There was a great deal of damage from the Peshtigo Fire of October 1871 (see my October 8th post in remembrance of the Peshtigo Fire), including damage to telegraph lines in the immediate vicinity of Peshtigo. Word reached Governor Lucius Fairchild’s office on October 10th. Considering the times, a 24 hour delay in the word getting out about the massive destruction and loss of life was impressive. Apparently, the Governor and his aides were in Chicago with train loads of supplies and food for those affected by the Chicago Fires. Until the Governor and his aides returned, his wife lead the efforts to gather supplies and food to help the victims of the Peshtigo Fire. After the word of the fire got out to the rest of the country, cash donations and supplies poured into Wisconsin. Health care and lodging were provided. It is not clear when reconstruction of Peshtigo and other affected towns began, I would imagine that reconstruction began in the spring of 1872, if not sooner if the weather allowed. Nor is it clear on how long this reconstruction took, but it seems that a great deal of Peshtigo had been reconstructed by 1881 (Epilogue to Pernin, 1971, pp. 271-2).
I noted one comment that Schafer made: “Naturally, a large part of the succor came from the people of Wisconsin. But distant communities were permitted to help. One of the early contributions came from the state of Maine whose people understood the forest fire peril and were peculiarly response to the situation in Wisconsin and Michigan (Schafer, 1927, p.105)". I got curious about the reference to Maine so I did a little reading. From what I understand forest fires as they were known then were not uncommon in northern Maine. I know only a little information about forest fires that burned in Maine prior to 1871. However, I did learn a little about the Miramichi Fire that burned about 3,000,000 acres in northern Maine and neighboring New Brunswick, Canada in 1825. People from Miramichi New Brunswick sought refuge in the Miramichi River much like the people of Peshtigo sought refuge in the Peshtigo River (See The Ten Worst fires in U.S. History).
It did not take me long to learn of the fire that burned in Portland, Maine on July 4, 1866, burning one-third of the city, and leaving about 10,000 people homeless (see The Portland Press Herald Special Edition Report on the 150th anniversary of July 4, 1866 Fire). When Shepard writes of support from the State of Maine for the people of Wisconsin and Michigan, I can not help but think of how people from outside of Maine responded to the 1866 Portland Fire. Perhaps returning the "favor" because they know what it felt like to see and live through the destruction that fires can bring.
Still to come, I have one more article to write about the Peshtigo Fires. I hope to be finished with my research by the end of next week.
Other articles in this series:
In Remembrance: Peshtigo Wisconsin Fire, October 8-9 1871
In Remembrance: Final Thoughts (for now) of the 1871 Peshtigo Fire
References
10 of the Worst Wildfires in U.S. History, obtained on October 13, 2021 from https://www.treehugger.com/worst-wildfires-in-us-history-4864091
Pernin, Peter (Rev) 1874, Great Peshtigo Fire: An Eyewitness Account, reprinted in Wisconsin Magazine of History 54,4 (Summer 1971) pp. 246-272. obtained on October 5, 2021 from https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/wmh/id/46361
Portland Press Herald, 2016, The Night Portland Burned (Special Project), obtained October 13, 2021 from
Schafer, Joseph, 1927, Editorial Comment: Great Fires of Seventy-One, Wisconsin Magazine of History 11,1 (September 1927) pp. 96-106. Obtained on October 5, 2021 from https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/wmh/id/6167
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