The Archivist: A tragic anniversary

Friday, Sept. 28, marks the 101st anniversary of the deadliest train accident in Oklahoma.

It was a Friday afternoon near the town of Kellyville, located in Creek County about eight miles southwest of Sapulpa, when two trains collided.

On Sept. 29, 1917, The Oklahoman reported the accident:

Twenty-seven persons were killed and more than fifty injured, some of them seriously, in a head-on collision near here today of passenger train No. 407 on the St. Louis & San Francisco railroad and an empty troop train, returning from Fort Sill.

Of the total dead, only seven were white. Of the remainder, fourteen were negro men, three negro women and three Indians. That the list of the dead is confined principally to negroes is attributed to the complete telescoping of the first three cars in the train, which included the Jim Crow car.

It was impossible to learn the names of all the dead up to midnight tonight ...

The collision occurred two miles west of here, just after the passenger train had crossed a railroad bridge at Polecat creek.

Misunderstanding of orders was declared to have been the cause of the collision, and was explained to have been due principally to the troop train running in two sections.

The passenger train had been ordered to take the siding near here to allow the troop train to go on.

When the first section moved by, John Rule (Ruhl), engineer of the passenger train, started, thinking the entire train had passed. Two miles out of town he met the second section, and the crash came.

The crews of both engines jumped, saving their lives, although they sustained severe injuries.

The fireman on the troop train, whose name could not be learned, was declared to have become insane as a result of the accident. Engineer Rule, of Sapulpa, was able to walk to his home when taken to Sapulpa, while his fireman, M.N. Catterton, was taken to Tulsa for treatment.

Both trains were said to have been running at nearly top speed.

The mail car on the passenger train plunged through almost the entire length of the smoker and "Jim Crow" car, where most of the passengers were killed.

Persons who saw the wreckage described the scene as one of awful horror ...

Most of the dead were found under the mail car, as this portion of the train had crashed into the combination smoker and negro compartment, first splintering the coach, and then tossing it partially on the roof of the mail car.

Ivan Howard ... was riding in a rear sleeper of Frisco train No. 403 and worked with other passengers in getting the injured from the wreck. No one in his car was injured.

He said that the whole side of the smoking car had to be cut out before any of the victims could be reached, as both ends of the car were jammed in such a manner that entrance could not be effected.

"I helped take twelve injured men from the smoking car," he said, "and at least that many more were taken out by other passengers. The 'Jim Crow' car presented the horrible spectacle. The telescoped floor of the mail car just ahead crashed through the front end" ...

The final death toll reached 32 with more than 50 people injured.

Of the 10 cars that comprised the passenger train, eight were made of wood, which certainly contributed to the number killed.

With the decline of passenger rail traffic and an increase in rail improvements and safety, Oklahoma has never seen another railroad accident like the train wreck of 1917.

If you would like to contact Mary Phillips about The Archivist, email her at gapnmary@gmail.com