torched 1.2 million in timberland and caused about $169 million in property damage (Estep 1). The Peshtigo fire occurred on the same night as the Great Chicago Fire which was allegedly sparked by a cow tipping over a lantern in Mrs. O'Leary's barn, but it caused many more fatalities in a much less densely populated area, 1200 vs. about 250 (Christianson 1)

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g huddled together in the general confusion of the moment, many who had taken to the water to avoid the flames were drowned. A great many were on the blazing bridge when it fell. The debris from the burning town was hurled over and on the heads of those who were in the water, killing many and maiming others so that they gave up to despair and sank to a watery grave (Holocaust 1). Pernin said the survivors spent many hours in the water waiting for the flames to burn down. When they emerged onto to the riverbank, the weather was cold and some succumbed to exposure and disease. Reaction and Relief Railroad company foreman Big John Mulligan led a gang of railroad laborers who rounded up the dead, identified them and arranged for their burial the next day. He sent a messenger to nearby Marinette, the first news of the catastrophe to reach the outside world, which returned with a wagonload of supplies that morning. Word did not reach Green Bay, six miles to the north of Peshtigo, and Madison, the state capital, until the morning of Monday the 9th. Governor Lucius Fairchild had left for Chicago to respond to the great fire there. However, his wife, Mary, took decisive action. She ordered a boxcar loaded with food and clothing dest

Category: History - G