Ashtabula in Ashtabula County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Ashtabula Train Disaster
December 29, 1876
Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, August 10, 2018
1. Ashtabula Train Disaster Marker
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.
Erected 2003 by Ohio Bicentennial Commission, The Longaberger Company, Bliss Remembrance Committee, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 10-4.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • Railroads & Streetcars • Science & Medicine. In addition, it
this page online
Location. 41° 52.753′ N, 80° 47.66′ W. Marker is in Ashtabula, Ohio, in Ashtabula County. It is at the intersection of Lake Avenue and West 27th Street, on the right when traveling north on Lake Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ashtabula OH 44004, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on Ohio’s Lake Erie Shore and in the Western Reserve. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Site of the 1876 Train & Bridge Disaster (approx. Ό mile away); First Presbyterian Church of Ashtabula, Ohio (approx. 0.9 miles away); Ashtabula Fountain (approx. one
Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, August 10, 2018
2. Ashtabula Train Disaster Marker
Also see . . . Ashtabula Train Wreck - Historic Accounts. Legends of America website entry (Submitted on September 27, 2024, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)
Photographed by Unknown, January 20, 1877
3. Ashtabula Train Disaster
Wood engraving published in Harper's Weekly
Credits. This page was last revised on September 27, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 11, 2018, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 2,735 times since then and 179 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 11, 2018, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
