A HORRIBLE DISASTER
The Yorkville Enquirer on May 11, 1887 reported – “The 3c’s railroad has awarded contracts for bridges along the line. Mr. Lewis has the contract for the bridge between Rock Hill and Blacks and will commence with the trestle across Fishing Creek near Gabbie’s Ford, three miles east of Yorkville. This trestle will be 350 ft long. The trestle between Camden and Lancaster is awarded to Mr. C.B. Streeter and the contract between Lancaster and Rock Hill to Mr. Thomas Hardman.”
“The 1903 train wreck at the Fishing Creek Trestle near York, S.C.”
On September 3, 1903, a Southern Railway train crashed on the trestle over Fishing Creek about three miles east of Yorkville. This paper is an effort to summarize the coverage of this disaster in the Rock Hill Herald over a period of time. I have rearranged some of the story and modernized some of the language for clarity. Written and contributed to R&R by Paul Gettys – 2016
A horrible disaster occurred Thursday morning about 11:30 at the Fishing Creek trestle on the Charleston division of the Southern Railroad three miles east of the town of Yorkville. Five men were killed and a number were injured. The west-bound mail and express train had about 25 passengers. The trestle, about 40 feet high and 200 feet long, collapsed when the engine was near the center. The engine, tender, baggage car, express and mail car, second class coach and first class coach all crashed. Among those who helped the injured was B. F. Willeford, a passenger with only slight injuries. He is with the Andrews Furniture Company of Charlotte on a business trip. Neighbors near the rail line came after hearing the crash and sent word to Yorkville. Within an hour a crowd had gathered to help.
The dead include: Engineer Henry Brickman and Fireman Fred Rhyne who were both crushed under the engine; Charles Smith (black), a mail agent from Charleston and Frank Burris (black), a laborer from McConnellsville. There is also an as yet unidentified black man from McConnellsville. The wreck injured at least 16 people.
When news of the wreck reached Rock Hill, an engine and car were made available to Dr. T. A. Crawford, who served as the railroad’s surgeon, and sent to the wreck. Six of the injured were placed on this car and brought to the Rock Hill Private Hospital, which had only recently been opened. A great crowd met the train at the White Street crossing in Rock Hill and the injured were taken to the hospital, where a number of ladies had gathered to assist. [The rail line does not actually cross White Street. This probably refers to the crossing on Clay Street, now Charlotte Avenue, just north of White Street and in front of the White Home. The hospital was located about two blocks north on Clay Street.] Drs. Miller, Fennell, Lynn, and Stevens of the hospital staff assisted Dr. Crawford, as did Drs. J. R. Massey, Sr., J. R. Massey, Jr., and T. L. Cornwell. The six patients in Rock Hill are: Julian, son of Dr. J. B. Johnson (Winthrop College President), of Rock Hill (lacerations and concussion, unconscious); R. A. Willis, depot agent at Edgemoor (lacerated knee and mouth wound); Susan J. McCaskill of Kershaw (arm bruise, but her two children were not hurt seriously); W. T. Slaughter of Hickory Grove (cuts on forehead and hand, broken rib); and Peter Miller, Black (broken thigh, fractured arm, forehead wound). These are all still patients [Saturday, September 5] at the Rock Hill Private Hospital.
Before the train arrived from Rock Hill, some of the injured had been taken to Yorkville by citizens. These include six taken to the Parish Hospital: Mrs. Sarah Waldron of Bessemer City, N. C. (face cut and back injury); Mrs. H. B. Buist of Winthrop College (cut and bruised – it was later learned that her injuries were more serious); Harry Wylie, Jr. of Rock Hill (face cut and bruised shoulder); B. P. Whisonant of Blacksburg (internal injuries); A. H. Morrow, banker of Blacksburg (broken thigh and other injuries); and Mr. Turner, the conductor (bruised face). Other injured were taken to homes in Yorkville. These include: D. F. Dukes of St. George, express and baggage messenger (severe bruises to both legs) who is at the residence of Dr. A. V. Cartwright; Fred C. Poag and Hazel Cunningham of Lancaster, who were on their way to Clemson College (both shaken up and bruised); Mr. F. C. Hicks [perhaps this is T. C. Hicks] of Lancaster, a coffee drummer (unidentified injuries); and several unidentified Black men from Yorkville who were injured only slightly. All the physicians of Yorkville went to the wreck site and are now treating the injured, assisted by Dr. Love of McConnellsville, Dr. Saye of Sharon, and Dr. Pressley [Pressly] of Clover.
There were a number of passengers who escaped without injury. These included Mr. P. W. Spence of Roddeys, Mr. J. N. McLauren of Bethune, Mrs. J. C. Boyd of Pressley, S. C., Mr. T. M. Stephenson of Kershaw, two children of J. H. B. Jenkins of Rock Hill, and two other unidentified children.
The description of the wreck scene was chilling. The engine and tender were on one side of the creek and the coaches on the other. The engine was mashed and broken, and the engineer and fireman lay under it until about sundown when the boiler was hoisted. The other cars crashed in on top. A great force of railroad hands came to clear the wreck. When the train arrived from Rock Hill, the dead were lying stretched on the ground, and the seriously injured were placed on beds made from salvaged seats. The bodies of four of the dead were taken to Yorkville to be prepared for burial, while that of Miller, the mail agent, was brought to Rock Hill by undertaker Frew [Samuel T. Frew was a Rock Hill undertaker] and will be shipped to Charleston. [Earlier, the mail agent was identified as Charles Smith. There was evidently a confusion with the Peter Miller who was in the hospital.]
Even at this early stage, there were discussions of the cause of the accident. Most of the suspicion focused on the trestle, and many felt the timbers supporting it were decayed. [The rail line had been constructed in the 1880s as the “Three C’s” or CCC Railroad and had later been acquired by the Southern Railway system].
On September 9, there was an update of the condition of survivors. W. H. Wylie returned to Rock Hill Saturday with his son Harry, who was doing well. Mr. Wylie brought part of one of the crossties from the accident site showing the decayed condition. Mrs. H. B. Buist was still in Yorkville, and her condition was too serious for her to be moved. Her husband and mother, Mrs. Kittie Williams, were with her. Those at the Rock Hill Private Hospital were improving. Mr. R. A. Willis, Professor Slaughter, and Vernon Hall were mending fast. Julian Johnson, who had suffered a concussion, was only partly conscious. Dr. Gill Wylie had examined him and said that small blood clots had formed on his brain.
On Saturday, September 12, an article reported on the activities of C. W. Garris, chair of the South Carolina Railroad Commission. He had visited the wreck site. The Railroad Commission was charged with overseeing the rail system in the state, including about 3,000 miles of track, but had very little enforcement authority. Mr. Garris stated that there had been no prior report of problems with the trestle at Fishing Creek. The Herald printed a letter from Mr. Garris to the Commission members in which he stated that he felt that newspaper accounts had been mostly correct, but that the determination of the cause of the accident would need to wait for a full investigation. In the same paper, there was another update on survivors. Peter Miller, one of the patients in Rock Hill, had died on Wednesday. His head wound had been more severe than first thought. His body was taken to Blacksburg for burial. Julian Johnson was still mostly unconscious, but could be roused and recognize people. Harry Wylie had recovered well enough to return to Clemson College. Mrs. Buist was still in the Parish Hospital in Yorkville.
By the next week, the Railroad Commission began to inspect all the other trestles in the area. On September 16, Mr. Garris reported that some had blamed the wreck on a broker flange, while others blamed the decayed trestle. Mr. J. B. Johnson, father of Julian, called on the Railroad Commission to hold a public meeting in Rock Hill or Yorkville to hear the concerns of local citizens. Julian remained in the hospital. On September 23, it was reported that Miss Eunice McConnell, a trained nurse who had been with Julian since the wreck, had returned to her home in Yorkville.
On September 26, there were further updates on the injured. Mrs. Buist was still suffering in the hospital in Yorkville. The injured knee of Mr. Willis, the Edgemoor Depot agent, was improving but it was speculated that he will have a permanently stiff knee. Julian Johnson was still not rational at all times. Tobe Harris, a Black man, might lose his leg. This is the first mention of Mr. Harris in the paper. Perhaps he was one of the men in Yorkville who was previously unidentified. By October 3, Vernon Hall was sufficiently recovered to return to Clemson College, where he expected to graduate during the coming session.
On October 6, the South Carolina Railroad Commission met in the Rock Hill City Council chambers. Chairman C. W. Garris and Commissioner J. H. Wharton were present, as were several representatives from the Southern Railway. The meeting was open to the public. Several witnesses who spoke had been at the wreck site. Henry Massey of Rock Hill arrived at the wreck about an hour after it happened. W. H. Wylie visited the scene the afternoon of the wreck and Rev. W. L. Lingle, pastor of Rock Hill’s First Presbyterian Church, was there the next morning. Others who spoke were J. M. McFadden and T. L. Carroll and S. M. Grist of Yorkville [the Grist family was associated with the Yorkville Enquirer]. All the speakers stated that they saw decayed timbers from the wrecked trestle.
The following day, the Railroad Commission met in Columbia and called a number of Southern Railroad officials to testify. Within the system, the former “3C’s” railroad was now known as the SC & Georgia Extension Road, which had been acquired by the larger railroad in 1902. The officials testified that the rail trestle was in excellent condition and stated that a defective wheel had been found in the wreckage. They were certain that this was the cause of the disaster.
The York County Grand Jury investigated the accident and warned that the trestle over Bullock’s Creek, about nine miles west of Yorkville, was dangerous. According to the Herald of December 2, 1903, The Southern Railroad replaced the trestles over Bullock’s Creek and King’s Creek and repaired the trestle over Manning Branch, all within a few weeks of the accident. A correspondent for the Charleston News and Courier was quoted as stating that the entire line was now in the best shape it has been in for many years.
By October 14, the Rock Hill Herald reported on the first suit to be filed against the railroad. It was brought by Mrs. Dorothy A. Brickman, widow of the engineer Henry Brickman. The suit for $75,000 in damages charged a wrongful act, neglect and default on the part of the railroad.
The South Carolina Railroad Commission hired Col. John H. Averill to conduct an investigation of the accident. On October 21, the Herald reported his conclusions, which had been initially reported by the Charleston News and Courier. Averill concluded that the broken wheel on the front track of the engine was the probable cause. Also on October 21, it was reported that eight additional suits had been filed, claiming damages ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. The Herald also gave updates on the condition of Julius Johnson and Mrs. Buist. Johnson had been thrown against a hard object and suffered head injuries. His injuries were described as causing “permanent impairment of mental capacities.” Mrs. Buist had suffered contusions to head, limbs, and body, and damage to her liver and spleen. She was still in great physical pain.
The Lancaster Ledger reported on November 25 that T. C. Hicks, who was seriously injured in the accident, was able to leave his home, but had to be rolled in a wheelchair, and was unable to walk or stand.
By the end of the year, several of the suits were beginning to be settled. Mr. R. A. Wilkes settled for a payment of $6,000 plus all expenses. It seems the Southern was anxious to settle the suits without full court proceedings. Dorothy H. Brickman had filed a suit with damage claims of $75,000 in the death of her husband, who was the conductor on the train. The case continued in December, and an appeal to dismiss was denied by the Supreme Court of South Carolina. On December 12, the case of Mrs. H. B. Buist was settled for a payment of $5,000 plus expenses incurred to date.
Court cases and survivor recovery would continue into 1904 and beyond. Today, most of the rail line involved in the 1903 accident has been abandoned. Only the section between the Resolute Forest Products plant (formerly Bowater) on the Catawba River and the main Southern line in Rock Hill remains in the Southern system. The route west to York which contained the Fishing Creek trestle is no longer in use.
Mrs. Buist was a victim of a tragic accident in 1903. On September 3 of that year, a Southern Railway train crashed on the trestle over Fishing Creek about three miles east of Yorkville. Five were killed and at least sixteen injured. In an interview given by Walter Jenkins many years after the accident, he remembered that “Mrs. H. B. Buist, who was on her way to Piedmont Springs and had given us candy…” was sitting near him on the train.[1] Mrs. Buist was seriously injured. She was taken by local residents to the hospital in York, where she was soon joined by her husband and mother, Mrs. Kittie Williams. Mrs. Buist was in the hospital for at least a month, and slowly recovered from her injuries. In December, the family received a settlement of $8,000 plus expenses from the Southern Railway.[2] …… (Click on the More Information – Buist History link, found under the primary image for additional information on the Buist Family.)
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