The Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus
In the early 1900s, the circus came to town by train. One of the biggest was the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. It was organized in 1907, and by 1918 it was one of the largest touring shows in the country. It carried performers, workers, tents and animals from city to city, often moving overnight so it could play a new town the next day.
In June 1918, the show was working its way across northern Indiana. It had just played Michigan City, in La Porte County, and overnight it headed west toward its next stop, Hammond.
The night run from Michigan City
In the early morning hours of June 22, 1918, a circus train was rolling west on the Michigan Central Railroad when the crew found an overheated wheel bearing, known as a hotbox, on one of the cars. The train stopped near Ivanhoe, a few miles east of Hammond, so the problem could be checked. Part of the train was still on the main track.
A flagman went back along the track to warn any train coming up behind, and the signals were set to stop.
The collision
At about 4 a.m., a train of empty sleeping cars, often described as an empty troop train, came up behind the stopped circus train. A troop train’s engineer, Alonzo Sargent, had fallen asleep. His train passed the stop signal and the flagman’s warnings and struck the rear of the circus train. A fire followed.
About 86 people were killed and more than 100 were hurt, according to the Indiana Historical Bureau and Smithsonian Magazine. A federal report written that August gave a lower count of deaths, and the exact number has never been settled. Many of the people who died were circus workers, and some were never identified. For Michigan City, the news was especially close: the same people had been performing there only hours before.
The federal investigation concluded that the wreck was caused by the engineer being asleep. Sargent was charged with manslaughter, but his trial ended in a mistrial and the charges were later dropped.
The show went on
The circus missed only a couple of performances, including its date in Hammond. Other circuses lent performers and equipment, and the Hagenbeck-Wallace show performed again only days later in Beloit, Wisconsin. With help from neighboring towns and other national shows, it finished the 1918 season.
Showmen’s Rest
Before the wreck, the Showmen’s League of America had bought a burial plot at Woodlawn Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois, outside Chicago. They called it Showmen’s Rest.
On June 27, 1918, five days after the wreck, more than 50 of the dead were buried there together. Many of the stones read “Unknown Male” with a number. A few carry only nicknames that fellow workers knew, such as “Baldy” and “Four Horse Driver.” Stone elephants stand at the plot with their trunks lowered, a sign of mourning.
A story has grown up around the place. Some visitors say they have heard elephants at the cemetery. The usual explanation is simple: the sounds carry from the nearby Brookfield Zoo. No circus animals are buried at Showmen’s Rest, only people.
Remembering the wreck
In 2022, the Indiana Historical Bureau and local partners placed a state historical marker near the crash site, at the Ivanhoe South Nature Preserve on Colfax Street in Gary. It tells the story of the circus and the wreck. Showmen’s Rest in Forest Park is also a place where people still come to remember.
The marker stands next to railroad tracks. If you visit, stay off them. These are active lines, and walking on them is dangerous and illegal. At Showmen’s Rest, please be respectful: it is a cemetery, and the people buried there were real workers and performers, and many of them still have no name on their stone. For more regional history, see our La Porte County history page, Michigan City and La Porte After Dark.
Questions
What caused the 1918 circus train wreck?
The engineer of a following train of empty sleeping cars, often called a troop train, fell asleep. His train passed a stop signal and a flagman’s warnings and struck the stopped circus train.
How many people died?
About 86 people were killed and more than 100 were hurt, according to the Indiana Historical Bureau and Smithsonian Magazine. A federal report from 1918 gave a lower count, so the exact number is not settled.
Where are the victims buried?
More than 50 were buried together on June 27, 1918, at Showmen’s Rest in Woodlawn Cemetery, Forest Park, Illinois. Many of the graves are marked “Unknown.”
Is there a marker at the crash site?
Yes. A state historical marker placed in 2022 stands at the Ivanhoe South Nature Preserve on Colfax Street in Gary. Stay off the nearby railroad tracks.
Sources: Indiana Historical Bureau: Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus / 1918 Circus Train Wreck marker · Interstate Commerce Commission, Bureau of Safety: accident report, Ivanhoe, Ind. (Aug. 8, 1918) · Smithsonian Magazine: the Hammond train wreck of 1918 · Showmen's League of America: Showmen's Rest · Forest Park Review: Showmen's resting place at Woodlawn (2011) · ABC (WLS / ABC30): Circus performers killed in Indiana train crash remembered 100 years later (2018) · Patch: Ghost tour explores Chicago's clown cemetery, Showmen's Rest · Historical Marker Database: Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus / 1918 Circus Train Wreck · Wikipedia: Hammond Circus Train Wreck