Ashtabula Train Disaster December 29, 1876 (10-4)
Posted by: 
SlvrFx
N 41° 52.756 W 080° 47.664
17T E 517059 N 4636391
Ashtabula Train Disaster December 29, 1876
Near this site, an iron truss bridge collapsed into the Ashtabula River during a blizzard, plunging a passenger train with 160 on board into the gulf below. Nearly 100 people were killed in this, one of the worst train disasters in American history.
Waymark Code: WM78AD
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 09/18/2009
Views: 24
Side A : Ashtabula Train Disaster December 29, 1876
Near this site, an iron truss bridge collapsed into the Ashtabula River during a blizzard, plunging a passenger train with 160 on board into the gulf below. Nearly 100 people were killed in this, one of the worst train disasters in American history. The most well known passengers were Philip Paul Bliss (1838-1876) and his wife, Lucy. A leading gospel songwriter, Bliss wrote more than 100 hymns including the music to: It Is Well With My Soul. The unidentified were buried in a mass grave at Chestnut Grove Cemetery that is marked by a tall granite monument listing the names of those who died. The local hospital was founded as a result of this disaster and features an audio history in the James Lewis Smith Memorial Courtyard in front. The incident also led to reforms in bridge design and railroad safety.
Side B : Same
Same
Marker Number: 10-4
County: Ashtabula
Significance of Location: Event
Additional Coordinate: N 41° 52.701 W 080° 47.363
Additional Coordinate description:
Site of the current bridge over which trains travel to go past the depot mentioned in historic accounts of the train disaster.
Bicentenial Mark: yes
Website address: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
If possible, unique photographs taken at the site, are requested. These can be of the site, your companions on your visit, or whatever. Tell of what you learned or thought of the site.