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English > Historical Fires > 1871 - Peshtigo Fire
One of the most famous fires in American history occurred on October 8th, 1871: The Great Chicago Fire. It destroyed 17,450 structures, caused about $200 million in damage and left one-third of the city homeless. Some 250 people perished, and it was the headline of every newspaper in America.
But this was not the only fire that day. In railroad boomtown of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, it had not rained substantially from July to September, leaving the surrounding woods and grasslands bone dry. Creeks were dried up, and the Peshtigo River (which Peshtigo’s residents relied on for water and transportation) was dangerously low.
For most of the summer, wildfires had flickered on the horizon, and the smoke-filled air was a chore to breathe. About 8:30 in the evening that fateful Sunday, everyone in the town was startled by a dull roar. Gale-force winds had whipped the wildfires surrounding the town into a firestorm, and Peshtigo was directly in its path.
Men ran from Peshtigo to fight the flames. But soon, they realized the battle was hopeless, and ran back to the town to get their family and head into the river. The wildfire soon hit the town, igniting the wooden sidewalks and roofs. Burning embers rained down on the people seeking shelter in the river.
By 10:00 that night, the entire town burned to the ground. The fire had destroyed every structure (including the world’s largest wooden-ware factory), except one house made with wood too green to burn. The fire killed 1,125 people, many of whom suffocated in the wells that they took shelter in, drowned in the river, or couldn’t outrun the flames.
News of this fire took several days to reach the rest of the country, but was quickly forgotten as the Great Chicago Fire continued to dominate the headlines of America’s newspapers. The Governor of Wisconsin had to issue a special proclamation that pleaded for people to send gifts to Peshtigo instead of to Chicago. $155,000 was received in gifts, and the town was rebuilt in several months.
The Peshtigo Fire Museum opened in 1963 to honor those who died in the Peshtigo Wildfire, and to tell its story. Adjacent to the museum is the Peshtigo Fire Cemetery containing the remains of several hundred unidentified persons and a monument to those who died.
© ThinkQuest Team C0119184 :: Credits & Sources
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