The Peshtigo Fire of 1871

The Story of the Deadliest Fire in American History

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: Tim Harwood

"Why is this story not known? You see endless stories about Johnstown. What happened at Peshtigo makes Johnstown look like a birdbath.... The air burned hotter than a crematorium and the fire traveled at 90 mph. I read an account of a Civil War veteran who had been through some of the worst battles of the war. He described the sound - the roar - during the fire as 100 times greater than any artillery bombardment." - Bill Lutz, co-author of Firestorm at Peshtigo

In arguably the most famous fire in American history, a blaze in the southwestern section of Chicago began to burn out of control on the night of October 8, 1871. It had taken about 40 years for Chicago to grow from a small settlement of about 300 people into a thriving metropolis with a population of 300,000. But in just two days in 1871, much of that progress was burned to the ground.

Due to the publicity generated by a fire that reduced most of a major American city to ash, the Peshtigo Fire of 1871 might fairly be called America's forgotten disaster. Overshadowed by the much better-covered and publicized Great Chicago Fire that occurred on the same evening, the fire that started in the Wisconsin logging town of Peshtigo generated a firestorm unlike anything in American history. In addition to destroying a wide swath of land, it killed at least 1,500 people and possibly as many as 2,500 - several times more than the number of casualties in Chicago. While people marveled at the fact that the Great Chicago Fire managed to jump a river, the Peshtigo fire was so intense that it was able to jump several miles across Green Bay. While wondering aloud about the way in which the Peshtigo fire has been overlooked, Bill Lutz noted, "Fires are normally very fascinating to people, but people seem resistant to Peshtigo."

©2012 Charles River Editors (P)2015 Charles River Editors

Terror in the Northwoods

This is a highly condensed recounting of a horrific fire which occurred on the same days as the Chicago fire but covered much more territory and infinitely more casualties. It draws heavily on the published account by a survivor. Well worth listening to, especially if it instigates further study by the reader.
Peshtigo is in Wisconsin, and so am I.
Tim Harwood does well enough as narrator.

Interesting piece of history

It is really hard to believe that I have never heard of this fire before. It was truly a disaster of Biblical proportions. The accounts detailed in this book are amazing.

Great story deserves more times

I didn't realize this download is only 90 minutes, until I was an hour into it. I wish there was more to learn.

This is a great account of an unknown tragedy