1891 — July 4, Train cars go through fire-damaged trestle near Charleston, WV            –14-18

–14-18  Blanchard estimate.[1]

—     18  Prout. “A Year of Railroad Accidents,” North American Review, 154/423, Feb 1892, 203.

—     17  Appletons’ Annual Cyclopaedia…Important Events of  the Year 1891, 1892, p. 254.[2]

—     17  Clay County Enterprise, Brazil, IN. 7-8-1891, p. 1, col. 1.

–13-17  Iowa Citizen, Iowa City, IA. “Through a Trestle.” 7-8-1891, p. 2.[3]

—     17  The Reveille, Rolfe, IA. “Had Been Burned Out. An Excursion Train…” 7-9-1891, p. 2.

—     15  Lebanon Daily News, PA. “Railroad Horrors…in West Virginia.” 7-6-1891, p. 1.

—     15  New Castle News, PA. “Spreading Rails Cause…Frightful Railway Disaster.” 7-8-1891.

—   >15  Waterloo Courier, IA. “Through a Trestle. An Excursion Train…” 7-8-1891, p. 4.[4]

—     14  Brazil Democrat, IN. “Another Wreck. This One on the Kanawha…” 7-9-1891, p. 7.

—     14  Goshen Democrat, IN. “Another Disaster. Fourteen People Killed…” 7-8-1891, p. 1.

—     14  Railroad Gazette. “Train Accidents in 1891.” Vol. 24, Jan 29, 1892, p. 83.

—   >13  San Antonio Daily Express, TX. “An Excursion Wreck.” 7-5-1891, p. 1.

—   >13  The World, NYC. “Awful Fate for Thirteen…on a Train…” 7-5-1891, p. 11.

 

Narrative Information

 

Prout: “…July 4, the two rear cars of a passenger train ran off a trestle bridge eight miles west of Charleston, West Virginia, and fell about twenty feet. The conductor and seventeen passengers were killed, and forty-seven passengers and a mail clerk were seriously hurt. It is said that but one passenger in these two cars escaped uninjured. The cause of this accident has never been precisely determined, but it is said to have been the spreading of the rails from the partial destruction by fire of the cross-ties on the bridge. There seems to have been reasonable inspection of the structure, for it was customary every day for a section-man to walk over the bridge an hour later than the time at which the accident occurred.” (Prout, H.G. “A Year of Railroad Accidents,” North American Review, Vol. 154, No. 423, Feb 1892, p. 203.)

 

Newspapers

 

July 4: “Charleston, W. Va., July 4. – The worst wreck ever known in this part of the State occurred about 8 o’clock a.m. on the Kanawha and Michigan Railway, eight miles west of here. The passenger train for Columbus pulled out from here with two carloads of excursionists, among them the Order of United American Mechanics, who were going to Poca.[5] The wreck occurred on a high trestle, which had caught fire during the night and burned so that the rails spread under the train…..Surgeons and a relief train were sent at once to the scene of the wreck.

 

“The scenes among the dead and dying were heartrending. One little baby lost father and mother ….[6] It is feared there are one or two bodies not yet found.

 

After listing names of fatalities [see below] noted as “fatally injured” were:

 

  1. B. Read, Elk City,

James Blackwood, Athens, Ohio, crushed about the head.

Mrs. R. S. Trusto, Charleston, skull fractured and concussion of the brain.

Will Ford, Elk City, head and chest crushed, and

  1. J. Saltherwiate, of this city, dangerously hurt….”

 

(San Antonio Daily Express, TX. “An Excursion Wreck.” 7-5-1891, p. 1.)

 

July 5: “Charleston, W. Va., July 4. – The first fatal wreck to a passenger train in the history of the Kanawha and Michigan Railway occurred this morning. The wrecked train was passenger train No. 1, which left Charleston at 7.30 o’clock this morning for Columbus. It was composed of the engine, combination mail, express and baggage car and two day coaches.

 

“Holiday and excursion rates had been sold to all points on the road, so that both cars carried a full complement of passengers. Probably seventy-five or eighty persons were in the two coaches, and out of the entire number only one passenger, John E. Norville, of the Charleston National Bank, this city, escaped uninjured. Among the passengers were the Charleston Lodge of the Order of United American Workmen and their friends, who were going to Poca to celebrate the Fourth. A large number of Kanawha and Michigan workmen were aboard, going to their homes  along the line to spend the day with their families.

 

“The train was speeding along at an average rate, with the merry party of excursionists aboard, all laughing, joking and enjoying the occasion, when suddenly an awful crash came, which dealt death with an unstinted hand and brought sorrow to many homes. The engine and combination car had passed safely over the trestle, but the rails, which had been loosened by a fire on the trestle, gave way under the coaches and they were thrown upon the cross-ties on the trestle. After bumping along on the ties for thirty or forty feet, the forward coach was turned over to the left track and the rear car jumped on the trestle on the right side. The forward car was completely upset and now rests right side up in a field some ten or fifteen feet beneath the track. The other car fell to the ground fifteen or twenty feet below the trestle.

 

“Many were killed by the fall, but to make the disaster more complete, the trucks on which the end of the car had rested crashed down on top of the car, demolishing it to splinters and killing almost every person within range….

 

“As soon as the shock was over, those who could crawl out of the wreck did so, and at once began the heroic work of rescuing their unfortunate fellow-passengers. There were only four persons uninjured: John E. Norville, Postal-Clerk Hayes, Engineer Pat O’Connor and Fireman Wyatt.[7] They at once secured assistance from the poorhouse, a short distance below the wreck. The dead were laid out and the injured cared for.

 

“The first relief train came from St. Albans, with Drs. Leo and Clark in charge. A little later one came from Charleston with Drs. Thos. Barber, Putney, Houston, Tompkins and Champe on board. The World correspondent arrived on the scene early by carriage. The horrors of the scene were dreadful to behold. On every hand were scattered the dead and dying….

 

“The funeral train left the scene about 1 o’clock. In one car were nine corpses lying on cots and shrouded in white linen. In each car were several of the injured…

 

“One of the saddest incidents was the death of Walter Welche and his wife, who were killed in the same seat, leaving a little baby, which was badly injured. One man’s head was severed at the throat and fished out from under the wreck several hours after his body was found. It Is feared there are one or two bodies yet under the wreck.

 

“What caused the burning of the trestle is not known, but it is supposed that it caught fire from cinders dropped by an engine that passed up after midnight. Only a few ties were burned. The engineer saw the smoke, but, thinking it was fog rising from the creek, proceeded. Persons living in the neighborhood also saw the smoke but thought it emanated from the camp fires of fishermen who had located there.

 

“The wreck was one of the worst that has occurred in years and the full horrors of it cannot be realized without a personal survey of the scene. The dead and injured were all brought to Charleston. Some of the injured were taken to their homes or to hotels, where surgeons attended them.

The Dead. [13]

Coulter, Amos, Elk City, W. Va.

Dougherty, Joseph, New Martinsville, W. Va.

Fife, W. E. Colonel, Buffalo, W. Va.[8]

Huppman [or Hoffman[9]], Charles, Blue Creek, W. Va.

O’Leary, Ella, Charleston, W. Va.

Robinson, Orville, Midway, W. Va.

Rowe [or Rose[10]], L. C., Blue Creek, W. Va.

Thornton, Thomas, conductor K. and M., Middleport, O.

Sullivan, Elizabeth [or Mary[11]], nurse, Kansas City.

Welcher, Walter, Elk City, W. Va.

Welcher, Walter, Mrs., Elk City, W. Va.

Wilson, T. [Theodore] N., late city editor of the Bulletin, Gallipolis, O.

White, James, Middleport, O.

Fatally Injured.

 

Blackwood, James, Athens, O., crushed about head; has never recovered consciousness.

Ford, William, Elk City, head and chest crushed.

Truslow, Mrs. R. S., Charleston, skill fractured and concussion of the brain.”

 

(The World, NYC. “Awful Fate for Thirteen. Excursionists on a Train are Literally Squeezed to Death.” 7-5-1891, p. 11.)

 

July 5: “Charleston, W. Va., July 5…. John Noevell, the only passenger who had escaped, had gone to the mail car to speak with the mail agent, when the shock came. First he says there was a jar and a jolting, and then he knew they had jumped the track. He seized one of the rods and hung on for life. In an instant the car was jerked back on the track and then with a crash the coaches swung off over the trestle. The jar burst all the windows and doors in the mail car but its occupants were unhurt. Immediately he and the train crew rushed back to the wrecked cars. There were so many in the train and so few to help that it seemed almost impossible to do anything, nor was there anything to bind the wounds with. He went to the county poor house near by and got bandages, and then began to use them….

 

“One doctor is reported as saying that he preferred any battle field he ever saw to this affair, so far as the horror of it was concerned.”  (Waterloo Courier, IA. “Through a Trestle. An Excursion Train on a West Virginia Road Goes Through a Burning Bridge. Twelve Persons Instantly Killed and Several Others Soon Die of Their Injuries.” 7-8-1891, p. 4.)

 

July 6: “Charleston, W. Va., July 6….Ten were killed outright and four have since died of their injuries.” Listed as dead, in addition to the names of 13 dead in World article, is Mrs. H. S. Tryslow, owner of the St. Albert hotel, Charleston – undoubtedly the same woman noted as fatally injured in The World article, though with a differently spelled name.[12] Also noted is “an unknown woman.”

 

Those Most Seriously Injured.

 

“There were fifty-eight wounded. Those who were most seriously hurt are: R. J. Scatterthwaite, of this city, recovery doubtful; Jennie Jackson and G. W. Stabbing, of Charleston, badly hurt; William Ford, of Elk City, fatally; James Blackwood, Athens, O., fatally; C. C. Long, Point Pleasant, badly; W. B. Reed, Athens, O., badly; Mrs. Sallie Coulter and child — Mrs. Coulter badly and the child slightly; Samuel Stone, badly; Mrs. Mary Wall, Elk City, badly; Andrew Archibald, Raymond City, badly; Leon E. Bleigh, Poca, badly.”  (Goshen Democrat, IN. “Another Disaster. Fourteen People Killed in a Wreck in West Virginia.” 7-8-1891, p. 1.)

 

July 6:  “Charleston, W. Va., July 6. – At least thirteen persons were killed, four fatally injured and nearly sixty injured in a less degree in an accident on the Kanawha & Michigan railroad at 3 o’clock Saturday morning [July 4], at a point 8 miles west of here. The passenger train for Columbus left here with two carloads of excursionists, among them members of the Order of United American mechanics, who were going to Poca. The wreck occurred on a high trestle. The sleepers[13] on the structure had caught fire during the night and burned so that the rails spread under the train. The engine and baggage and mail cars passed over safely, but the two coaches were thrown from the track. After running some 40 feet on the sleepers the forward car toppled to the left, the rear one to the right. The forward car turned completely over, landing right side up. The other fell 20 feet, turning upside down, and one set of tracks fell upon it, crushing the car to splinters. Following is a list of those who were killed in the wreck:  [13 names]

 

Amos Coulter, Red House, W. Va;

Jasper Dougherty, New Martinsville, W. Va.;

Col. W. E. Fife, Buffalo, W. Va.;

Charles Huffman, Blue Creek, W. Va.;

Ella O’Leary, Charleston, W, Va.;

Orville Robinson, Midway, W. Va;

  1. C. Rose, Blue Creek, W. Va;

Polly Sullivan, Mason City W. Va., worked in Charleston;

Thomas Thornton, Middleport, O., conductor;

Walter Welcher, Charleston, W. Va:

Mrs. Walter Welcher, Charleston, W. Va;

James White, Middleport, O;

  1. N. Wilson, Gallipolis, O.

 

“The forward car, which turned completely over, now rests right side up in a field some 10 or 15 feet beneath the level of the bridge. When the other car fell on the other side of the track many of the passengers were killed by the fall, but when the trucks crushed down on top of the car they smashed it to splinters and killed almost every person in its range. The top of the car was crushed beneath the weight of the heavy trucks and pressed down flat against the bottom of the car, literally squeezing the occupants to death.”  (Iowa Citizen, Iowa City, IA. “Through a Trestle.” 7-8-1891, p. 2.)

 

July 6: “Charleston, W. Va., July 6. The greatest disaster in the history of Kanawha county was that which occurred at Farm Station, some eight miles north of this city. There is a trestle at Farm

about thirty-five feet high. This trestle caught fire sometime during the night from a cause at present unknown, but probably from a cinder from an engine passing about midnight. While the bridge was not consumed, its foundations were so badly damaged as to render it unsafe to cross. No notification of the fact was received here, however, and the train, the first of the day, attempted to cross it as usual. The engine, tender, and baggage car passed over safely, but the two coaches went through. Engineer Pat Conner seemed to realize the situation and pulled open the throttle in the hope of pulling all over safely, but it was too late. Both coaches were crowded and scarcely any one of them escaped injury.  Fifteen persons were killed and nearly sixty injured in the wreck.

 

“Train No. 1. which left here at 7.25 a.m. for Columbia, consisted of an engine, combined baggage, mail and express car and two coaches. The coaches were filled with seventy-five or eighty passengers, most of whom were laboring people out for a holiday in the country and were all in the highest spirits. The Order of United American Mechanics were going to Poca to spend the day, many of them accompanied by their wives….”  (Lebanon Daily News, PA. “Railroad Horrors, Nineteen Killed in Ohio and Fifteen in West Virginia.” 7-6-1891, p. 1.)

 

July 6: “Charleston, W. Va., July 6….Ten were killed outright and five have since died of their injuries. The following is a list of the dead:  [we omit from the listing the thirteen names consistently found in newspaper reports and note the inclusion of R. J. Satterthwait, one of those survivors noted in some reports as fatally injured, an unknown woman, and Mrs. R. S. Truslow, who was elsewhere noted as still living but critically injured.]”  (New Castle News, PA. “Spreading Rails Cause…Frightful Railway Disaster. Fifteen Persons Killed.” 7-8-1891, p. 4.)

 

July 7: “Charleston, W. Va., July 7. – Pat O’Connor, the engineer of the fated Kanawha and Michigan passenger train that was wrecked near here, says that in the darkness he saw the smoke of the burning trestle some time before he reached the spot. It was dark at the time, and as fogs at that time in the morning are quite common in that region, he thought it was fog. It was not accompanied by light. He did not discover the presence of fire until he was too close to reverse his engine, and then he turned on a full head of steam, hoping to go through with a rush, with what result all the world knows.”  (Indiana Democrat, Indiana, PA. “Thought It Was a Fog.” 7-9-1891, p. 2.)

 

Recap of Fatalities

 

  1. Coulter, Amos. Elk City (or Red House), WV.
  2. Dougherty, Joseph [or Jasper] New Martinsville, WV.
  3. Fife, W. E. Colonel                                                Buffalo, WV.
  4. Huppman [or Hoffman or Huffman], Charles Blue Creek, WV.
  5. O’Leary, Ella Charleston, WV.
  6. Robinson, Orville Midway, WV.
  7. Rowe [or Rose], L. C. Blue Creek, WV.
  8. Satterthwait, R. J. Charleston, WV.
  9. Sullivan, Elizabeth [or Mary or Polly], nurse. Charleston, WV.
  10. Thornton, Thomas, conductor K. and M. RR. Middleport, OH.
  11. Welcher, Walter. Elk City [or Charleston], WV.
  12. Welcher, Walter, Mrs. Elk City [or Charleston], WV.
  13. White, James. Middleport, OH.
  14. Wilson, T. [Theodore] N., ex city editor of the Bulletin. Gallipolis, OH.
  15. Unknown woman.[14]

 

Noted as Fatally Injured

 

  1. Blackwood, James, of Athens Ohio
  2. Ford, Will, of Elk City.
  3. Reed, W. B., of Elk City Ohio.
  4. Truslow, Mrs. R. S., of Charleston, WV.

 

Sources:

 

Appletons’ Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1891 (Vol. 16, new series). “Disasters in 1891.” NY: D. Appleton and Co., 1892. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=FUcoAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Brazil Democrat, IN. “Another Wreck. This One on the Kanawha and Michigan Railway.” 7-9-1891, p. 7. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=196369112&sterm

 

Clay County Enterprise, Brazil, IN. 7-8-1891, p. 1, col. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=193569056&sterm

 

Goshen Democrat, IN. “Another Disaster. Fourteen People Killed in a Wreck in West Virginia.” 7-8-1891, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=196627360&sterm

 

Indiana Democrat, Indiana, PA. “Thought It Was a Fog.” 7-9-1891, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com.

 

Iowa Citizen, Iowa City, IA. “Through a Trestle.” 7-8-1891, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/iowa-citizen/1891-07-03/page-18?tag=train+charleston&rtserp=tags/train-charleston?ndt=bd&pd=3&pm=7&py=1891&pe=19&pem=7&pey=1891&psb=dateasc

 

Lebanon Daily News, PA. “Railroad Horrors, Nineteen Killed in Ohio and Fifteen in West Virginia.” 7-6-1891, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=126719856&sterm

 

Madison Daily Herald, IN. “Inquiries About the Charleston Wreck.” 7-8-1891, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=196818118&sterm

 

New Castle News, PA. “Spreading Rails Cause Another Frightful Railway Disaster. Fifteen Persons Killed.” 7-8-1891, p. 4. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=57585132&sterm

 

Prout, H.G. “A Year of Railroad Accidents,” North American Review, Vol. 154, No. 423, Feb 1892, pp. 196-208. Accessed 12-30-2019 at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25102325?seq=8#metadata_info_tab_contents

 

Railroad Gazette. “Train Accidents in 1891.” Vol. 24, 1-29-1892, p.83. Accessed 12-30-2019 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5wxAQAAMAAJ&ppis=_e&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Ripley Journal, Osgood, IN. “Terrible Railway Wreck,” 7-9-1891, p. 6. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=190002081&sterm

 

San Antonio Daily Express, TX. “An Excursion Wreck.” 7-5-1891, p. 1, col. 5. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=58080673&sterm

 

The Reveille, Rolfe, IA. “Had Been Burned Out. An Excursion Train Goes Through a Bridge.” 7-9-1891, p. 2. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=186101937&sterm

 

The World, NYC. “Awful Fate for Thirteen. Excursionists on a Train are Literally Squeezed to Death.” 7-5-1891, p. 11. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=141478125&sterm

 

Waterloo Courier, IA. “Through a Trestle. An Excursion Train on a West Virginia Road Goes Through a Burning Bridge. Twelve Persons Instantly Killed and Several Others Soon Die of Their Injuries.” 7-8-1891, p. 4. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=88429367&sterm

 

 

 

 

 

[1] If one is to accept newspaper accounts there would appear to be fourteen named fatalities, and one unidentified woman, for a total of 15, with several other people noted as “fatally injured.” However, the Railroad Gazette in its annual review of railroad accidents notes 14 deaths, whereas Prout in the same sort of review for the North American Review, notes eighteen. We have been unable to ascertain the true mortality.

[2] Though this piece, and a number of newspaper articles note 17 fatalities, the newspaper reports, upon which the Appletons note is based, usually write of 13 immediate or near-immediate deaths and then of four “fatally injured.”

[3] Thirteen reported killed with four additional fatally injured.

[4] Fifteen is our number based on statement that 12 died at the wreck and “several” others soon died.

[5] Poca, WV is about 17 miles to the northwest of Charleston.

[6] According to the Lebanon Daily News of July 6, the child was 2 years old and had “three fingers of its right hand…cut off.” (“Railroad Horrors, Nineteen Killed in Ohio and Fifteen in West Virginia.”)

[7] Elsewhere it is stated that Baggage-master Armitage was unhurt. (Ripley Journal, Osgood, IN. “Terrible Railway Wreck,” 7-9-1891, p. 6.)

[8] An internet biographical portrait of Col. Fife can be found at: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/m/i/t/Russell-G-Mitchell/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0607.html

[9] Goshen Democrat, IN. “Another Disaster. Fourteen People Killed in a Wreck in West Virginia.” 7-8-1891, p. 1.

[10] Goshen Democrat, IN. “Another Disaster. Fourteen People Killed in a Wreck in West Virginia.” 7-8-1891, p. 1.

[11] Goshen Democrat, IN. “Another Disaster. Fourteen People Killed in a Wreck in West Virginia.” 7-8-1891, p. 1.

[12] However, a July 8th article stated that both she and Mr. William Ford of Elk City, were still living, though in critical condition. (Madison Daily Herald, IN. “Inquiries About the Charleston Wreck.” 7-8-1891, p. 2.)

[13] Thick-sawn timber.

[14] Written in July 6 article that she was “dressed in red and still in the wreck, the rescuers being unable to get her out.” (Brazil Democrat, IN. “Another Wreck. This One on the Kanawha and Michigan Railway.” 7-9-1891, p. 7.) It is not clear, however, that this is not a double count of one of the other named female victims.