UntitledTown Book and Author Festival

The Great Green Bay Fire of September 20, 1880, destroyed more buildings than any other fire in this city’s entire history. About 100 buildings burned including sixty homes, a church, a few businesses with the remainder being out-buildings.
 
The fire began when burning coal embers from a ship on the Fox River ignited a saw dust pile behind a wood mill on South Washington St. In spite of efforts by the Green Bay Fire Department, strong winds spread the flames from building to building, block to block eventually covering nearly a mile.

Siegel will give a presentation about the Great Fire of 1880, taken from his book Forces of Change, Events That Led To The Development Of The Green Bay Fire Department, 1836-1895. Afterwards, he will give a guided tour of the fire area, including the origin site, significant firefighting locations, destroyed buildings sites and highlight five extant buildings that were directly threatened by the flames in 1880, using the UntitledTown trolley (minimal walking required).