Walter L. Main Circus train wreck memorial - Tyrone, PA
N 40° 42.992 W 078° 12.303
17T E 736077 N 4511048
In the early morning of May 30, 1893, a circus train derailed here. There is a memorial with monument stone, benches, and landscaping.
Waymark Code: WM146B3
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 04/28/2021
Views: 3
The memorial reads:
Walter L. Main Circus Train Wreck
Memorial Day Tuesday, May 30, 1893
On this ground occured one of the greatest circus train wrecks in the history of the world.
At about 4:30 A.M., the Walter L Main great circus train ran out of control as it descended the Tyrone Mountain, shot out over the curve and wrecked at McCann's Crossing. All but the sleeping cars left the track.
Most of the crew in the derailed cars were killed. A field hospital was set up where the school now stands to care for the injured. Local residents joined in the hunt for the wild animals, all of which escaped into the countryside and mountains. A bengal tiger, later shot, bounded over the fence at a nearby farm where Hannah Friday was milking a cow. Hannah escaped, but the tiger killed the cow. Seventy-two horses were either killed or injured in the wreck. All the animals that were not shot were finally accounted for. The snakes were never recovered.
A memorial was held at the site of the wreck. Then everyone came to Tyrone where wonderful people with open arms offered their homes to the heart-broken ones of the circus. Every evening throughout the summer, in appreciation, the circus bands played concerts. The circus reorganized with new wagons, acts, horses and other animals on East 12th Street in Tyrone.
Many thanks to Kenneth Walk who donated the ground for his monument.
Oscar Dayton, historian, Russell Snyder, historian, Jan Dayton Handley, narrator, Peggy Hurd, consultant, Edgar Keys consultant
Snyder Township Supervisors; Eugene C. Grazier, chairman, Clay I. Treaster, Supervisor, Thomas R. Deihl, supervisor, Robert J. Charles, sec'y-treas.
Disaster Date: 05/30/1893
Memorial Sponsors: Snyder Township
Disaster Type: Technological
Relevant Website: [Web Link]
Date of dedication: Not listed
Parking Coordinates: Not Listed
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