Today’s Unidentified Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
On September 1, 1894 a huge firestorm, fed by drought conditions and dry debris left behind by lumber companies, destroyed the town of Hinckley, Minnesota, killing over 418 people. After the fire, in outlying areas, the bodies found near railroad tracks were laid along side the tracks to await transportation on handcars or relief trains to the nearest towns. St. Paul mortician O’Halloran came to Hinckley on a work train Sunday evening with a load of 32 caskets. On the way he filled all of them with bodies found beside the tracks. O’Halloran kept descriptions of each of the deceased, saving fragments of clothing and items of jewelry for later identification. The coffins were brought back to Pine City to await burial.
On Sunday James Sargent of the Limited No. 3, which had been stopped at Pine City Saturday afternoon, organized a burial crew that went on handcars north on the St. Paul and Duluth tracks from Hinckley to Skunk Lake. Along the way they recovered thirty-one bodies which were wrapped in blankets and whatever available cloth could be found. They brought them to Hinckley and laid them beside the tracks for burial.
When rescue teams found bodies in remote areas, they buried them where they were found, marking the graves with plain wooden stakes bearing the names of the victims if they were known. Personal effects were collected and marked for later identification.
Culled from: From the Ashes: The Story of the Hinckley Fire of 1894
Morbid Trinkets Du Jour!
I’ve honestly never really seen the appeal of pearls. Until now! (Thanks to Erika H. for the link.)
