The casualty was Hugh Thompson, a 32-year-old Hobart man. His parents' farm, where he had been born (on New Year's Day 1878) and raised, lay south of Ainsworth, abutting the intersection of present-day Route 30 and State Road 51. He was the youngest son of Alexander and Mary Thompson. Mary was 44 years old when she gave birth to him.
Sometime after 1880 the family moved from the farm up to Hobart, and Hugh graduated from Hobart's high school in 1895. After graduation, he still lived with his parents; he never married. Industrious but unable to settle on a single occupation, Hugh worked at various jobs in and around Hobart. Early in December 1909 he picked up a minor job — hauling a load of hay from Merrillville to Hobart for John Green, a cattle buyer.
On December 6, 1909, Hugh set out with John and two other men, Oscar Meyer and Frank Popp, driving a team and a wagon equipped with a hayrack. At Merrillville they loaded up the wagon with two tons of hay. John set out for home with another neighbor, leaving Hugh, Oscar and Frank to man the wagon. The afternoon was wearing on when they started back for Hobart. By the time they reached Ainsworth it was well after 7:00 p.m. The sun was long gone and the little village had no streetlights. As the team approached the Grand Trunk crossing, it drifted slightly off the side of the road, but in the darkness no one realized it until the team and wagon hit the unshielded rails to the side of the crossing and got stuck.
A freight train was coming from the west — a "fast" train, not scheduled to stop. The engineer had the throttle open, intending to fly past the Ainsworth depot.
The train was on the south tracks; so was most of the wagon, while the team was on the north tracks, and one of the horses seemed to have its hoof caught among the rails and ties. The men must have whipped up the horses, but they could quickly see it was no use. Frank jumped down from the wagon and hastily tried to unfasten the team. There wasn't time to get them free. At the last moment, Frank and Oscar scrambled clear of the tracks, but Hugh stayed on the driver's seat, holding fast to the reins.
The train plowed into the back part of the wagon with an explosion of hay. The team and the front part of the wagon were cut loose. The terrified horses, in the tatters of their harness, galloped off toward Hobart.
Frank and Oscar ran back to check on Hugh. They found him on the ground, alive but unconscious. His head was badly cut and bruised, apparently from striking the ground or the front part of the wagon. They carried him to the Ainsworth depot and phoned to Hobart for a doctor.
Dr. Richard Mackey arrived as quickly as he could, driving his own auto. He gave the still-unconscious Hugh first aid, then the three of them loaded him into the car, and Dr. Mackey drove him to the Thompsons' home.
Overnight, Hugh gradually came to consciousness. By morning, he could converse more or less rationally. Though he was paralyzed from the neck down and running a high fever, his parents began to hope that he might survive. But as the morning wore on, his condition deteriorated; the fever rose; he lapsed back into unconsciousness. About 2:00 in the afternoon, he died.
The Gazette noted:
The crossing at Ainsworth is a bad one and several accidents there have been recorded. An effort will be made to have the railroad company place a lamp there, which is certainly needed and should be done for the protection of the traveling public.If there had been any recent accidents there fatal to humans, they did not make the paper. A horse fatality was reported in 1899. Other than that, I don't know what the Gazette was referring to.
Hugh Thompson is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery, next to his mother.
(Click on images to enlarge)
Sources:
♦ 1880 Census.
♦ 1891 Plat Book.
♦ 1900 Census.
♦ 1910 Census.
♦ "At Rest." Hobart Gazette 10 Dec. 1909.
♦ "Dies From Accident." Hobart Gazette 10 Dec. 1909.
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