Durand Union Station
P.O.Box 106
200 Railroad Street
Durand, MI 48429
Office Hours:
Tuesday to Friday
9 AM to 5 PM
Telephone:
(989)288-3561
Fax:
(989)288-3494
Email:
Durand Union Station
McCARTHY, James W.
39, born in Ireland, son of Timothy and Anna Stacy McCarthy,
buried in Battle Creek, Grand Trunk Trainmaster between Port Huron and Battle Creek.
SANGER, Albert W.
41, born in Michigan, Special Agent for Grand Trunk, buried in Jackson
LARGE, A. N.
Special Agent for Grand Trunk at Battle Creek, buried in Jackson
GRIFFIN, William 36, born Canada, son of John and
Mary Griffin from Saginaw, Common Laborer
HOWLAND, Charles/Andrew
JOHNSON, Allen A very large man know as fatty Johnson
KERNS, Frank/Charles also called "Ringling"
Had a sister Mrs. Minnie Gaines in Bay City
KEYES, Joseph H. called "Back Door Red"
Was initially listed as James Keyes from a small town in Alleghany
County, Pennsylvania, identified August 21, 1903, from family
photographs but unable to remove his body even with the use of a
new metalic coffin
MANWELL, C. R.
STILLMAN, John Alias: Red McGuire, Animal Red and D. Berron Gardner
Worked in the menagerie
SMITH, George Blacksmith from Geneva, Ohio
THOMPSON, John - Peru, Indiana, age 36, died Harper Hospital,
Detroit. Died of shock from fractures to the right leg and bruises
WILSON, JOSEPH A driver from Pittsburg, PA.
Unidentified:
Male, Tattoo on his arm
Male, ....Charles Red faced with an American flag & "C" "H" tattoo on arm
Sources:
Durand Union Station Archives
G.Melain's Death Records as compiled by Mrs. Wayne Roddy, 1980
Margaret Zdunic 1999
Wallace Circus Wreck
Durand - 7 August 1903
Except for circus trainmaster Frank Thorp, the executives, acrobats,
animal trainers and other performers were riding in the Pullman cars
toward the rear of the second train section and escaped injury. "Most
of the dead and seriously injured were crew bosses, canvasmen, stake
drivers, teamsters and other roustabouts."
According to Stevenson air brakes had been in use for only ten years
before the circus accident and they were still insufficient. A downgrade
from Bancroft to Durand always contributed to the speed. Yet, Stevenson
did not understand why the second train was going so fast as all trains
had to stop at the Durand crossing to take on coal and water. Steam
engines carried limited supplies and had to stop frequently.
Hotel Richelieu was used as a temporary hospital and morgue.
Two Grant Trunk officials, James Foley and John Hazel, were pulled out
of the wreckage and placed on a lorry which was pushed down the tracks
to the hotel. Others were carried or moved on drays. The animals were
buried about where they lay, 1,500 feet west of the south Oak Street
crossing.
This photograph shows a 1907 circus railroad car, similar to those
involved in the Wallace wreck. In an interview before the Durand tragedy,
the sleeping cars were described as being fitted with stationary berths,
with all the comforts of home. The Wallace spokesman went on to say that
the new rail purchases in 1903 included two sleeping cars, three horse cars,
one storage car and five flat cars.
G.E. Kies, a special agent with the circus said, "In the rear car there
were 48 after the wreck, men lying in a sound sleep when the wreck occured.
he engine on the second section crashed through the caboose, lifting itself,
and crashed through upon sleeping men. Twenty of them lost their lives in
that car or died reaching the hotel. The sleeper they were in was sent to
us by the Illinois Central people to replace a car that was wrecked in
Shelbyville, Illinois when we were mixed up in another accident on the
16th of June. Two were killed in that wreck and they were sleeping in
the same car, in the same positions, as the men who were killed last night."
Reverend Dennis Hayes of St Mary's Church, Durand baptized and gave the
Last Rites to all the dead and severely injured men.
Grand Trunk Engineer Charles Probst stated, "I did everything
possible to stop the train, but the air brakes failed completely.
One mile from Durand I was warned that the first train had stopped
and I applied the air to the brakes, then reversed the engine and
whistled for the hand brakes." Probst's theory was that the air
brake was out of order, as he had had trouble with it before that day.
The Jury concluded that the wreck might have been avoided if the
engineer had watched his air gauge before him and if the cars had
been properly equipped with hand brakes.
The County Prosecutor was Selden S. Miner.
F.A. Rankin, Detroit, Attorney for Grand Trunk. Presiding Judge
Frank Karrar also served as acting coroner. A Justice of the Peace
in Durand, he also manufactured tin and sheet iron work at his
business on Saginaw Street, Durand.
Jurors:
Leonard Soper, Hotel Landlord
Eugene Nicholas, Former Railroad Worker Floyd Derham,
Miller Morrel Harrington, Businessman
M.H. Avery, Grocery Clerk William Putnam, Insurance Agent
Physicians:
Joseph Marshall, Frank S. Love, Ambrose Cowles and Robert C. Fair,
all of Durand. Newspaper accounts indicate there were four
additional doctors in Durand, however, they remain unknown at this time.
Dr. Russel Wixom of Bancroft rode into town on a pump car.
Other Doctors came from nearby towns and those from Detroit went
home with over sixty injured patients who were cared for at Harper Hospital.
HOWLAND, Andrew/Albert
Resident and Buried in Schenectady, New York. Mother's name was Fanny Willis
KELLEY, John
Showman, buried Indianapolis, Indiana
LARSON, Lars/Lafe
buried Cambridge, Ohio, Six Horse Driver
LEARY, John
Boss of Ring, Springfield, Illinoi
McCOY, John
Buried Cincinnati, Ohio, body sent to his wife in Ontario,
Boss Canvasman of side show
PURCELL, John
Buried in Perrin, Indiana, Boss Canvasman
RICE, Robert
Boss Harnessmaker, Residence given as Geneva, Ohio and Sand Lake, Michigan
SANDS or SANDERS, Charles
Buried Perrin, Indiana
ST. CLAIR, Harry - Reserved Seat Man
STEWART, John
Denver, Colorado, died at Harper Hospital, Detroit, 3 December 1903,
age 31 years, died of shock following surgery for a broken back.
He was described as a handsome and dignified man who loved to read.
He was orphaned with the deaths of his parents from Consumption.
When not with the circus he was a Gold miner and worked in a gambling
house for $3.00 a day.
THORP, Frank S
37, August 5, born in Michigan, resided in Dundee. Single, buried in Dundee,
son of Frannie W. Thorp Crew Trainmaster.
TILLY, Frank
Rising Sun, Indiana, died at Harper Hospital, Detroit of ruptured bladder,
internal bleeding and other injuries.
TOFFLEMEYER
26, son of James Tofflemeyer, buried Orient, Iowa
WRIGHT, Robert
Showman for Wallace
YORK, Edward
38, Teamster, resident of and buried Terre Haute, Indiana
* Wallace Circus Wreck * News from Harper Hospital*