Great Fires of 1871

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Great Fires of 1871
Locations-of-Great-Fires-of-1871.svg
Approximate location of every known fire
Date(s)September 29, 1871 (1871-09-29) – October 12, 1871 (1871-10-12)
Location United States
Statistics
Burned area3,000,000 acres (1,200,000 ha)
Impacts
DeathsThousands
Ignition
CauseControlled burns, railroad sparks, etc.

The Great Fires of 1871 were a series of conflagrations that took place throughout the final days of September and first weeks of October 1871 in the United States, primarily occurring in the Midwestern United States. These fires include the Great Chicago Fire, Peshtigo Fire, and Great Michigan Fire. In total, the fires burnt more than 3,000,000 acres (1,200,000 ha) of land and killed thousands. [1]

Contents

Background

The summer of 1871 saw a prolonged drought. A report from the National Weather Service in Chicago stated that "leaves had started dropping as early as July." Only 134 mm of rain had fallen in Chicago compared to the average of more than 230 mm. Lansing, Michigan reported 70% of the average and Thunder Bay, Michigan reported just 64%. On the first week of October 1871 a large cold front had moved in creating strong south-easternly winds. [2] The first week of October also had "tinder dry" conditions, perfect for fires. [3]

Fires

Wisconsin

Peshtigo Fire

The Peshtigo Fire occurred on October 8, 1871, in Wisconsin. It is considered among the deadliest fires in recorded history, [4] The fire was said to have also been started due to slash and burn methods and grown by the winds. [5] Peter Pernin (an eyewitness) wrote "When turning my gaze from the river I chanced to look either to the right or left, before me or upwards, I saw nothing but flames." [6] In total the fire spanned across 6 counties and 1.2–1.5 million acres, [7] killed 1,200 to 1,500 people, and damaged a total of 16 towns. [8] The only structures that remained in Peshtigo was a brick kiln and a house constructed of new wood. [9] Today there is a museum and cemetery to commemorate the fire. [10]

Other Wisconsin fires

Another fire burned in the lower half of the Door Peninsula. A misconception is that the Peshtigo fire "jumped" across the bay to the Door Peninsula, however these were separate fires. The fire started south of New Franken and spread due to the wind. The fire burned the towns of Union, Brussels and Forestville. The fire also burnt the town of Williamsonville (located in modern-day Gardner) which left only 17 alive from the population of 77. The town did not rebuild. [11] The fire spanned from its starting point to south of Sturgeon Bay and an estimated 7,500 people were left homeless due to the fire. [12]

Illinois

Chicago

Painting of the Great Chicago Fire by Currier and Ives Chicago in Flames by Currier & Ives, 1871 (cropped).jpg
Painting of the Great Chicago Fire by Currier and Ives

Illinois suffered the most well-known fire in American history, the Great Chicago Fire. The fire broke out at around 8:30 pm on October 8 near or in a barn belonging to the O'Leary family. [13] The fire is reputed to have been started by a cow belonging to Catherine O'Leary, which knocked over a lantern in a barn, but this is unconfirmed and the true start to the fire is unknown. The fire quickly spread due to the strong winds mentioned previously. Another contributing factor of the fire's growth was that the fire had created a fire whirl which flung burning debris further. [14] The fire eventually stopped after burning itself out, which was helped by rain that had started on the night of October 9. The fire killed around 300 people, burned 2,112 acres, and cost $222 million. The fire would spur Chicago and many other cities to enact new building codes to help prevent fires from breaking out and spreading as far. [15]

Urbana

On the same day of the Great Chicago Fire, a fire broke out in Urbana. It was caused by children playing with matches in an alley. It burned a few buildings. [16]

Minnesota

The first of the great fires, the Great Prairie Fire, started in Minnesota on the October 5. Ottawa Daily Citizen reported "A conflagration has been raging on the prairie and in the big woods west since Friday last." [17] This shows the fire started around September 29. The fire's cause is unknown, but it began around Breckenridge and quickly spread due to strong winds towards the "Big Woods" region. [18] By October 6 the fire had reached as far south as the Iowa border, as far east as the Minnesota River. [19] At least 2 lives were lost. [20]

Michigan

Michigan saw many fires spread across the whole state. These fires were said to be caused by land clearing fires that grew out of control due to the "slash" that laid on the ground due to heavy logging. The fire also grew due to the strong winds. The cities of Holland and Manistee were completely destroyed and other cities such as Alpena and Port Huron (in the Port Huron Fire) were damaged. The city and county of Menominee was damaged in the Peshtigo Fire. Overall the fires burnt around 2.5 million acres. [21]

Canada

Image taken after the Windsor Fire WindsorFire1871.jpg
Image taken after the Windsor Fire

On October 12 a fire broke out in Windsor, Ontario, caused by an overheated iron. The fire quickly ravaged most of the wood buildings in the commercial district. There were no deaths, but 100 buildings were destroyed. Many of the citizens rebuilt their houses out of brick to prevent future fires. [22]

The Empire article from October 16, 1871 mentions many fires along the Ottawa River started by land clearing. The fires were worst between Alymer and Gatineau. The towns of Quyon, Pembroke, and Sand Point were also damaged. The article mentions that "it is not only the brushwood and the forest trees that burn, the very sod is instinct with fire" [23]

Kansas

Kansas experienced multiple prairie fires including one "about 15 miles up Soldier Creek", one "from Osage City to Dragoon Creek, a distance of six miles", [24] another "at the head of Mulberry, Chapman, and the east branch of Pipe creeks," [25] and one north of Thayer. [26]

New York

New York saw multiple fires in Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster counties. In Orange County, fires burnt along railroads, and the Shawangunk Mountains were "for miles... a sheet of flame". Sullivan County's lumber industry suffered as a large amounts of hemlock bark shavings were on the ground. Fire damaged the towns of Bethel, Forestburgh, and Port Jervis. [27] [28]

Elsewhere

Nebraska also experienced multiple prairie fires near Covington, Fremont, and North Bend. [29] [30] [31]

Fires along the Toledo and Wabash Railway burnt near cities such as Antwerp and New Haven. [32]

Pennsylvania suffered fires in Pike County, around Matamoras, and in Carbon County around White Haven. [33]

New Jersey suffered from fires in Sussex County, across the river from Pike County, Pennsylvania. [34]

On October 5, Iowa suffered a fire in Burlington. [35]

Yankton, South Dakota suffered a fire on October 5. [36]

Some historians suspect many additional fires may have also occurred. Professor Increase A. Lapham wrote a report to the Chief Signal Officer saying "The work of extending the prairie border was exhibited in the autumn of 1871 upon the grandest scale. Fires have swept more or less completely along the whole northern frontier, from the Rocky Mountains through Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and even into New York and Pennsylvania." [37] Another source states that the fires "extended to Utah, Nevada, California, and Oregon in the west, and to Virginia, Pennsylvania, and eastern New York." [18]

Theories

The concurrence of these fires raised many theories about what happened to cause them.

One hypothesis arose only two years after the fires. The theory states that fragments of Biela's Comet which split into two around 1845, impacted the grounds of the fires and lit them ablaze. [38] However, experts dispute such a scenario—meteorites in fact are cold to the touch when they reach the Earth's surface, and there are no credible reports of any fire anywhere having been started by a meteorite. [39] [40] Given the low tensile strength of such bodies, if a fragment of an icy comet were to strike the Earth, the most likely outcome would be for it to disintegrate in the upper atmosphere, leading to a meteor air burst. [41]

Another theory states that lightning caused the fires. [38] There are also many more theories on what caused the Great Chicago Fire specifically. For example, one theory states that a group of gambling men started the fire. [42]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Chicago Fire</span> 1871 conflagration in Illinois, US

The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly 3.3 square miles (9 km2) of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 100,000 residents homeless. The fire began in a neighborhood southwest of the city center. A long period of hot, dry, windy conditions, and the wooden construction prevalent in the city, led to the conflagration spreading quickly. The fire leapt the south branch of the Chicago River and destroyed much of central Chicago and then crossed the main stem of the river, consuming the Near North Side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marinette, Wisconsin</span> City in Wisconsin, United States

Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the south bank of the Menominee River, at its mouth at Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan; to the north is Stephenson Island, part of the city preserved as park. During the lumbering boom of the late 19th century, Marinette became the tenth-largest city in Wisconsin in 1900, reaching a peak population of 16,195.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holland, Michigan</span> City in Michigan, United States

Holland is a city in Ottawa and Allegan counties in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River. Holland is a thriving city with a diverse economy that includes manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, and higher education. It is home to a number of prominent companies, including Herman Miller, Haworth, and Adient, formerly known as Johnson Controls. The city also attracts thousands of visitors each year for its annual Tulip Time Festival, which celebrates the area's Dutch heritage and vibrant tulip fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peshtigo (town), Wisconsin</span> Town in Wisconsin, United States

Peshtigo is a town located in Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,006 at the 2020 census. The City of Peshtigo is located within the town. The historic Peshtigo Fire took place here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peshtigo fire</span> 1871 forest fire that destroyed Peshtigo, Wisconsin, US

The Peshtigo fire was a large forest fire on October 8, 1871, in northeastern Wisconsin, United States, including much of the southern half of the Door Peninsula and adjacent parts of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The largest community in the affected area was Peshtigo, Wisconsin, which had a population of approximately 1,700 residents. The fire burned about 1.2 million acres (490,000 ha) and is the deadliest wildfire in recorded history, with the number of deaths estimated between 1,500 and 2,500. The exact number of deaths is debated. Data from mass graves, both those already exhumed and those still being discovered, show that the death toll of the blaze was most likely greater than the 1889 Johnstown flood death toll of 2,200 people or more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peshtigo, Wisconsin</span> City in Wisconsin, United States

Peshtigo is a city in Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was at 3,420 as of the 2020 census The city is surrounded by the Town of Peshtigo. It is part of the Marinette, WI–MI Micropolitan Statistical Area. Peshtigo is known for being the site of the Peshtigo fire of 1871, in which more than 1,200 people died.

The Thumb Fire took place on September 5, 1881, in the Thumb area of Michigan in the United States. The fire, which burned over a million acres (4,000 km2) in less than a day, was the consequence of drought, hurricane-force winds, heat, the after-effects of the Port Huron Fire of 1871, and the ecological damage wrought by the era's logging techniques. The blaze, also called the Great Thumb Fire, the Great Forest Fire of 1881 and the Huron Fire, killed 282 people in Sanilac, Lapeer, Tuscola and Huron counties. The damage estimate was $2,347,000 in 1881, equivalent to $74,100,455 when adjusted for inflation. The fire sent enough soot and ash up into the atmosphere that sunlight was partially obscured at many locations on the East Coast of the United States. In New England cities, the sky appeared yellow and projected a strange luminosity onto buildings and vegetation. Twilight appeared at 12 noon. September 6, 1881, became known as Yellow Tuesday or Yellow Day because of the ominous nature of this atmospheric event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fire whirl</span> Whirlwind induced by and often composed of fire

A fire whirl, fire devil or fire tornado is a whirlwind induced by a fire and often composed of flame or ash. These start with a whirl of wind, often made visible by smoke, and may occur when intense rising heat and turbulent wind conditions combine to form whirling eddies of air. These eddies can contract to a tornado-like vortex that sucks in debris and combustible gases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloquet fire</span> Forest fire in Minnesota, United States

The Cloquet Fire was an immense forest fire in northern Minnesota, United States in October 1918, caused by sparks on the local railroads amid dry conditions. The fire left much of western Carlton County devastated, mostly affecting Moose Lake, Cloquet, and Kettle River. Cloquet was hardest hit by the fires; it was the worst natural disaster in Minnesota history in terms of the number of casualties in a single day. It is also the third-deadliest wildfire in recorded history, behind the Peshtigo fire of 1871 and a 1936 wildfire that occurred in Kursha-2.

The Port Huron Fire of October 8, 1871 burned a number of cities including White Rock and Port Huron, and much of the countryside in the "Thumb" region of the U.S. state of Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manistee Pierhead lights</span> Lighthouses in Michigan, United States

The Manistee Pierhead lights are a pair of active aids to navigation located on the north and south pier in the harbor of Manistee, Michigan, "Lake Michigan’s Victorian Port City."

The Great Fire of 1871 may refer to any of several large fires in the Midwestern United States that began on October 8, 1871:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peshtigo Fire Museum</span>

The Peshtigo Fire Museum preserves the heritage of the Peshtigo Fire, which destroyed the city of Peshtigo, Wisconsin and surrounding area on October 8, 1871, killing over 2,000 people. It hosts storytelling, exhibits of artifacts from the fire, displays of the lifestyle at the time of the disaster, and a cemetery to memorialize those who died. The museum is adjacent to the Peshtigo Fire Cemetery, where the charred remains of over 350 people were buried in a mass grave. The cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The memorial at the cemetery was the first official state historical marker authorized by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

The Great Michigan Fire was a series of simultaneous forest fires in the state of Michigan in the United States in 1871. They were possibly caused by the same winds that fanned the Great Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo Fire and the Port Huron Fire; some believe lightning or even meteor showers may have started the fires. Several cities, towns and villages, including Alpena, Holland, Manistee, and Port Huron, suffered serious damage or were lost. The concurrent Peshtigo Fire in Wisconsin also destroyed several towns in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In 1881, much more than half of "the Thumb" region was burned over by the Thumb Fire, which followed part of the same path as the 1871 fires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Seavey</span> American Great Lakes pirate

Dan Seavey, also known as "Roaring" Dan Seavey, was an American sailor, fisherman, farmer, saloon keeper, prospector, U.S. marshal, thief, poacher, smuggler, hijacker, procurer, and timber pirate in Wisconsin and Michigan and on the Great Lakes in the late 19th to early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menekaunee, Wisconsin</span> Former village in Wisconsin, United States

Menekaunee, Wisconsin, also spelled Minikani or Menekaune, was a village in Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States; it is now a neighborhood of the City of Marinette.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Fire of 1874</span> American fire

The Chicago Fire of 1874 took place on July 14. Reports of the extent of the damage vary somewhat, but sources generally agree that the fire burned 47 acres (19 ha) just south of the Loop, destroyed 812 structures and killed 20 people. The affected neighborhood had been home to Chicago's community of Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland, as well as to a significant population of middle-class African-American families; both ethnic groups were displaced in the aftermath of the fire to other neighborhoods on the city's West and South Sides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Pernin</span> French missionary priest (1822–1909)

Jean-Pierre Pernin, also known as Peter Pernin in America, was a French Roman Catholic priest, who came to the United States in 1864 as a missionary, working in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. As Catholic pastor of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, he survived the Peshtigo fire on October 8–9, 1871. His survivor's memoir, written originally in French, published simultaneously in English translation, and entitled Le doigt de Dieu est là! / The Finger of God Is There!, is a document important to the history of the fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate of Door County, Wisconsin</span>

The climate of Door County, Wisconsin is tempered by Green Bay and Lake Michigan. There are fewer extremely cold days and fewer hot days than in areas of Wisconsin directly to the west. Lake waters delay the coming of spring as well as extend mild temperatures in the fall. Annual precipitation is slightly lower than elsewhere in northern Wisconsin. The county features a humid continental climate with warm summers and cold snowy winters.

References

  1. ↑ Hultquist, Tom. "The Great Midwest Wildfires of 1871". National Weather Service. NWS. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  2. ↑ Evans, Chad (October 8, 2021). "Local Weather History: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 & How It Is Connected to Our Area". wlfi.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  3. ↑ Heidorn, Keith. "Weather Almanac for October 2000". University of Wisconsin-Madison. University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  4. ↑ Biondich, S. (June 9, 2010). "The Great Peshtigo Fire". Shepherd Express . Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  5. ↑ Hemphill, Stephanie (November 27, 2002). "Peshtigo: a tornado of fire revisited". News and Features. Minnesota Public Radio . Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  6. ↑ Pernin, Peter (October 30, 2014). The Great Peshtigo Fire: An Eyewitness Account. Wisconsin Historical Society Press. p. 64. ISBN   9780870206849. 0870206842 . Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  7. ↑ Everett Rosenfeld (June 8, 2011). "Top 10 Devastating Wildfires: The Peshtigo Fire, 1871". Time.
  8. ↑ Kim Estep. "The Peshtigo Fire". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved March 25, 2024– via National Weather Service.
  9. ↑ "Aftermath -- Peshtigo Fire Museum". Peshtigo Fire Museum. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Peshtigo Fire Museum". Peshtigo Fire Museum. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  11. ↑ Skiba, Justin (September 2, 2016). "The Fire That Took Williamsonville". Door County Pulse. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  12. ↑ Moran, Joseph; Somerville, Lee. "Tornadoes of Fire at Williamsonville, Wisconsin October 8, 1871" (PDF). University of Wisconsin Digital Collections. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  13. ↑ Pierce, Bessie Louise (2007) [1957]. A History of Chicago: Volume III: The Rise of a Modern City, 1871–1893. Republished. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 4. ISBN   978-0-226-66842-0.
  14. ↑ Abbott, Karen (October 4, 2012). "What (or Who) Caused the Great Chicago Fire?". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  15. ↑ González, Jennifer. "The Great Chicago Fire". Library of Congress Blogs. Library of Congress. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Urbana Fire Rescue History..." Urbana Firefighters. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  17. ↑ "A Prairie Fire". No. Ottawa Daily Citizen. Newspapers.com. October 5, 1871. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  18. 1 2 Schafer, Joseph (1927). "Great Fires of Seventy-One". The Wisconsin Magazine of History. 11 (1): 96–106. JSTOR   4630707 . Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  19. ↑ "The Minnesota Fire". The San Francisco Examiner. Newspapers.com. October 7, 1871. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  20. ↑ "PRAIRIE FIRES". Sioux City Journal. Newspapers.com. October 7, 1871. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  21. ↑ Sodders, Betty (1997). Michigan on Fire. Thunder Bay Press. pp. 8–9. ISBN   9781882376520. OCLC   12343999.
  22. ↑ Wilhelm, Trevor. "150 years ago, Great Windsor Fire of 1871 destroyed downtown built of wood". windsorstar. Windsor Star. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  23. ↑ "16 Oct 1871 - MILES OF FIRE - Trove". Trove. The Empire. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  24. ↑ "PRAIRIE FIRES". Lawrence Daily Journal. Lawrence Daily Journal. October 11, 1871. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Fires - Mitchell County Kansas". Concordia Empire. Newspapers.com. October 7, 1971. p. 3. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  26. ↑ "The Head-Light". Newspapers.com. The Head-Light. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  27. ↑ "16 Oct 1871 - MILES OF FIRE - Trove". Trove. The Empire. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Chicago tribune. [volume], June 01, 1871, Image 3". Library of Congress. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  29. ↑ "GREAT PRAIRI FIRE". Fremont Tri-Weekly Tribune. Newspapers.com. October 6, 1871. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  30. ↑ "Fires - Nebraska". Sioux City Journal. Newspapers.com. October 5, 1871. p. 4. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  31. ↑ "Prairie fires - Nebraska, MN". Sioux City Journal. Newspapers.com. October 7, 1871. p. 1. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  32. ↑ "Fire - Ohio". The Tennessean. Newspapers.com. October 5, 1871. p. 1. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  33. ↑ "16 Oct 1871 - MILES OF FIRE - Trove". Trove. The Empire. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  34. ↑ "Chicago tribune. [volume], June 01, 1871, Image 3". Library of Congress. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  35. ↑ "Iowa". Daily Arkansas Gazette. Newspapers.com. October 7, 1871. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  36. ↑ "Fires - Dakota". Sioux City Journal. Newspapers.com. October 6, 1871. p. 1. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  37. ↑ Lapham, Increase (1872). Journal of the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts. Franklin Institute. p. 416. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  38. 1 2 Sodders, Betty (1997). Michigan on Fire. Thunder Bay Press. pp. 8–9. ISBN   9781882376520. OCLC   12343999.
  39. ↑ Calfee, Mica (February 2003). "Was It a Cow or a Meteorite?". Meteorite Magazine. 9 (1). Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  40. ↑ "Meteorites Don't Pop Corn". NASA Science. NASA. July 27, 2001. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  41. ↑ Beech, M. (November 2006). "The Problem of Ice Meteorites" (PDF). Meteorite Quarterly. 12 (4): 17–19. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  42. ↑ Murphy, Jim (1995). The Great Fire. Scholastic Incorporated. ISBN   978-0-590-47267-8. OCLC   30070801.
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