ASHTABULA – Monday marks the 149th anniversary of the Ashtabula train disaster.
The disaster is considered an important part of local history and an important subject for local historians and history buffs.
Rhonda Wright, vice president of the Ashtabula County Historical Society, laid a wreath Monday at the disaster memorial at Chestnut Grove Cemetery as part of her 20-year tradition of honoring the victims.
The disaster killed about 100 people, and the monument houses the coffins of 20 victims.
Wright said she has been working on memorials to the victims at the cemetery since she became interested in history.
“My great-grandmother had a flower shop on Main Street,” she said. “That’s why I’m interested in [in history]”.
Wright said she saw others leaving items such as coins to commemorate the victims of the disaster.
Wright said the disaster was significant to local history.
“So we have our hospitals,” she said.
Wright said the disaster had national significance and prompted better railroad regulation.
According to Engineeringtragedy.com, a website dedicated to the documentary “Engineering Tragedy: The Ashtabula Train Disaster,” the disaster was the most notorious and deadly bridge failure of the 19th century.
According to the website, the Pacific Express plunged 70 feet into the Ashtabula River when a bridge collapsed during a snowstorm.
“The Ashtabula Bridge was built and collapsed against a backdrop of historical tensions between America’s largest corporate railroad industry, those who use it, and state and federal governments that don’t want to regulate it,” the website says.
The disaster put issues of railroad regulation and safety front and center in American politics.
“Engineering Tragedy” producer Len Brown said the incident led to changes in the train’s design.
Brown said that while making the documentary, he and his wife received a lot of local support, including from people who wanted to be involved.
“Everyone in Ashtabula County helped create it,” he said.
About 350 people participated in the documentary, which was funded by the Robert Morrison and Ashtabula foundations, Brown said.
“Even in Ashtabula, there are a lot of people who don’t know about it,” he said.
The film, completed in December 2022, is the largest community-produced film to air on PBS, Brown said.
He said it first aired on PBS in Erie and later on PBS Western Reserve.
According to Brown, PBS Western Reserve postponed the filming of the documentary when the East Palestine train derailment occurred in 2023 because they wanted to wait for the news to calm down.
Brown said that unlike the Ashtabula disaster in the 19th century, the East Palestine derailment was a more localized event with elements of a chemical and environmental disaster.
Brown said he first got into filmmaking in the 1980s, learning the industry from directors.
“I just kept going from there,” he said.
Brown said he started his own film studio, Beacon Productions, which produced “Engineering Tragedy” and other documentaries.
“Ken Burns definitely had a big impact,” he said.
Brown said people can watch the documentary for free and learn more about the history on its website.
“It’s truly a labor of love,” he said.
