Showmen‘s Rest: Chicago’s Clown Graveyard
Posted by Charlie Hintz | From the Grave
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Showmen’s Rest is the site of a mass burial of clowns and other circus performers in Chicago after a train wreck killed 86 members of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus in 1918.
An elephant statue marks Showmen’s Rest, a mass grave of clowns and other circus performers. The lowered trunk symbolizes mourning.
In Forest Park, Illinois, the Woodlawn Cemetery contains a large plot marked by elephant statues. Engraved at the base of one large elephant are the words Showmen’s League of America. On the gravestones, the dates of death are all marked June 22, 1918. Beneath is a mass grave containing the remains of clowns, trapeze artists, strongmen and other circus performers.
Hammond Circus Train Wreck
On the night of June 22, 1918, members of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus were asleep in the rear cars of their train. It was 4am, and the train had stopped just outside Hammond, Indiana to cool an overheated axle box. They were en route to their next performance in Hammond, and then on to Monroe, Wisconsin. They would never make it.
A second train carrying the animals and some people was about 90 minutes ahead of them. They would not hear of the disaster until they pulled into Hammond that morning and solemnly gathered for roll call to determine who was missing.
Alonzo Sargent, an engineer for 16 years with the Michigan Central Railroad, had fallen asleep at the helm of an empty 21-car military troop train. He missed all the automatic signals and flares warning him of the stalled train, smashing into the wooden circus cars at about 35 miles per hour. Most of the dead were believed to have been killed within the first 30 seconds. As survivors scrambled to pull themselves from the splintered mess, the train’s old-fashioned kerosene-fueled lanterns ignited the wreckage.
Those who survived watched helplessly as their friends and family succumbed to the inferno.
In the hours following the crash, bodies were still being extracted from the smoldering wreck. Joe Coyle, a clown, was seen weeping beside the crushed bodies of his wife and children.
STORY CONTINUED BELOW
Showmen’s Rest: Heroes of the Sawdust Ring
There were 127 injured and an estimated 86 dead. A mass grave was dug in a section of Chicago’s Woodlawn Cemetery that had recently been purchased by the Showmen’s League of America.
Many of the remains were unidentifiable, or known only by their stage names, so headstones at Showmen’s Rest are marked with names like “Baldy,” “Smiley,” and “Unknown Female #43.”
Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus sideshow, 1931
Today, original circus wagons from the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus can be seen at Circus World in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Their winter headquarters in Peru, Indiana is now the International Circus Hall of Fame.
For further reading, take a look at these great articles I referenced while researching the details of the Hammond circus train wreck:
Weird Book Club: The Great Circus Train Wreck of 1918 by Richard M. Lytle
My mom’s dad was buried here in March 1956. An uncle, who knew ‘everything’ told us little kids that the wreck occurred just west, near 1st avenue and the Des Plaines River. Boy…and HE was alive when the wreck happened.
terrible, and the sleeping conductor was never charged. Yet Ringling’s tragedy almost cost that circus the entire circus due to a verdict on the safety of the tent. They were under staffed, yes, but many of the performers had volunteered for the war and not back yet.
First it is the engineer who runs the train. The conductor was probably wide awake in the caboose. Second the engineer, firemen, and head brakeman were probably killed in the wreck. Third railroad crews are on call 24/7 and work insanely long hours with no days off (16hr days back then 12 today.) In 1918 they were working even harder because of wartime traffic. Fourth if they did survive the engineer had the death of 86 people on his hands for the rest of his life, because he blacked out due to fatigue. Don’t judge!!!
Such a terrible tragedy. For Those who brought so much joy to so many, to have to die so tragically ,is very sad. RIP.
Harold Snell (my Grandfather) is the side show “barker” on the right in that photo.
BTW…The photo was taken in 1931
How long was your grandfather with the circus?
I don’t think so. By the clothes of the ladies in the picture you can say is at the beginning of the century. Women were not wearing long skirts like that in 1931.
lol, it says the date right at the bottom. Facts > Opinions
I guess the pall bearers at the cemetery had to queue up until someone said, “Send in the clowns!” 3;)
Send in the clowns
My daughter is part of a group of performers that gather at this place during the month of August every year to commemorate this tragedy & remember those who parished in this fire. If you’re interested in visiting here, why not come out to this annual event next year? Here’s a link to a video that I took at last years event when one of the organizers of this annual event read about this tragedy to those who were there that day.
How wonderful!! Im so happy they are being remembered greatly!! <3
I suggest reading the full story on the Showmen’s League of America website. This is not a mass grave of clowns however there are people buried from the 1918 train accident but only 56 and most consist of roustabouts. The rest of the cemetery plot consist of those that are members of the Showmen’s League. http://www.showmensleague.org/showmens-rest
Some folks said that the site was haunted. They could hear elephants. It turns out they were hearing the animals at Brookfield Zoo.
They used to lock up the elephants at night. I lived in Riverside as a kid just a few blocks away from the zoo. We never heard animals at night ever. Creepy things go on there and at Waldheim on Des Plaines Ave.
I have family buried at this cemetery. Growing up as a kid my family would always show us and tell us how horrible/tragedy it was. The section is very visible with elephant monuments and such. All this off Cermak Rd. (west of Harlem Ave). Just west of Berwyn & Cicero.
Next time I visit Chicago, I want to check this place out. Shame I never knew about it till now
At least they only needed one casket for all of the clowns
Lmao!
Really, Dom, I wonder how many clowns they can fit in one casket!
A bunch of asses!
I have seen shows about this. WHAT A TRAGEDY !! R.I.P. to ALL, Human & Animals.