Showmen’s Rest

Showmen’s Rest is a plot of graves located in the corner of the Woodlawn Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois, where many circus entertainers have been laid to rest, including many victims of the Hammond Circus train wreck of 1918.

The section is owned by the Showmen’s League of America, a fraternal organization created to ensure the welfare of circus performers and vaudeville entertainers.

On June 22, 1918, while carrying 400 circus performers en route to Hammond, Indiana, the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus train crashed. Allegedly, the engineer of an approaching train fell asleep and plowed into the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus train. The wreck caused a massive fire, killing 86 people and injuring over 120. Fifty-six of the victims were buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in a mass grave.

On Memorial Day each year, the Showmen’s League of America gathers at the cemetery to remember their fallen brethren.