In 1906, a train wreck in Washington, D.C. killed 53 people. This guide provides access to materials related to the “Terra Cotta Wreck” in the Chronicling America digital collection of historic newspapers.
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About Chronicling America
Chronicling America is a searchable digital collection of historic newspaper pages through 1963 sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
Also, see the Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries, a searchable index to newspapers published in the United States since 1690, which helps researchers identify what titles exist for a specific place and time, and how to access them.
Introduction
On the foggy evening of December 30, 1906, a roaring steam locomotive crashes at full-speed into the back of three, flimsy, wooden passenger cars in the Terra Cotta neighborhood of Washington, D.C., sending bodies and debris flying for a quarter mile along the Baltimore & Ohio tracks, killing 53 people. As the huge locomotive lay hissing on its side, screams of agony pervaded the area as priests from the nearby Brookland Seminary administered last rites to the dead and doctors attended to the injured. It was the most disastrous train wreck in Washington, D.C. history, leading to the trial of several crew members. The crew members were ultimately acquitted, but wooden passenger cars would later be discontinued due to accidents such as the train wreck in Washington, D.C. Read more about it!
The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.
The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.
Timeline
December 30, 1906
A locomotive crashes into wooden passenger cars on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, killing 53 people and injuring over 70.
January 2, 1907
An investigation to determine the cause of the wreck begins before a coroner's jury.
January 9, 1907
Coroner’s jury recommends that the engineer, conductor, and several operators be arrested.
December 11, 1907
The engineer, conductor, brakeman and a fireman go on trial for manslaughter.
December 23, 1907
All four men are acquitted due to a lack of evidence.