Few people realize that the most destructive wildfire in North America was actually centered around the small town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin. One of the biggest reasons for it being obscure is that events of the time overtook it and became more important in the public conscientious. The fire broke out on Oct 8, 1871 - the same day the Great Chicago Fire broke out. Chicago was already a booming world class and world reknown city. Peshtigo? Some little town in northern Wisconsin. Because of Chicago's location and reknown, word of its fire broke out on all the news services of the day in a relatively rapid time - for 1871. It took about a week for news of the Peshtigo Fire - and its severity - to finally become known.
I don't have a lot of photos to show, having only had my Polaroid SX-70 at the time. Film for that camera was expensive and I tended to be careful with the amount of pics I took. It was during this time I started developing a habit of gathering all the free material I could of any given tourist location: brochures, handouts, etc. Also buying postcards and travelogue books helped a lot. It is for that reason I have only a few photos (not very good ones at that) of the inside of the Peshtigo Fire Museum. Fortunately I grabbed a brochure. Still, I hope you - Enjoy! Opa Fritz
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