Historical Images of Porter County

The Woodville Train Wreck, November 12, 1906
Woodville, Indiana

Date: November 12, 1906 (undivided back)
Source Type: Postcard
Publisher, Printer, Photographer: Unknown
Postmark: December 16, 1906, Valparaiso, Indiana
Collection: Steven R. Shook
Remark:  One of the most newsworthy and tragic events ever to take place in Porter County, Indiana, occurred in the early morning of November 12, 1906. During a significant snowstorm, a major train wreck took place on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad approximately 200 yards west of Woodville. The wreck involved the head-on collision of a freight train and passenger train, both traveling at full speed. Newspaper reports at that time indicated that between 47 and 100 individuals perished in the train wreck, although the final number was placed between 55 and 61. The majority of those who died were immigrants traveling west. Many of the individuals that perished in this wreck were buried in St. Patrick Cemetery in Chesterton, Indiana, although no marker exists today to identify these individuals. I've written a detailed blog post concerning this wreck titled Then All Was Still: The Woodville Train Wreck of 1906.

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