Whitehall, Wisconsin
Train Wreck
July
1880
A Terrible
Accident on the Green Bay & Minnesota Railroad.
The western bound train on G. B. & M. R. R.,
last Saturday met with a fearful accident when
about half way between Whitehall and
Independence. The bridge over what is a dry
gully at times, became filled with water, and
washed out the mud sills of the bridge bents,
and as soon as the engine struck the bridge it
gave way. The tender had about four tons of coal
aboard which was turned up so that it all went
into the cab of the engine, crushing the
engineer and fireman against the boiler head,
breaking the glass water register and opening
all the steam cocks so that the men were so
completely cooked that the flesh came off their
bones. The engineer was GEORGE HUBER of
Valparazo, Ind. He leaves a wife and three
children, who met his remains in Chicago on
Monday. The fatal trip was only the second since
his return from his home, where he had been to
bury one of his children. He was a fine man and
an engineer of very high standing. The fireman
was a young man from Two Rivers, Manitowoc
county, in this state; his name we were unable
to learn. The disaster occurred about 4 p. m.,
and it was 10 o'clock in the evening before the
bodies were recovered from the wreck. GEORGE P.
HEBARD, U. S. Mail agent of Plover, was the only
other one that received any severe injuries. At
the time of the accident a hole was broken into
the end of the car and MR. HEBARD was thrown
with force enough to go nearly through the hole,
but the car in settling down closed the hole
together and fastened him in so thoroughly that
they were obliged to release him by the use of
the saw and ax. He received three dangerous
wounds on the head, one of which was three
inches long, running from the crown down the
back of the head, one over the right ear, and
one deep cut where the head and neck join. Take
it all in all HEBARD thinks it was a pretty
close call to his being removed from his
position, nevertheless “he is glad he is alive.”
The mail car is a total wreck and still lies in
the ditch. The rail on the opposite side of the
bridge struck the front end of the boiler and
ran about half way through it. The passenger
coaches were not thrown from the track, as was
first reported.
The Stevens Point Journal Wisconsin
1880-07-17
Submitted & transcribed by Stu
Beitler Thank you,
Stu!
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