Conflagration at Forest Hill.......

Forest Hill in the eastern-most part of Town of Carlton numbers among Kewaunee County’s long forgotten communities. Forest Hill, in Section 7 along Lake Michigan, was completely destroyed by fire on June 26, 1864. U.S. Post Office Department records indicate the place was also called Carlton, and one of the two places known as Sandy Bay.

Two conflagrations that come to mind when one thinks of such destruction in Kewaunee County are the Peshtigo fire of 1871 and the 1898 fire within the City of Kewaunee. However there were others. Perhaps it was because fewer people were affected, or maybe it was due to the era's primitive communications that these fires don’t have much of a place in county history.

Throughout May and June 1864 forest fires raged all over the county.Thousands of dollars were lost in the burned timber lands. Finally, fire destroyed Forest Hill.

Fire had been ravaging the woods near the small community for several days. Its residents had been working day and night to keep the fires at bay but then, just as in the Peshtigo fire years later, it was a strong wind - a south wind - that brought the fire into the small village destroying the entire settlement’s 25 buildings in less than an hour. Saving anything was nearly impossible. Some families threw whatever they could over the lake bank while they themselves were escaping to safety. A team of horses hauling water for Dean and Borland was cut off from safety and perished in the fire, as did dogs, pigs and other animals.

Villagers spent that Sunday night on the beach. As soon as the news got out, teams were sent from Kewaunee to get women and children, however most preferred to stay until they could plan for themselves. Area residents sent food and whatever they could.

Dean and Borland’s store, sawmill, warehouses, 12,000,000 shingles, 1,000 cords of wood, wagons, sleds and more were destroyed. Even the bridge pier that extended hundreds of feet into Lake Michigan was consumed by the fire.

The loss of the pier meant a loss of shipping, but Dean and Borland rebuilt. Forest Hill never regained its economic importance and faded into the annals of history along with Carlton Pier and Dean’s Pier, later names for the same place.

Ironically, seven years later, the Peshtigo fire also occurred on the Lord's Day.

Note: The above photo was taken from Here Comes the Mail, Post Offices of Kewaunee County.