peshtigo fire museum

This is such an interesting place! Take the time to talk to the people and look around, it's educational, informational, and really interesting!! I've been there twice and look forward to going again to learning even more. It's worth the time AND you can go look around for a donation!

The story of the fire in Peshtigo always gets overlooked because it took place the same day as the great Chicago Fire. That is unfortunate because there are many more personal stories that are known about Peshtigo that touch the heart. For that reason I recommend that after a quick trip through the museum -- which has only a few fire mementos but lots of antiques -- you wander through the cemetery which is next door. Read the headstones. Hear their stories. Some will break your heart.

I had never heard the story of this beautiful, thriving, little town that was destroyed by fire on the same night as the more know Chicago Fire. My friend, however, had read about it and when she saw that we were near, insisted that we visit. A wise choice. There were possibly as many as 2,500 deaths with people jumping into the Peshtigo River to try to stay alive. The banks were to hot to climb out and many drown.Peshtigo is now, once again, a beautiful little town, maybe not as thriving but with a history of perseverance and pride they are a great example,for other areas that have experienced disaster, to follow.

My blind husband (along with his service animal) and I were deeply disappointed by this place -- which had a number of positive reviews on this site. Our disappointment goes beyond my husband being told by an older female "greeter" that he could not bring his clearly identified service animal into the museum. (Once she was shown a copy of Wisconsin's service animal statute, she "allowed" us to enter but couldn't understand why we were no longer enthusiastic to visit the museum and why her "friendly" offer of a brochure was rebuffed by my husband's sighted wife.) What we saw -- at a site that did not appear to be handicapped accessible -- was a collection of "stuff". There were display cases that contained things; there were old wooden and metal objects placed in various rooms of a building that appeared to be a repurposed church. Understandably, there were lots of signs indicating items should to be touched or handled. But there was absolutely no information that explained why this museum existed, why its contents was worth observing, and what connection these objects had to the Peshtigo fire. The two older women who appeared to be staffing the museum when we arrived just sat on entryway chairs but certainly made no effort to offer information about the museum, besides offering a lone brochure. It's not clear if these older women were typical of museum staffing or whether our treatment (after an admittedly unpleasant exchange about The Seeing Eye dog my husband uses as a mobility aid) was typical of how other museum visitors are treated. There was no information about the fire itself or about how the items in the museum contributed to whatever mission this museum has identified for itself. As profoundly hurtful as it was for my husband to have his right to be in a public place with his service animal challenged, it was mystifying how the women at the museum put in no effort (beyond a perfunctory greeting) to orient visitors to the museum. They chose NOT to tell the story of the fire -- or of their museum. What could have been an interesting place turned out to be a sad, disorganized collection of stuff. Once we walked out of the museum, we took a few minutes to walk through an adjacent cemetery. Despite being attacked by a myriad of mosquitoes while walking among the graves, we got a greater sense of the tragedy of the Peshtigo fire during those few minutes than we had walking through the museum's multiple rooms.This museum wouldn't seem to hold much appeal for children, instead being the kind of place history buffs (like my husband and me) actively seek out as we travel. Even discounting the dog guide challenge (a violation of federal and state law and, in most instances, local ordinances as well), this museum would present a substantial challenge for any handicapped individual. As someone who uses a cane, I worked to manage steps and stairways. As edifying as community pride in donated items can be (at least for those who donated the artifacts), there needs to be information (either in the form of displays or staff who actively interact with visitors) that help to tell the museum's "story". Although the community of Peshtigo appeared to be a nice place, my husband and I had no desire to drive around and spend money at a restaurant (or fill up with gasoline after our 50-plus mile drive to the rural community) given the way we were treated at the museum. Normally, we would have donated some money to a community museum or purchased souvenirs. No need to do that for this place! What could have been an opportunity for us to learn -- in a personal and human way -- about the Peshtigo fire was destroyed by the older woman who thought a Seeing Eye dog was a "pet".

The museum is really just a prop to help tell the fascinating, horrible story of the Peshtigo fire of 1871. If you are not familiar with what happened on that fateful day you will be amazed by the horror and helplessness of the people involved. We had a guide that was very knowledgeable and he enjoyed is job.The cemetery next door to the museum reveals more of the story, which includes a mass grave for about 350 people that were burned beyond knowing if they were men, or women.There is no charge for the museum, but you can make a donation. A sobering, but worthwhile stop.

It is an interesting stop for people familiar with the history of the famous Chicago fire but not necessarily with the Peshtigo fire. The museum is located in the first church built in Peshtigo after the 1871 fire. There are some artifacts on display and a lot of historical information. The visit should include the adjacent cemetery. There is a monument to 800 victims of the disaster. Peshtigo fire killed about five times more people than the Chicago fire.

Concise but attractive museum that summarizes the devastating Peshtigo Fire. We drove here specifically to see this museum. Wonderful volunteer guides brought the history to life. Well worth the stop.

This museum, run by volunteers, is focused on the great Peshtigo forest fire which was one of the most disastrous in US history. But beyond that, there is a grand assortment of "stuff" from a collection of old baby buggies to the better part of a prescrition department rescued from an early pharmacy. The basement contains old canoes, skis and fire fightfighting equipment. The only shortcoming I could see was the lack of information on how the town recovered from the fire..or maybe I missed it. For history junkies, this is a fine little museum. Be sure to visit the cemetery next door which contains the remains of many who died in the fire.

This museum accepts donations which I think is great. I paid $5. The museum has donations of everything you could think of from various professions dating back to the Peshtigo fire to tools tradesmen used. They had wedding dresses, dental chairs, fire fighting equipment, & service uniforms from WWI. It's a great place to step back in time and see how some things have progressed while other are very similar to what we use today. Definitely worth the stop.

If you are a history buff this is the place to stop. It not real huge but it shows what happened many, many years ago in this area.

A quaint, local museum ran by volunteers. Filled with items from a past era. The building itself, a former church, had been moved from across the river. The church was one of the buildings that survived the Great Peshtigo Fire.

The Peshtigo Fire Museum in Peshtigo, Wisconsin isn’t about firefighting equipment, but rather it tell the history of America’s most disastrous forest fire. Located about 50 miles north of Green Bay, the museum is a record of the fire, a tribute to its survivors and a memorial to its victims. The Peshtigo fire’s history has been overshadowed by another fire that took place on the same day and at virtually the same time—the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Yet the Peshtigo Fire did more damage and took more lives than did the Chicago fire. The museum is located in a former church and contains items that somehow survived the fire. For example, there’s a dime and silver dollar that were fused together by the fire’s heat. A contents of a can of blueberries, petrified by the heat. The Catholic church’s tabernacle, made from wood, survived the fire because the pastor carried to the river to save it. Odd pieces of jewelry and even a porcelain dog somehow came through unscathed. There are photos, some before and after of the thriving town and its destruction. Adjacent to the museum is the Peshtigo Fire Cemetery where many of the fire’s 800 victims are buried, many of them in a common grave. There are also plaques adjacent to some graves that tell the tragic stories of some of the fire’s victims.

The Peshtigo Fire Museum tells the story of this little known event and much, much more. It is housed in an old church that is next to an even older cemetery. Several of the graves date back to the historic fire of 1871 that wiped out their town killing 1200 residents. The museum has carefully documented the event with first-person accounts and whatever photos and the few artifacts that could be recovered. It is an amazing story! The museum also houses an extensive collection of artifacts of daily life in the late 1800s and early 1900s, all well displayed and clearly described.The museum guides were knowledgeable and helpful. An outstanding museum for such a small town!

If you know anything at all about the Peshtigo fire, you don't really need to stop here. The Museum is the pride of the people who work here and they are enthusiastic about the museum and it's artifacts. The adjoining cemetery with the fire's victims was much more poignant.

We stopped here because of our interest in the fire - I'm guessing that's why most people stop here, and there were quite a few guests on the day we visited. However, this is really a historical museum, and not a very good one. It mainly has stuff, stuff, stuff on display with very little signage. If you love gawking at old dolls, clothes, cash registers, etc., you'll enjoy it. If you're not into that stuff, you'll be disappointed. The parts of the museum that are related to the fire are exactly one photo of a building burning, a very small display case with a few articles that were saved from the fire or burned beyond recognition, and some of the graves in the adjacent cemetery (including the mass grave containing 350 victims of the fire, which was very sobering). Frankly, it is quite obvious that the only reason they named this museum the "Fire Museum" is to draw unsuspecting visitors in. I find this dishonest and distasteful.