Railway accident on the Bostian Bridge

The railway accident on the Bostian Bridge killed 23 people on August 27, 1891, west of Statesville, North Carolina, when a Richmond & Danville Railroad train derailed.

Rescue workers made their way to the train, and took the injured to Statesville, which did not have a hospital, so they needed to be accommodated and cared for in private homes.

The photographers William Stimson from Statesville and JH Van Ness from Charlotte took pictures and sold hundreds of them in the following weeks.

As R & D was experiencing financial difficulties, those who feared large claims for compensation worked feverishly to find the alleged saboteurs.

[1] According to legend, on the anniversary of the accident, the screeching of the wheels and screams of the passengers can still be heard, and the ghost of a uniformed railway employee can be seen with a gold watch.

A woman, whom Kaiser wanted to bring to safety, fell about 10 to 12 feet from the bridge and was so badly injured that she had to be treated at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.