Peshtigo Fire
Compiled by Emily Stanislawski, UWSP, 2022
Collection Summary
The Peshtigo Fire was on October 8, 1871 and was one of the deadliest fires in U.S. history. This fire was also the same day as the Great Chicago Fire, but the Peshtigo Fire was several times more deadly; the death toll was over 1,100. 1.2 million acres of land were destroyed, and the fire caused millions in property losses. Survivor’s accounts of the fire describe the horrors. In many cases, entire families perished, and people attempted to survive the fires by digging holes or jumping in nearby wells and rivers. The fires were on both the east and west sides of Green Bay and were not one connected fire but a series of fires that occurred on the same day and are collectively known as the Peshtigo Fire.
Fires were not uncommon, and in the months prior the region had been struggling with smaller fires. These fires were generally not very large or deadly, but the season had been very dry and windy, and these were the perfect conditions for a devastating fire. Initial reports of the damages and deaths were very low, and it took several days for more accurate information to reach newspapers because of the destruction of telegraph lines, but it was uncommon for a fire to be this deadly. Reports of the Peshtigo Fire were also overshadowed by the Great Chicago Fire, which killed about 250 people. While the Chicago Fire was also a devastating tragedy, the Peshtigo Fire was a disaster on a different scale with a higher death toll and a far greater area destroyed.
Note: The Peshtigo Fire is also referred to as the Great Fire; in some instances, this could be referring to the Chicago fire or the Peshtigo Fire. Additionally, it is sometimes called a conflagration, this is a word for a destructive fire. In newspapers it may also be called the “Fire in the Woods,” or the “Great Northern Fire.” Newspapers often do not refer to the Peshtigo Fire but instead give the specific name of town that is now considered part of the Peshtigo Fire. The areas besides Peshtigo that were destroyed or damaged include Williamsonville (sometimes called Williamson’ Mill), Brussells, Menekaunee, Marinette, Forestville, Sugar Bush, Birch Creek, and Rosiere. This is not an exhaustive list, there are other towns that were affected on both the East and West shores of Green Bay. Also, some towns were never rebuilt after the fires no longer exist (ex. Williamsonville). The burned areas were found in 6 Wisconsin counties (Menominee, Marinette, Oconto, Brown, Kewaunee, and Door County).
Accounts that mention William B. Ogden are included because he was a prominent businessman and politician in the Midwest, especially Chicago. He was also the owner of a lumber mill that was destroyed in Peshtigo. He suffered financial losses from both the Chicago and Peshtigo fires. He was also the first major of Chicago. He was a well-known figure, and this is why his accounts were often included in books and newspapers, and consequently included here.
*Items that are available as digital file in Peshtigo Fire digital folder at UWSP Archives
General Information
Books
Pernin, Peter. “The Great Peshtigo Fire: An Eyewitness Account.” Wisconsin Magazine History, Summer, 1971.
This is an issue of the Wisconsin Magazine of History which was published by the State Historical Society and features the account of Rev. Peter Pernin, who was a survivor of the Peshtigo fire. The article is on pages 246-272. A hardcopy is found in the FHAW book collection (FHAW F 587. G6 P47 1971). It is also available digitally from the Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Magazine of History Archives digital records, Volume 54, Number 4, Summer 1971. https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/wmh/id/46360
Reverend Pernin was a parish priest in Peshtigo and Marinette. He describes his feelings before the fire, his experience of surviving the fire by staying the night in the river and his experience after the fire. His personal account is frequently referenced. His account talks about his work as a priest and he even mentions how after the fire the tabernacle (an ornate cabinet found in Catholic churches behind the altar) was found unburned (266). It is a useful account about surviving the fire and the aftermath and one that many other sources reference.
“The Finger of God is There,” By Rev. Peter Pernin from Wisconsin Magazine History, 1919
This is another personal narrative by Rev. Pernin. This account is found in the digital records of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Magazine of History Archives, Volume 2, Number 3, March 1919 on pages 274- 293. This 19-page section of the Wisconsin Magazine of History focused on his experience of the aftermath of the fire. https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/wmh/id/28341
*Goodspeed, E.J. History of the Great Fires in Chicago and the West. New York: H.S. Goodspeed & Co., 1871.
This book was published in 1871 by H.S. Goodspeed (New York). It is located with the FHAW Books (FHAW F 548.42. G66 1871). A copy of this book is also found in the UWSP Archive rare book collection. It is a 675-page book that details the Great Chicago Fire, as well as fires in Wisconsin (the Peshtigo Fire) and fires in Michigan. The majority of the book is on the Chicago Fire, but the few sections on the Peshtigo Fire are highlighted below.
Chapter VII, pages 43-49: This chapter comes from a section titled “Youth” that focuses on the growth in new cities, the people that developed them and the excitement in growing cities and industry. This chapter focuses on William B. Ogden, “The Railway King of the West” (44). He was a successful businessman in Chicago; he was also instrumental in the lumber business in Peshtigo. On page 47-49 is Ogden’s personal account of the fire damage, he focuses on Chicago but ends by mentioning the “utter destruction of Peshtego” (48-49).
Chapter XXXXIX, “The Fires in Wisconsin” 550-575: This Chapter details the industry in Peshtigo before the fire, and people surviving the fires by jumping in the river. This book has great details about the fire including boiling wells (561), unrecognizable remains (562), and talk of damages (564). There is an excerpt from W.B. Ogden about survivors on 564-566. There are then details from survivors and how help was initially slow because there were no working telegraph lines and that the Chicago fire overshadowed the Peshtigo Fire (571). Page 556-557 features an image of “The Burning of Peshtigo” and 573 has an image of “A Wisconsin House Enveloped in Flames.”
Chapter XL “Summary of Wisconsin Losses,” 576-593: This chapter describes the financial and personal losses from the fire. There is a personal account from a woman named Lucile Mechland on how her family escaped (579-586). There is an excerpt of the observations made by the Boston Relief Committee on the fire’s destruction (586- 589). The chapter concludes with messages from the Milwaukee Relief Committee on the relief efforts (589-593).
Chapter XLIII, 626-634: This chapter mentions other fires that occurred in 1871 and how The Chicago Tribune declared year “The Black Year” (632). This chapter does not have any information specific to the Peshtigo fire but contains comments on the trends of fires that year.
“The 1871 Peshtigo Fire: Wisconsin’s Worst Natural Disaster” by Diane Nichols from the “The Historic Oconto Area” Proceedings of the Twenty-seventh Annual Meeting of the Forest History Association, Inc. October 4-5, 2002, Oconto Wisconsin” This publication can be found in the FHAW Books Collection (FHAW SD 144.W8 F 67 27th) but is also available digitally from the Wisconsin Historical Society, Turning Points in Wisconsin History, Forest History Association of Wisconsin Proceedings (1996-20016), 27th Annual Meeting 2002, on page 24. https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/tp/id/33671
This is the proceedings from an annual meeting of the Forrest History Association. In 2002, they met in Oconto, Wisconsin. These proceedings include an article called “The 1871 Peshtigo Fire: Wisconsin’s Worst Natural Disaster” by Diane Nichols, found on pages 24-27. This article gives a good overview of the days before, the fire and how people survived it.
Sewell, Alfred, L. “The Great Calamity!” Scenes, Incidents, and Lessons of the Chicago Fire of the 8th and 9th of October, 1871. Chicago: Alfred L. Sewell, Publisher, 1871. This book is located in the UWSP rare book collection (F 548.42. S59 1871). It is also available for free on Google Books at (https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Great_Calamity/x7ZHAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0).
This book mainly focuses on the Chicago Fire; there is a description of the damages and recovery from the Chicago Fire, but there is also a brief section on the Peshtigo Fire. There is a section titled “Other Great Fires of Modern Times,” from page 85 to 93 and starting on 94 is “The Burning of Peshtigo.” This is the final chapter of the book and it provides the account of a correspondent from the New York Tribune who visited Peshtigo on October 20, 1971. They correspondent describes people’s experience with the fire how it felt like “the earth shook” or that “the heavens opened” and that there was a “deafening roar” (94). There is a description of the terror of people trying to survive in the Peshtigo River (96) and the destruction of the “tornado” (today often referred to as a firestorm) (97). It provides tragic detail of women and children being put in wells that the water boiled out of and people that died near the river (98). While this chapter is only 6-pages, it still offers insight and details to the Peshtigo Fire.
Wells, Robert, W. Fire at Peshtigo. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1968.
This book was published in 1968 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.). It is found in the FHAW Book Collection (FHAW F 587. G6 W4). This book is not available digitally but is quite commonly found in public libraries.
This book features a detailed account of the fire and includes many personal accounts and stories. The details on the cities and people create a deeper understanding of the area before the fire. It is a 243-page book, but it does include an index at the end that allows one to find mentions of specific things related to the Peshtigo fire.
UWSP Archive Small Collections
*“Peshtigo Fire Memoirs, 1956 and Undated” UWSP Archives Small Collection 245. A copy is located at the UWSP Archive and the original is from the Wisconsin Historical Society (SC 286.2). This is an account that was created by the Marinette County Historical Society for the 85th Anniversary of the Fire. It is an interesting account written by a child of survivor of the Fire, but they had a very close connection to the fires because they were born on October 10, 1871, just two days after the fire. The narrator was from Minekaunee and the child of Mr. Alfred A. Archibald and Mrs. Rebecca Vandebogart Archibald. The narrator describes how local men would often work together to stop the smaller flames that broke out but that didn’t work well when the season was dry and the “underbrush and evergreens burned like tinder.” The fire moved in quickly and the parents fled towards the docks in Minekaunee. People fled to boats and the narrator’s parents survived on a crowded boat until morning. Once returning to shore they discovered their business was destroyed but their home had been spared. Despite being two months early, Rebecca Archibald gave birth to a baby, shortly after the fire
*“Josephine S. Ingalls Sawyer Papers, 1851, 1859, 1861, 1871” UWSP Archives Small Collection 246. The UWSP Archives has a copy of this document, and the original is from the WHS (SC 908.) This folder contains several interesting personal correspondences and accounts including, “A Personal Reminiscence of the Big Fires of 1871” by Josephine Turner. This account was written by Mrs. Sawyer several years after the fire. She lived near Menominee and included many accounts about local people that give a sense of the local experiences of the fire. She talks about people who survived in the rivers, and how people buried valuables in the ground. She described how people initially fought the fire with wet blankets and buckets of water before realizing it would not work. It is not clear when she wrote this account, but it was at least after 1878.
Newspapers (*All below newspapers are in the digital folder)
Peshtigo Times, Special Edition Commemorative Newspapers*
These newspapers are located in a flat box with the Collection from the Forest History Association of Wisconsin (Col. 104) These papers are very useful sources. Each of these commemorative papers is filled will reprints of personal accounts, articles, photos and other information on the Peshtigo Fire.
Wednesday, October 7, 1998- “Remembering the Peshtigo Fire” This paper contains many accounts from survivors, photographs, old advertisements and excerpts from newspapers. There are articles on a variety of things like the relief contributions that poured in, an excerpt of a little-published account of Peshtigo after the fire, and the fire being classified as a firestorm. There is also information on the founding and early history of the city of Peshtigo, historic preservation efforts in Peshtigo, and portions of casualty lists. There is an engaging variety of information in this paper.
Wednesday, October 6, 2021- “Peshtigo Fire Sesquicentennial 1871-2021” There are accounts from survivors and things written from descendants of survivors, information on past memorials, the content of an article that was the “First Newspaper Story” on the fire from the Marinette- Peshtigo Eagle Extra, and information on the state historical maker at the Peshtigo fire cemetery.
Green Bay Advocate, Green Bay, Wisconsin*
Located on microfilm “Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay Advocate 1871-1873” in UWSP Archives
October 13, 1871: This paper featured an Extra page on the fires. The paper added an entire page, just on things related to the fire. The paper notes that “The demand for accounts of the fire has been so great that our double edition was exhausted.” The headlines include “Another horror—Burning at Williamsonville: From 50 to 60 Lives Lost,” “Another Hamlet Burned—Great Loss of Life!,” “Great Fire at Peshtigo: Three Hundred Persons Reported Lost,” and “More of the Fires North: Menekaunee and part of Marinette Burned, Loss of life at Birch Creek.”
October 19, 1871, “The Escape from the Marinette and Menekaune—Heroic Conduct of the Officers of the Str. Union” (Page 3) This is the story of how people escaped on a steamer from Marinette. It carried 300 mostly women and children and had to pass through a channel of flames before safely reaching Menominee.
October 19, 1871, “Incidents of the Great Fire” (Page 3) This article features about ten brief incidents from the fire. Some feature people surviving, and some are tragic and about deaths.
October 19, 1871, “Peshtigo—Some Facts and Reflections about the Fire” This is a description that was published from a survivor. They mention that some find the scale of the tragedy surprising, but they feel it is “a miracle that so many were saved because of how destructive the fires were.” This account features graphic details about people that died and were injured. The author also gives the description that one could imagine “the worst snow storm you ever witnessed and each snow-flake a coal or spark of fire, driven by fierce wind,” and this is what the fire was like. The account ended hopefully that the city will be rebuilt and grateful for the kindness and assistance found in Green Bay.
October 26, 1871, “Incidents of the Great Fire: Williamsonville” (Page 3) This is a short piece that describes the situation in Williamsonville and how six people were in a well. This is known story of survivors from Williamsonville. Williamsonville was completely destroyed and had very few survivors.
November 2, 1871, “A Letter From, WM. B. Ogden. Chicago, Oct 11, 1871” This is from William B. Ogden who was an investor in Chicago and Peshtigo. The first part is about the destruction in Chicago, but the last section is on Peshtigo.
November 2, 1871, “Heat of the Fire” (Page 3) This article talks about how iron melted into “compact cakes” and gold and silver was also found melted in clumps. Under this piece is “Saved her Baby” the story of a women who almost lost her baby in the fire but a stranger helped her.
November 9, 1871 “The West Shore Fires: Detailed Statement of the Appearance of Peshtigo and the Lower Sugar Bush” (Page 3) This is a detailed article that is the over three newspaper columns long. There is information on Sugar Bush, Marinette, Menominee, Birch Creek, Peshtigo. There is a lot of interesting information and details.
Newspaperarchives.com*
October 11, 1871, Wisconsin State Journal, “Fire Fiend at Large” This article is found in the fourth column of the front page and estimates 80-100 lives lost. This was based on reports received from people who had traveled through the area and was incredibly low as the extend of the damage and deaths were not known yet.
October 14, 1871, Wisconsin State Journal: The second column of the front page has information on the aid efforts by the government. The fourth column has a “The Holocaust of Fire: Peshtigo and Williamsonville.” (Today the word Holocaust has a more specific use and understanding, but before WWII, it could be used to refer to something that was completely destroyed, especially by fire.) This is an account from a survivor. The sixth column has “By Telegraph: The Great Fires in Northern Wisconsin.” This is proclamation from Lucius Fairchild, the current governor of Wisconsin and he calls for aid and support.
October 17, 1871, New York Times “In Wisconsin: Particulars of the Burning of Williamsonville and Peshtigo—Frightful Number of Deaths” This has details on the utter destruction of Williamsonville, Peshtigo, Sugar Bush, Rosiere, and Lincoln. There is second article, “Several Villages Utterly Destroyed—Appalling Loss of Life—Four Hundred Dead Bodies Already Found,” that describes survivors and, mentions people escaping by boat, including the account of the Steamer the Union. (this is the same incident described in an Oct 19 account from the Green Bay Advocate and the below Oct. 25 one)
October 23, 1871, Wisconsin State Journal “In Northeastern Wisconsin: The Situation After the Fires” This starts on the second column and almost fills 2 columns with information on the fires, specifics on towns and little personal tales of the fire.
October 25, 1871, Watertown Republic, “Horrors of the Fire King” This article, in the second column, mentions the accounts of the fire that came from passenger on the Steamer the George l. Dunlap and the story of survivors on the Union steamer. There is also a personal account from James Monahan, a survivor.
November 20, 1871, New York Times, “An Examination of its Causes and Extent—Why so Many Entire Families Were Swept Away—The Urgent Needs of Wisconsin” This article describes the factors that caused the fire to be so deadly, like the dry season, intensity of the fires, the winds and tornado. It also talks about the “loss of the telegraph” being a factor in help being delayed and the fire in Chicago getting all the focus.
Images/Maps
Maas, Jeff. Peshtigo Fire Map. State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1999. https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/maps/id/4271
Modern map of the area destroyed by the Peshtigo Fire.
Further Research
Further Research: Maps & Images
Stoner, J. J. Bird’s Eye View of Peshtigo, Wis. 1881. J.J. Stoner,, 1881. https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/maps/id/128
Drawing of aerial view of the rebuilt Peshtigo in 1881, with prominent buildings labelled.
T.M. Fowler & Co. Bird’s Eye View of Peshtigo, Wisconsin Sept. 1871. T.M. Fowler & Co., 1871. https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/maps/id/121
Drawing of aerial view of Peshtigo in 1871 prior to the fire, with prominent buildings labelled.
“Peshtigo, Wis. July 1887 Sanborn Map & Publishing Co., Limited.” New York: Sanborn Map & Publishing Co., Limited, 1887. https://cdm15932.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/maps/id/13117
“Peshtigo, Wis. July 1898 Sanborn Map & Publishing Co., Limited.” New York: Sanborn Map & Publishing Co., Limited, 1898. https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/maps/id/13127
Sanborn Fire Insurance made maps to indicate fire hazards in towns for insurance. They feature street names and details about buildings. These two sets of maps from 1887 and 1898 show how the city of Peshtigo rebuilt after the fire. They are available online from the Wisconsin Historical Society, in Maps and Atlases in Our Collections, Peshtigo 1887 or Peshtigo 1898.
More images can also be found from the Wisconsin Historical Society https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records?facets=CATEGORIES%3A%22Wisconsin+Historical+Images%22&addTerm=peshtigo
Further Research: Lumber and Forestry
*”Peshtigo Fire Centennial Press Packet, 1971” at UWSP in FHAW Collection 104: Box 5, Folder 10. Information, programs, poster, maps and other materials from the Peshtigo Fire Centennial Commemoration October 8, 9 & 10, 1971
*Fire! Fire Control and Forest Protection in Wisconsin from “Booklets – Various Topics (Forestry, Fire, Paper)” at UWSP in FHAW Collection 104: Box 33, Folder 6. 1970 Booklet, summarizes the history of fires in Wisconsin and offers statistics on forest fires, pages 1-10
*“Publication – “History of State Forestry in Wisconsin,” Original Manuscript, E.M. Griffith, 1917” at UWSP in FHAW Collection 104: Box 37, Folder 13. History of forestry, page 4 contains section called “Fire Follows the Axe.” Peshtigo is a brief mention, but it offers information on the frequency of fires and how big the lumber industry was. E.M. Griffith, the author, was prominent in the forest industry.
*Wisconsin’s Amazing Woods: Then and Now, by Theodore F. Kouba, in 1973 by Wisconsin House, LTD., in Madison. This book can be found in FHAW Books collection (SD144.W8 K6), as well as in the UWSP library. While less common, it can also be found in some public libraries. A chapter titled “The Day Peshtigo Saw Red” start of page 100 and goes until 117. This chapter gives information on the fire as well as its impact of fire protection efforts after and other forest fires.
“Great Fires of Seventy-One,” Editorial Comment, from Wisconsin Magazine History, 1927, This account is found in the digital records of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Magazine of History Archives digital records, Volume 11, Number 1, September 1927 on pages 96-106. https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/wmh/id/6167
“Fire Weather/Fire Danger Conditions which Led to the Historic Peshtigo Wildfire of 1871” presentation by Steven Marien from the Forest History Association of Wisconsin, September 1, 2021, on YouTube (https://youtu.be/q0u-92hRL6I). This presentation focuses the impacts weather on the fire. The presenter, Steve Marien, is the Eastern Area Fire Weather Program Manager at the Eastern Area Coordination Center.
*January 26, 1872, Wisconsin State Journal “The Northern Wisconsin Fires” This account was written a few months following the fires. It was an excerpt published from Wisconsin Legislative Manual, 1872.It has very specific information that names towns and areas. It has sections that focus on the “Oconto County Fire,” “On the Peninsula, “and “The Relief Work.”
Further Research: Personal Accounts & Newspaper Accounts
Bakeman, Charles H. “Interview with Charles H. Bakeman, 1946”, 1946- This is an Interview with a survivor of the Peshtigo fire. Available on Wisconsin Historical Society and there is also a transcript for this short interview available as well, if one prefers to read it instead https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/p15932coll11/id/200
The UWSP Archives also has copies of letters from Charles H. Bakeman located in small collection 242 “Bakeman Family Paper and Oral History, 1946-1993 (Peshtigo Fire Survivor),” these papers are from the WHS (SC 2923.0). These letters are between Charles and his wife from the 1880 & 90s. They are not on the fire but general correspondence. They are not in the digital folder.
“A Stricken People; The Victims of the Peshtigo Fire” Presentation by Karen Humiston from the Forest History Association of Wisconsin, October 12, 2021, on YouTube (https://youtu.be/dPwqaoWKDTI). Karen Humiston shares documented personal accounts from the Peshtigo Fire.
“Stories from the Archives: The Great Peshtigo Fire presented by Karen Humiston” Presentation UWGB Archives, October 8, 2021 on YouTube (https://youtu.be/UquhunnM9Pg). This is presentation by Karen Humiston that shows some of her research based on the UWGB Archives, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the fire.
Collection of Newspaper Articles from Wisconsin Historical Society. This is a collection of Newspapers from Marinette from the 1920s about the 50-year anniversary of the fire. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Newspaper/BA13523
*Green Bay Advocate, Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay
Located on microfilm “Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay Advocate 1871-1873” in UWSP Archives and in digital file.
These are accounts that are valuable but may not be as detailed or relevant as the earlier newspaper selections. There is no shortage of mentions of this fire in newspapers and this should not be viewed as a comprehensive list of newspapers, but a sampling focusing on the Green Bay Advocate and papers in the Newspaperarchives.com database.
October 19, 1871, “The Living and Dead at Williamsonville” (Page 3) This description of the situation in Williamsonville came after doctors and assistance were sent and had returned with some survivors. There is a list or uninjured survivors, those wounded and the longest list, the dead. There are 48 people listed as dead. Williamsonville was utterly destroyed and the there was nothing remaining of the small settlement, a few survivors survived in a well.
October 19, 1871, “Position of Bodies” (Page 3) This is very short piece that included the description of where 5 people’s bodies were discovered, including one man who “died in his accustomed spot by the tavern door.”
October 19, 1871, “The Fire on the Menominee” This account gives details on the destruction in Menekaune and Marinette. This article mentioned that the “number of dead found from between here [Green Bay] and sturgeon bay was reported at one hundred and sixteen,” and also includes a mention of how the survivors in Brussells were surviving off of turnips, before more assistance arrived.
October 19, 1871, “Peculiarities of the Peshtigo Fire” (Page 3) This is an excerpt of a description of the fire from a member of the Milwaukee relief committee, which visited shortly after the fire. The survivors of the fire described fire coming from the sky almost like meteors, a “tornado of fire,” and they end by saying that “No pen can describe, no brush can depict the realities of that night. Exaggeration would be utterly impossible.”
October 26, 1871, “The Field of the Dead at Peshtigo: A Graphic Account of the Fire” This is a lengthy frontpage article that describes how complete the destruction was and where it was. It mentioned the “tornado” (likely referring to the firestorm that happened near Peshtigo). This article also gives information on survivors or deaths and estimated the deaths in Sugar Bush and Peshtigo at 800.
October 26, 1871, “Romantic Marriage” (Page 2) A young woman was saved by a man, and they survived the fire together in the Peshtigo River. They married a few days later on October 10th and it is described as a “silver lining” to the disaster.
October 26, 1871, “The Dead at Peshtigo” & “Peshtigo Losses” (Page 3) The first article describes how bodies are still found and provides the updated death counts which they estimate at 500-600. The piece under this one estimates that property losses were around $4,000,000.
October 26, 1871, “Cash Contributions” (Page 3) This is a list of contributors from mainly Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois and how much they contributed to relief efforts.
November 2, 1871: The frontpage includes a brief message on how schoolchildren from Steven Point sent some money for relief efforts. There is an article titled “The Great Northern Fire” which has details on the damage and tornado (Firestorm), and tales of survivors, in total there is almost two full newspaper columns on the fire.
November 2, 1871, “The Losses in Door County” (Page 2) This is a detailed list of lost property in Forestville, Nasewaupee, Union, Brussells, Sturgeon Bay, Sevastopol, and Clay Banks.
November 23, 1871 “The Visit of the Cincinnati Committee” (Page 3) This piece describes the incident of a man whose family died in the fires and the state of the area after and, as well as the aid efforts.
November 23, 1871 “Marinette, Peshtigo, and Vicinity” (Page 3) This is on the new buildings in Menekaune and plans being made in Peshtigo, as well as the railroad being repaired in Peshtigo. This article mentions W.B. Ogden.
November 30, 1871 “Peshtigo” This is a poem from the frontpage on the tragedy in Peshtigo.
Newspaperarchives.com *
October 12, The Janesville Gazette, “Fire Carnival: Latest News From the North” This is found in the second column of the front page and frontpage and it estimate 400-500 dead. There was a delay in the information getting out and it took a few days for news of just how big the fire was to reach newspapers. It mentioned how people are coming into Green Bay and there is an appeal for supplies for survivors.
October 19, 1871, New York Times “The Death List Hourly Increasing—Names of the Three Hundred of the Unfortunates” This is a list of those who died in the fire with some description of the fire and how the death count continues to grow.
Other Accounts
*The Peshtigo Times Special Centennial Edition, “It’s Official Peshtigo is a City” There were centennial celebrations for Peshtigo having 100 years as an incorporated city. This newspaper focuses on events in Peshtigo that happened after 1903. There are buildings that burned after 1903 and mentioned the 1871 fire. There is also information on churches in town. A source that would be useful if someone needed to know more about the history of Peshtigo.
Firebird by Paul Metcalf (1987) This is an interesting book that combines newspaper account on the Peshtigo fire with details about hawk migration. It is unique poetic account. For most research endeavors on the Peshtigo fire this book would likely not be useful, but it is a distinct work. This book can be found in the UWSP Archives in the Box 1 of the Bunce Artists’ Book Collection (N 7433.4. M48 F57 1987).
Further Research: Additional Presentations from the FHAW
“Menominee Connections: Perspectives on the Peshtigo Fire of 1871 and Indigenous Forestry” from Nov 1, 2021, https://youtu.be/1BgqZW7RjRk
“Ruins to Recovery: The Birth of the County Forest” from Oct 31, 2021, https://youtu.be/mukKlL5xyv0
“Father Pernin’s Personal Account of the Peshtigo Fire – “revisited”” from Oct 12, 2021 https://youtu.be/9WfI6rGlVTc