Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus
Encyclopedia
The Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus was a circus
that traveled across America in the early part of the 20th century. At its peak, it was the second-largest circus in America next to Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. It was based in Peru, Indiana
.
(1844-1913). Hagenbeck was an animal trainer who pioneered the use of rewards-based animal training as opposed to fear-based training.
Meanwhile, Benjamin Wallace, a livery stable owner from Peru, Indiana
, and his business partner, James Anderson, bought a circus in 1884 and created "The Great Wallace Show". Wallace bought out his partner in 1890 and formed the "B. E. Wallace Circus".
In 1907, Wallace purchased the Carl Hagenbeck Circus and merged it with his circus. The circus became known as the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus at that time, even though Carl Hagenbeck protested. He sued to prohibit the use of his name but lost in court.
In 1913, the circus lost 8 elephant
s, 21 lion
s and tiger
s and 8 performing horses in the Wabash River
flood. That same year, Wallace sold his interest in the circus to Ed Ballard of French Lick, Indiana
.
Another tragedy struck the circus before 4:00 a.m. on June 22, 1918, in the Hammond Circus Train Wreck
when a locomotive
engineer fell asleep and ran his empty troop train into the rear of the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus train
near Hammond, Indiana
. A fire broke out from the kerosene lamp
s, which were used for lighting in the sleeping car
s of the circus train. The fire quickly spread through the wood-constructed cars. As a result of the collision and subsequent fire, 86 persons died and another 127 were injured. Many victims were burned beyond recognition. Most are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois
in a section set aside as Showmen's Rest
.
In the spirit of "the show must go on", several competing circuses, including Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey, lent equipment and performers to Hagenbeck-Wallace so that only two performances were canceled as a result of the tragedy, the one in Hammond and the next stop in Monroe, Wisconsin
. After the tragedy, circus entrepreneurs Jeremiah Mugivan and Bert Bowers acquired Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, adding it to a long list of circuses they owned, including Sells-Floto Circus and John Robinson Shows. Mugivan was the chief operations man. A year later, Mugivan and Bowers asked Ballard to join them and the trio formed the American Circus Company.
The successor company of the American Circus Corporation
was sold by Jeremiah Mugivan, Bert Bowers and Ed Ballard to John Nicholas Ringling of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey in 1929 for $1.7 million, along with Al G. Barnes Circus
, Sells-Floto Circus, John Robinson Shows, and Sparks Circus.
The Great Depression
and Ringling's ill health caused the Ringling empire to falter. In 1935, the circus split from Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey and became the Hagenbeck-Wallace and Forepaugh-Sells Bros. Circus. It finally ceased operations in 1938.
The building in Peru, Indiana that formerly housed the winter home of Hagenbeck-Wallace now serves as the home of the Circus Hall of Fame.
Hagenbeck's name also appears in a series of Polish books for teenagers by Alfred Szklarski
. The main characters from the books travel around the world to hunt animals for Hagenbeck's circus.
Hagenbeck is also mentioned in the story "Premier amour" of Samuel Beckett
as a well known lion tamer, who's buried in the Ohlsdorf Cemetery
and is briefly mentioned in Water for Elephants
In the fall of 2006 The Neo-Futurists theater company of Chicago mounted an original production entitled Roustabout: The Great Circus Train Wreck! based on the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. The play was written by Jay Torrence and directed by Torrence and Kristie Koehler. The show was remounted by the Neo-Futurists in the summer of 2007 at the Chicago Park District's Theater on the Lake.
In the fall of 2009 Murder Mansion Haunted House in Forest Park, Illinois will be creating a circus themed haunted house based upon the tragedy.
---Famous performers with Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus---
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
that traveled across America in the early part of the 20th century. At its peak, it was the second-largest circus in America next to Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. It was based in Peru, Indiana
Peru, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 12,994 people, 5,410 households, and 3,397 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,815.5 people per square mile . There were 5,943 housing units at an average density of 1,287.7 per square mile...
.
History
The circus began as the “Carl Hagenbeck Circus” by Carl HagenbeckCarl Hagenbeck
Carl Hagenbeck was a merchant of wild animals who supplied many European zoos, as well as P.T. Barnum. He is often considered the father of the modern zoo because he introduced "natural" animal enclosures that included recreations of animals' native habitats without bars...
(1844-1913). Hagenbeck was an animal trainer who pioneered the use of rewards-based animal training as opposed to fear-based training.
Meanwhile, Benjamin Wallace, a livery stable owner from Peru, Indiana
Peru, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 12,994 people, 5,410 households, and 3,397 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,815.5 people per square mile . There were 5,943 housing units at an average density of 1,287.7 per square mile...
, and his business partner, James Anderson, bought a circus in 1884 and created "The Great Wallace Show". Wallace bought out his partner in 1890 and formed the "B. E. Wallace Circus".
In 1907, Wallace purchased the Carl Hagenbeck Circus and merged it with his circus. The circus became known as the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus at that time, even though Carl Hagenbeck protested. He sued to prohibit the use of his name but lost in court.
In 1913, the circus lost 8 elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s, 21 lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s and tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
s and 8 performing horses in the Wabash River
Wabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
flood. That same year, Wallace sold his interest in the circus to Ed Ballard of French Lick, Indiana
French Lick, Indiana
French Lick is a town in French Lick Township, Orange County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,807 at the 2010 census. In early 2006 the French Lick Resort Casino, the state's tenth casino in the modern legalized era, opened drawing national attention to the small town.- History :French...
.
Another tragedy struck the circus before 4:00 a.m. on June 22, 1918, in the Hammond Circus Train Wreck
Hammond Circus Train Wreck
The Hammond circus train wreck occurred on June 22, 1918, and was one of the worst train wrecks in US history. Eighty-six people died and another 127 were injured when a locomotive engineer fell asleep and ran his train into the rear of another near Hammond, Indiana.-Circus train wreck:In the early...
when a locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
engineer fell asleep and ran his empty troop train into the rear of the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus train
Circus train
A circus train is a modern method of conveyance for circus troupes. One of the larger users of circus trains is the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus , a famous American circus formed when the Ringling Brothers Circus purchased the Barnum and Bailey Circus in 1907.In 1872 the P.T...
near Hammond, Indiana
Hammond, Indiana
Hammond is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 80,830 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hammond is located at ....
. A fire broke out from the kerosene lamp
Kerosene lamp
The kerosene lamp is a type of lighting device that uses kerosene as a fuel. This article refers to kerosene lamps that have a wick and a tall glass chimney. Kerosene lanterns that have a wick and a glass globe are related to kerosene lamps and are included here as well...
s, which were used for lighting in the sleeping car
Sleeping car
The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...
s of the circus train. The fire quickly spread through the wood-constructed cars. As a result of the collision and subsequent fire, 86 persons died and another 127 were injured. Many victims were burned beyond recognition. Most are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois
Forest Park, Illinois
Forest Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in the United States. The population was 15,688 at the 2000 census...
in a section set aside as Showmen's Rest
Showmen's Rest
Showmen's Rest in Forest Park, Illinois is a 750 plot section of Woodlawn Cemetery where a mass grave of 56 employees of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus were interred...
.
In the spirit of "the show must go on", several competing circuses, including Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey, lent equipment and performers to Hagenbeck-Wallace so that only two performances were canceled as a result of the tragedy, the one in Hammond and the next stop in Monroe, Wisconsin
Monroe, Wisconsin
Monroe, known as "the Swiss Cheese Capital of the USA", is a city in and the county seat of Green County, Wisconsin, United States. The population, was 10,843 at the 2000 census. The city is located partially within the Town of Monroe and partially in the Town of Clarno.-Geography:Monroe is located...
. After the tragedy, circus entrepreneurs Jeremiah Mugivan and Bert Bowers acquired Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, adding it to a long list of circuses they owned, including Sells-Floto Circus and John Robinson Shows. Mugivan was the chief operations man. A year later, Mugivan and Bowers asked Ballard to join them and the trio formed the American Circus Company.
The successor company of the American Circus Corporation
American Circus Corporation
The American Circus Corporation, consisted of the Sells-Floto Circus, the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, the John Robinson Circus, the Sparks Circus, and the Al G. Barnes Circus. It was owned by Jerry Mugivan, Bert Bowers and Ed Ballard. They sold the company in 1929 to John Nicholas Ringling for $1.7...
was sold by Jeremiah Mugivan, Bert Bowers and Ed Ballard to John Nicholas Ringling of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey in 1929 for $1.7 million, along with Al G. Barnes Circus
Al G. Barnes Circus
-History:Stonehouse started the show in 1895 with a pony, a phonograph, a stereopticon. His circus was purchased by the American Circus Corporation in 1929 and was merged with the Sells-Floto Circus, John Robinson Shows, and Sparks Circus. That same year John Nicholas Ringling bought out the...
, Sells-Floto Circus, John Robinson Shows, and Sparks Circus.
The Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and Ringling's ill health caused the Ringling empire to falter. In 1935, the circus split from Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey and became the Hagenbeck-Wallace and Forepaugh-Sells Bros. Circus. It finally ceased operations in 1938.
The building in Peru, Indiana that formerly housed the winter home of Hagenbeck-Wallace now serves as the home of the Circus Hall of Fame.
In fiction
The Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus was the inspiration for the novel The Circus in Winter by Cathy Day. The book is about the fictional "Great Porter Circus", which made its winter home in the "Lima, Indiana", which stood in for the author's home town of Peru, Indiana. The author is the great-niece of an elephant trainer of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus.Hagenbeck's name also appears in a series of Polish books for teenagers by Alfred Szklarski
Alfred Szklarski
Alfred Szklarski was a Polish author of youth literature. He also published his books as Alfred Bronowski, Fred Garland and Alfred Murawski.-Biography:...
. The main characters from the books travel around the world to hunt animals for Hagenbeck's circus.
Hagenbeck is also mentioned in the story "Premier amour" of Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
as a well known lion tamer, who's buried in the Ohlsdorf Cemetery
Ohlsdorf Cemetery
-External links:* *...
and is briefly mentioned in Water for Elephants
Water for Elephants
Water for Elephants is a historical novel by Sara Gruen. Gruen originally wrote the novel as part of National Novel Writing Month.- Plot :...
In the fall of 2006 The Neo-Futurists theater company of Chicago mounted an original production entitled Roustabout: The Great Circus Train Wreck! based on the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. The play was written by Jay Torrence and directed by Torrence and Kristie Koehler. The show was remounted by the Neo-Futurists in the summer of 2007 at the Chicago Park District's Theater on the Lake.
In the fall of 2009 Murder Mansion Haunted House in Forest Park, Illinois will be creating a circus themed haunted house based upon the tragedy.
---Famous performers with Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus---
- Clyde Beatty first joined out in 1921, with Howes Great London Circus, as a cageboy and assistant trainer to the legendary Louis Roth. When he joined Hagenbeck-Wallace, he learned more from star trainer Peter Taylor. When stricken with a neck injury in 1925, Taylor could not continue his major lion-and-tiger act, and Clyde Beatty took it over at once. With his exciting performing style, he became such a sensation the public filled the tent even during the Depression. He starred with Hagenbeck-Wallace until 1934, when a dispute with Ringling management caused him to sign with a new circus, titled Cole Bros. and Clyde Beatty Circus.
- Joe Skelton, the father of Red SkeltonRed SkeltonRichard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...
, once worked as a clown in the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. Red himself performed with the same circus as a teenager before entering vaudevilleVaudevilleVaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
.
- Emmett KellyEmmett KellyEmmett Leo Kelly , a native of Sedan, Kansas, was an American circus performer, who created the memorable clown figure "Weary Willie", based on the hobos of the Depression era.- Career development :...
got his start as "Weary Willie" during the Great Depression with Hagenbeck-Wallace before moving on to other circuses.
- In 1937, cowboyCowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
, rodeoRodeoRodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
performer, and movie actor Hoot GibsonHoot GibsonHoot Gibson was an American rodeo champion and a pioneer cowboy film actor, director and producer.-Early life and career:...
performed with the circus.