The Legends Of Showmen's Rest In Illinois May Send Chills Down Your Spine
By Melissa Mahoney|Published January 10, 2022
×
Melissa Mahoney
Author
I'm an east coast girl living in a west coast world. I grew up in New England before moving to SoCal for several years. I then lived in NYC or a year before moving to AZ in 2009. I worked in the entertainment industry for many years of my adult life and have a deep love for photography, writing, and traveling around the U.S. as well as to far-flung locations around the world. Travel is my life and writing about it is a dream!
There’s a section of Woodlawn Cemetery in Forest Hills known as Showmen’s Rest. With markers indicating the tragedy that befell the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus back in 1918, it may be unsurprising that there have been reports of unexplained phenomena reported by those who visit the site. Regardless of alleged hauntings, Showmen’s Rest in Illinois is one of the most unique graveyards in the state.
Woodlawn Cemetery in Forest Park is comprised of 100 acres and has two mausoleums on site. It had its start as a final resting place in 1912. But what it's best known for is Showmen's Rest, a mass graveyard for circus performers and crew who died in a tragic accident in 1918.
On June 22, 1918, at 4 a.m., a great tragedy laid ahead for a group of circus folk and animals aboard a train. On its way to a performance that day in Hammond, Indiana, the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus train made a stop near Ivanhoe to fix a mechanical issue.
Precautions were taken to warn approaching trains that the train was stopped on the tracks. However, that didn't stop what happened next.
Advertisement
Another train, which was empty except for the engineer on board, approached the circus train without any signs of stopping. It turns out that the engineer had fallen asleep and so the train he was in charge of crashed into the circus train. A massive fire broke out and approximately 86 circus performers and crew members perished.
Dozens of bodies were recovered from the train's wreckage, but only a few of those were properly identified and given a proper burial. The rest were placed in a mass grave with the markers only identifying roles they played in the circus, like "4 Horse Driver," circus names like "Baldy," or an anonymous title like "Unknown Female No. 43."
If you visit Showmen's Rest, which is also known as the Clown Cemetery, you'll find it in an area surrounded by five elephant sculptures. Each elephant has a front foot resting on a ball.
About a year before the tragedy, the Showmen's League of America had purchased a plot at Woodlawn Cemetery for its showpeople to be buried. But no one could have predicted the accident that would eventually befall the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus.
Since the accident, numerous people have reported strange occurrences at Showmen's Rest and it's rumored to be haunted. Visitors have heard the disembodied sounds of elephants, circus music, and laughter. One person even experience unexplained phenomena of the ground shaking beneath his feet as if an elephant was roaming the grounds.
Have you ever visited Showmen’s Rest in Illinois? If you have, did you experience anything out of the ordinary? Let us know in the comments. You can read more about the tragedy of the Hegenbeck-Wallace Circus on the Showmen’s League of America website.
From a haunted graveyard to a haunted town, check out our article on Alton, one of the most haunted towns in Illinois.
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
