The Great Shohola Train Wreck Page7
Courtesy of Scott J. Payne, NY

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(2010-27a) Enlarge Looking towards Delaware River. River can be seen at the bottom of the "V"

In 1903 a severe flood hit this area along the Delaware River. It received the name “pumpkin flood” since a great crop of pumpkins, among many other items, was washed down the river. Some of the graves of the soldiers were partially uncovered. Public concern began to increase and by 1909, the Port Jervis Gazette carried an editorial which said in part: “It is to be regretted that the resting place of so many soldiers of the north and soldiers of the south has been so forgotten all these years.”

The War Between the States ended and for forty-seven years the men of the Union and the Confederacy lay beside the busy Erie Railroad. Weather and railroad construction soon erased all signs of the accident. The makeshift wooden markers had rotted away. No visible evidence remained. Countless thousands of train passengers passed this spot, ignorant of the wreck and the unmarked graves

 

(2010-28) Enlarge This grave is of the Johnson Brothers, who are buried in the Congregational Cemetery, across the Delaware River, in Barryville, New York

On June 11, 1911, the Shohola dead were disinterred and brought to Elmira's Woodlawn National Cemetery were they were laid in another common grave. This is the only known mass grave, from the Civil War, where Union and Confederate dead lie together. Their names were inscribed on two bronze plaques affixed to a single stone monument. Names of the Union dead face the cemetery's northern lawn. The Confederate names face south. A completely satisfactory account of men killed in the collision is not available. Estimates range from 60 to 72, not including the two Johnson's from North Carolina who remain in the churchyard at Barryville. The five Confederates who are said to have escaped also can not be accounted for

      
 

(2010-29) Enlarge Postcard of Rohmans Hotel ~ Circa 1940's

Once called Shohola Glen Hotel, Rohman's Inn was established in 1849 and rebuilt in 1885. The old tavern is a favorite stopping place for canalers, quarrymen, lumberjacks and railroaders

 

(2010-30) Enlarge Many of the wounded were taken to Rohman's for medical treatment

     
 

(2010-31) Enlarge This plaque is displayed at the Shohola Museum, a restored Erie railroad caboose

 

(2010-32) Enlarge The Shohola Caboose Museum

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