The Peshtigo Fire, October 8, 1871: Calamity and Response

Abstract

On October 8, 1871 a fire raged through northeastern Wisconsin burning over 1.5 million acres of land and killing between one and two thousand people. Because of the extent of the fire it is difficult to even determine how many people perished in the fire but it is considered to be the deadliest fire in American history. The fire is named after Peshtigo because the town experienced the worst but many other towns were affected. The circumstances surrounding the Peshtigo fire were unique for several reasons. In some areas the fire left nothing for miles. In addition, the on the very same evening a fire burned down much of Chicago. The paper focuses on the accounts of the witnesses and survivors and the state and nationwide relief effort.