154th Anniversary of Tragic Peshtigo Fire Commemorated October 8 by Peshtigo Historical Society


October 8th, 2025 marked the 154th anniversary of the great Peshtigo, Wisconsin fire. The Peshtigo Historical Society presented its annual memorial commemorating the tragedy and honoring the victims and those who survived.

The 1871 October firestorm incinerated 1.2 million acres and killed approximately 2,500 people. It is considered the deadliest fire in American history.

Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films filmed the commemoration and the candlelight vigil for their documentary PESHTIGO: American Firestorm.

They also filmed the mass grave at Peshtigo Fire Cemetery, and Harmony Cemetery and Mays Corners Cemetery where other victims of the fire are buried.

“PESHTIGO: American Firestorm” (working title) will combine vintage photos, artists renderings, limited re-enactments and archival materials with eye-witness accounts and perspectives from present-day historians and scholars, including Jerry Apps, PhD, the author of “When the White Pine was King”, and conservationists to tell the dramatic story of America’s deadliest firestorm. “Peshtigo” is funded in part by a grant from Wisconsin Humanities, with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The documentary is tentatively slated for release in October 2026.

Add your name to the film's credits! You can make a tax-deductible contribution for $100 or more via our Fiscal Sponsor, the Peshtigo Historical Society. Visit their website here: Peshtigo Historical Society to join our growing list of supporters. 

We are truly grateful to all of our supporters! And, thank you so much for considering helping us preserve and tell this important, but little known, Midwestern history story!

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