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Discusses the Great Fire of Peshtigo, Wisconsin in 1871.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Discusses the Great Fire of Peshtigo, Wisconsin in 1871. Compares it to the Great Chicago Fire of the same night. Analyzes the origins, consequences and aftermath of the Peshtigo fire. Damage, death toll, injuries, destruction of farmland and timberland. Causes as natural and manmade. Relief efforts. Development of new fire policies on fighting and prevention.
Paper Introduction:
GREAT PESHTIGO FIRE OF 1871
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.
Introduction
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
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Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1971.The Great Peshtigo Fire Page. Government issued to victims of the fire 4, woolenblankets, 1,5 sets of men's trousers and overcoats, 1 harnessed wagonsand 2 , rations (Wisconsin Authors 2). Pernin said"people seemed stricken dumb by terror" (3). During the day on October 8, Reverend Pernin noted several ominoussigns to the west of the village: "thick smoke darkening the sky, theheavy, suffocating atmosphere, the mysterious silence filling the air" (4).Starting about 8:3 that evening and continuing on through the night,Peshtigo took on the visage of scenes from Dante's Inferno. . Word did not reach Green Bay, six milesto the north of Peshtigo, and Madison, the state capital, until the morningof Monday the 9th. The wind liftedroofs off buildings and consumed the wooden structures rapidly. Littlethought was given to the dry tinderbox these wooden structures constitutedin case of a major fire, notwithstanding the close proximity of the naturalforest. She ordered a boxcar loaded with food and clothing destined forChicago to await additional blankets and sent it on to Peshtigo on theevening of the 9th-1 th. Itdeserves to be remembered, but is just one of the countless tragedies thataccompanied the development of a great continent. He sent a messenger to nearby Marinette, the firstnews of the catastrophe to reach the outside world, which returned with awagonload of supplies that morning. Volunteers rushed to the stricken villages fromFond du Lac, Appleton, Oshkosh and other communities. Pernin said "a thousand deafeningdiscordant noises rose in the air together" (3). Pernin said "the air was no longer fit to breathe" (3). Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1971.----------------------- 1 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). If a natural disaster occurred,such was thought to be one's lot in life, the consequence of divineintervention. Otherswere suffocated. Hundreds crowded into the river; cattle plunged in with them, and being huddled together in the general confusion of the moment, many who had taken to the water to avoid the flames were drowned. Return to The Great Fires of 1871. Farmers took advantage of the drought toclear land, and loggers to harvest timber, starting many brush fires in theprocess. The Great Fire of Chicago was naturally given a great deal moreprominence in the media than the Great Fire of Peshtigo. Only the Burnt District,an area four miles by 3/4 miles in southwest Chicago containing 2 acreswas severely damaged there. Normallyendowed with plentiful rain, northeastern Wisconsin suffered from anunusually dry summer in 1871. Relief committees were hastily organized in Green Bay, Oconto,Marinette and Milwaukee. Aftermath and Commentary Natural catastrophes such as the great fires in and around Peshtigoand in Chicago in 1871 were approached and handled very differently in the19th century than they are today. In reference to the Chicago fire, theChicago Historical Society said that one half of the properties destroyedor damaged were insured, but payments were perhaps less than one half ofthat amount because of the number of insurance companies which werebankrupted by the fire there (2). Later that evening, she organized the shipment ofa similarly loaded second boxcar to Peshtigo. The $167, in cash relief for the 12, survivors ofPeshtigo comes to about $14 a head, nothing remotely resembling what mightbe available today under various federal, state and local emergency reliefprograms. Relief was alsohandled differently. The use of wood asbuilding material was natural since it was cheap and plentiful. In contrast, the one man caught looting duringthe Peshtigo fire and condemned by a jury to be hung, was released by thecompassionate survivors. Pernin observed"the crimson reflection in the western part of the sky was rapidlyincreasing" (1). At the time of the fire, Peshtigo was a booming village with arecorded population of 15 swollen to over 2 by hundreds of daylaborers, mostly German immigrants, brought in to work in its factories andmills and on the nearby Chicago and Northwestern railroad line which wasbeing extended. . According to Estep, "thesudden, convulsive speed of the flame consumed available oxygen" (2). In Chicago, with itsteeming immigrant population and crowded tenement districts, readjustmentwas not as simple. Eventually, $166,789 wascollected from around the country and the world for the survivors, who wereprovided emergency lodging, food and clothing, largely through volunteerefforts. Nearby workers on the railroad started other fires and left "largepiles of sawdust and waste, called slash, [which] built up in the forest"(Pernin 2). . Fourteen other towns and villages weredamaged, including Marinette in the north and portions of Door and KewauneeCounties to the East and settlements across Lake Michigan in Michigan. However, his wife, Mary, took decisiveaction. woodenware factory, asash, door and blind factory and surrounding commercial establishments,schools and churches, almost all made of wood. Mass communications did not cover naturaldisasters in rural areas in 1871 as they do today. The principal activities of the towncentered around the timber and lumber industries, the felling of logs andtheir cutting and grinding in the local saw mill, the production of woodentubs, buckets and other items at the Peshtigo Co. 2, 1999."Holocaust of Flame." Marinette and Peshtigo Eagle, Oct. According to Christianson,"flames licked at the outskirts many times, but fighting crews ofvolunteers beat bank the threatening tongues of fire" from Peshtigo itself(1). Conclusion The Great Fire of Peshtigo of 1871 is well-remembered by the victim'sdescendants and neighbors, but is otherwise largely forgotten. "Tales of Heroism and Tragedy," Green Bay Press Gazette, Nov. Governor Fairchildissued a state and nationwide appeal for aid. The immediate cause of the conflagration at Peshtigo was ahigh wind, "the forerunner of the tempest, [which] was increasing inviolence, the redness in the sky deepening, and the roaring sound likethunder seemed almost upon us" (Pernin 2). Bothcommunities had ample warning of impending danger, but took only ordinarymeans to forestall it which were grossly insufficient. Little was known about forestrymanagement, environmental protection or fire safety or prevention. . The Great Peshtigo Fire: An Eyewitness Account. As the firestorm gathered momentum, it spread panic. Works CitedChicago Historical Society. If life was harsh and security virtually non-existent for thosefortunate enough to have survived the Great Peshtigo Fire of 1871, onecould always pick up stakes, move West and start anew. Fires sporadically broke up in different parts of the forest inthe area during September and early October. Sometime during the firsthour, a great mass of humanity headed for the river in order to savethemselves from the searing maelstrom of flames. The village was bisected by the Peshtigo River andsurrounded by nearby thick forests. Small campfires were often left lit byhunters and Indians in the woods. Peshtigo, Wisconsin-October 8, 1971.Internet: http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/ WIReader/Images/WER2 1-1.html, 1-2,Wisconsin Authors and Their Works. Governor Lucius Fairchild had left for Chicago torespond to the great fire there. Thefire torched 1.2 million in timberland and caused about $169 million inproperty damage (Estep 1). It is not clear from the published accounts how generally availablecasualty insurance was in 1871. Pernin said "the fire became a great convection feedingupon itself and drawing in oxygen and fuel" (3). Peshtigo wasessentially in the middle of the backwoods. Hardest hit were Peshtigo, Sugar Bush, a nearby farmingcommunity to the southwest in which 3 farm families lived, and thevillages of Menekaune and Williamsonville, Wisconsin and Menominee,Michigan, to the north and east. Businesses in both areas probably weremuch better covered than individuals. Introduction During the late evening of Sunday, October 8, 1871, a great forestfire destroyed the village of Peshtigo, Wisconsin and went on to wreckhavoc in the surrounding area, the farmlands, wooded areas, swamps andcommunities bordering on Green Bay and both sides of Lake Michigan. Women as well as men were victims and were involved in the rescueeffort, Mrs. Mulligan and Mrs. Fairchild most prominently. Pernin said the survivors spent many hours in the water waiting forthe flames to burn down. Eventually, Peshtigo and othercommunities which had been damaged by the fire were rebuilt. The U.S. The Marinette and Peshtigo Eagle provided the following vivid accountof the scene at the river: Crowds rushed for the bridge, but the bridge, like all else, was receiving its baptism of fire. A great many were on the blazing bridge when it fell. According to the Chicago Historical Society, "Chicagoaveraged about two fires a day the previous year, including twenty in thepreceding week. of looting and drunkenness, as well as of outrageousdemands and outright thievery" (1). While knowledge of these matters was limited in the primitivewilderness of rural northeastern Wisconsin, a large city like Chicago with33 , inhabitants on the eve of its great fire had even less excuse fornot being prepared. Forestfire prevention and better management of forests did not develop untilafter the beginning of the 2 th Century under the leadership of PresidentTheodore Roosevelt and Governor Gifford Pinchot of Pennsylvania.Environmental protection is an even more recent phenomena, dating backreally only to the 196 s and 197 s. Its tragedy in human terms wasthe more severe of the two. Onelater account said "the banks of poisonous gas mentioned by so manysurvivors may have been concentrations of carbon dioxide created by thefire" (Horrors 2). Their savings would not have been insured bya FDIC which did not exist so whatever paper money they had in the burnedout banks or under the mattress would have disappeared. wisc.edu/etext/WIReader/Images/WER2 1-1.html, 1.Pernin, Peter. Firemen still might have been able to contain theSunday blaze but for a series of technological and human failures in thealarm system" (1). Fatalities and injuries to people and animals were due to manycauses. Chicago by 1871was a thriving metropolis and industrial center and a vital hub in thenation's production, distribution and communications system. Peshtigo was leveled. It wiped outentire villages and killed most of the people caught unawares by it. GREAT PESHTIGO FIRE OF 1871 This research paper chronicles the great fire which destroyed thevillage of Peshtigo in northeastern Wisconsin on October 8, 1871 andanalyzes its origins, consequences and aftermath. According to one account,"scores of those who could not reach the river killed themselves" (TheGreat Peshtigo Fire Page 1). The causes of the fire were both natural and manmade. Christianson said that "new fire policies onfighting and prevention developed in the area" [of Wisconsin] (4). Many were burned to death and charred beyond recognition. Christianson said the "town was enveloped by a rush of airas hot as though it were issuing from a blast furnace," showering theinhabitants with hot coals, sand, and falling timbers. 14, 1871."Horrors of the Hissing Hell." Internet: http://www.library. There was no socialsecurity, Medicare or other safety net. However, reliefwas not pre-organized as would be the case today. The Peshtigo fire occurred on the same night asthe Great Chicago Fire which was allegedly sparked by a cow tipping over alantern in Mrs. O'Leary's barn, but it caused many more fatalities in amuch less densely populated area, 12 vs. Thetotal death toll from the fire and related perils, including injuries fromfalling debris, suffocation, drowning, exposure to the elements and suicidecame to approximately 8 persons in Peshtigo and about 12 in the area(Estep 1). The Great Chicago Fire and The Web of Memory. "Scorched Earth: The Great Peshtigo Fire Remembered." Internet: http://www.library.wisc.edu/ etext/WIReader/Images/WER2 1- 1.html, 1-5.Estep, Kim. about 25 (Christianson 1). A cacophonyof sounds ensued, cries of panic and pain, the rumble of exploding gas andthe crack and thud of crashing timber. It said "the situation for the lesswell-off was on the whole more difficult" (1), a considerableunderstatement of the class conflict, labor troubles and urban unrest ofthe Chicago of the 187 s. This tornado of fire createdmany small fire whirls and reached internal winds of up to 8 miles perhour (Pernin 3). The accounts of the day indicate that the survivorsand their neighbors in surrounding communities cooperated well to cope withthe immediate consequences of the Peshtigo fire and to bring succor to itsvictims. Chicago: Chicago Historical Society, 1996.Christianson, Rich. When they emerged onto to the riverbank, theweather was cold and some succumbed to exposure and disease. Reaction and Relief Railroad company foreman Big John Mulligan led a gang of railroadlaborers who rounded up the dead, identified them and arranged for theirburial the next day. The poor, such as the itinerant daylaborers in Peshtigo, most if not all of the owners of the wooden homeswhich went up in smoke, and the 1 , homeless in Chicago were all oralmost all essentially at risk with no insurance, company pension orwelfare state to fall back on. The Chicago Historical Society said that "along with thestories of narrow escapes, heroic rescues, and selfless mutual assistance,there also tales . The two fires helped bring greater awareness of the need forprecautions in many areas.
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