Great Fire of 1871

Great Fire of 1871 is a Michigan historical marker in Manistee Township, Manistee County, dedicated 1957.

Manistee County · dedicated 1957 · Orchard Beach State Park, Manistee Township

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On October 8, 1871, the day the famous Chicago fire began, equally terrible fires broke out on Lake Michigan’s east coast in forests parched by a hot, dry summer. The flames were fanned by high winds. In a few hours most of Holland and Manistee lay in smoldering ruins, a fate other coastal towns barely escaped. The fires swept on across the state, clear to Lake Huron, destroying some two million acres of trees. Relief for the thousands of victims came from all over Michigan and the nation.

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Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

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Marker data: Michigan History Center
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More markers nearby

Manistee Fire Hall2 mi
Manistee City Library2 mi
Ramsdell Theatre2 mi
Raymond and Annie Mae Smith/99 Pine Street2 mi

On the National Register nearby

Orchard Beach State Park250 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.