Oct. 8, 2008

Discover a part of Michigan's railroad heritage that made news around the world, as the Michigan Historical Museum presents "Wreck on the Wabash" on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. Laurie Catherine (Dickens) Perkins, author of the book "Wreck on the Wabash," will give this free presentation about the head-on collision of two trains in Lenawee County in 1901, a tragedy that took the lives of as many as 100 people.

Perkins, who is also an education historian with the Michigan Historical Museum, will discuss how the story of the train wreck is passed down from generation to generation in her native Lenawee County. Copies of "Wreck on the Wabash," published in 2001, will be available for purchase and signing at the Museum Store.

On Thanksgiving Eve, Nov. 27, 1901, two steam locomotives collided head-on between the tiny villages of Seneca and Sand Creek, Mich. Dozens of passengers, including a large group of Italian immigrants who were traveling aboard the westbound train, died in the flames following the crash. Exactly how many died is still a mystery, but the accident remains one of the worst railway disasters in Michigan history. "Wreck on the Wabash," an exhaustively researched book that commemorated the 100th anniversary of the catastrophe, collects all the oral histories, photographic images, songs and poems related to the wreck in one volume.

Of Perkins' book, author and former head of reference for the Archives of Michigan Dr. Le Roy Barnett said, "As the first book to be published about a Michigan train wreck, this volume explores in remarkable detail the events leading up to the crash and the laborious process of establishing responsibility and accounting for the victims."

This event is sponsored by the Friends of Michigan History. For more information, please call (517) 373-3559; TDD, (517) 373-1592.

The Michigan Historical Museum is located inside the Michigan Library and Historical Center, 702 West Kalamazoo St., two blocks west of the State Capitol in downtown Lansing. The main entrance and visitor parking are located north of Kalamazoo Street, just east of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Museum hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. Admission and weekend parking are free. For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/museum.

The Michigan Historical Museum System is a division of the Michigan Historical Center, an agency of the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL). Dedicated to enriching quality of life and strengthening the economy by providing access to information, preserving and promoting Michigan's heritage and fostering cultural creativity, HAL also includes the Library of Michigan, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/hal.

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