Stranger Than Fiction: And The Little Town was No More

There is only one way to tell the history of Crush, Texas—briefly. Crush had an unusual history. The town was founded and became the second largest city in Texas. It had its founder’s day celebration, experienced a tragedy and vanished. And all these events occurred in just one day. The town was created and destroyed in less than 24 hours.

William Crush was the general passenger agent of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad known as the Katy Railroad. He concocted an idea to demonstrate a train wreck as a publicity stunt that would serve as a founder’s day event for a town he had planned to establish. No admission was charged for the event and train fares were reduced to $2 a person from anywhere in Texas.

The railroad toured the state for months advertising the event. The site chosen for the town was in McLennan County, about four miles outside of Waco near present day West, Texas.

Circus tents were erected as well as a grand stand and two wells were drilled to provide water to the spectators. A depot along with a press office on a four-mile spur was established. Game booths, lemonade stands and restaurants were set up to meet the needs of the spectators. Two train engines were painted contrasting colors of bright green and bright red. The two locomotives, engine 999 and engine 1001, were placed on a special four-mile track alongside the Katy track to prevent the prospect of a runaway train getting onto the main line. At the designated time the two trains would careen down the tracks from opposite directions and collide head on. Railroad officials had taken the precaution of asking mechanics if the boilers on the trains would explode on impact. They were assured there was nothing to worry about.

On September 15, 1896, train after train brought in legions of passengers who wanted to see a train wreck take place before their very eyes. All the trains were filled to capacity and many passengers rode on the tops of the cars. The population of the temporary town quickly swelled to an impressive 40,000 making it the second largest city in Texas. Railroad officials were delighted with the turnout.

Throughout the day politicians spoke, prophets gave dire warnings of troubled times on the horizon, pick pockets plied their skills while women and children spent their money at the many vendors’ booths. Men socialized and discussed the issues of the day. Many got into the spirit of the event by imbibing in some spirits of their own. Plenty of liquor was on hand to satisfy the thirst of weary travelers.

At 5 p.m. the trains were readied. A photographer set up a camera at the edge of town to capture the image at the precise moment of impact. Slowly, they chugged toward each other and came at a stop in the center of the track like prizefighters shaking hands before a big event.

Then, like two aged gladiators they backed up to opposite ends of the track four miles apart for the showdown.

Agent Crush borrowed a white horse and rode to the edge of the track in view of both engineers. He threw down a white hat to signal both crews then spurred his horse and rode quickly to safety. At the signal the two engines began to chug slowly toward one another. Both crews were instructed to ride for exactly four turns of the drive wheels before leaping from the train. At the precise time the crowd of spectators watched and cheered as the courageous crewmembers leapt from the engines and quickly scurried to safety. Then the big moment came when the two massive steam locomotives slammed into one another with vehement force to the delight of the audience.

But, their excitement was short lived. In less than a minute the two boilers from the trains exploded almost simultaneously sending hundreds of pieces of steaming hot debris flying in all directions and proving the mechanics wrong.

The anguished shrieks of several injured spectators were heard among the collective gasps of others. The frantic cries of family members of two other spectators reverberated as the two individuals lay dying. The photographer who photographed the event forever preserving the spectacle for all posterity was seriously injured when a searing hot bolt ripped into his eye. Miraculously, he survived.

The town vanished later that day as the spectators made a slow exodus back to their homes. By nightfall, all that remained of the town was mud, debris from the crash and abandoned vendors’ booths.

Fearing a mass of lawsuits, the railroad fired William Crush only to rehire him within days. The railroad settled some claims from irate victims offering cash payments and lifetime railroad passes which were extremely valuable in the 1890s.

Today nothing remains of the town of Crush except a single historic marker in the center of a cow pasture where the collision took place.

Michael Williams has written a book entitled “Stranger than Fiction: The Lincoln Curse.” The book is a collection of 50 strange and unusual but true stories. The stories will leave the reader convinced that perhaps Mark Twain was right when he said “truth is stranger than fiction.”

He has written for more than 30 newspapers and magazines including the Civil War Times Illustrated, The Civil War Courier, the Associated Press and the Knoxville Journal.

The book is 187 pages in a softbound edition with numerous photos. The book can be purchased from amazon.com for $19.95 plus shipping and handling or you can save shipping cost and save $2 on the purchase price by ordering a signed copy directly from the author. Send $17.95 to P.O. Box 6421 Sevierville, TN. 37864.

The book is available in Kindle on Amazon.com for $3.99. For more information visit the website
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