Sketch of the Great Fires in Wisconsin

Frank Tilton

The Peshtigo fire in Northeastern Wisconsin is the deadliest wildfire in recorded history, claiming somewhere between 1200 and 2500 lives. Estimates vary due to the fact that many victims were buried in mass graves. It burned between 1.2 and 1.5 million acres. It took place on October 8, 1871, and gets little notice because that was the same day as the Great Chicago Fire, which claimed around 300 lives and burned about 2000 acres.

This contemporaneous account was put together by Frank Tilton, editor of the Green Bay Advocate. After giving a general description of the area, Tilton provides details of the fire and firefighting efforts, together with descriptions of the damage done. As would be expected of a journalist, Tilton gathered many firsthand accounts. They are terrifying. He concludes with a very heartening chapter detailing the aid, both material and monetary, that was received from around the state and country and from Europe. Cash contributions alone totaled around $350,000, the equivalent of about $8 million in 2024.

To learn more about the Peshtigo fire, see the
Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshtigo_fire or the
National Weather Service history at https://www.weather.gov/grb/peshtigofire - Summary by Verla Viera (3 hr 37 min)

Chapters