1907 train wreck in Pearl River

June is coming and the anniversary of Pearl River’s only train wreck is on June 25^th. On the afternoon of June 25, 1907, a train carrying grain, wood, and gravel broke loose in Spring Valley and slowly started south down the tracks, picking up speed with each ¼ mile. The station master of the Pearl River Station was warned by telegraph and cleared the tracks personally waving white sheet to warn people in buggies to stay clear of the tracks. All waited in tension as they got the warning from Nanuet. The train with the engineer and fireman on board who were desperately trying to apply the brakes which by now had failed, passed the pearl river station at roughly 30 miles an hour aided by its great weight. As it rushed past people could see the two railroad employees hanging on for dear life. Once the train hit Jefferson Avenue, a dirt road at that time, the speed became too great and one of the cars jackknifed, sending the engine off the track where the Keahon ponds are today.  The two rail employees were relatively unharmed with the fireman jumping off and the engineer having to be pried out of the cab shaken, but uninjured. The contents of the cars exploded all over the tracks. Mounds of gravel and grain were spread all over creation. As the officers and workmen came up from Hillsdale, they arrived to be met by liveryman Joe Fisher. He had his livery on Central Avenue and made an offer of .10 cents on the dollar to haul away the grain. Fisher, thinking he got a good deal, fed this grain to the horses in his stables 21 to be exact. All the horses died. Unknown to Fisher the grain was mixed with pea sized gravel and wood splinters, which he fed to them. After paying restitution to the owners of the horses, fisher dumped the carcasses in a swamp of the Muddy Brook off Pearl Street where this fill was added with stone and dirt. For many years it was known as Fishers Dump. The Railroad came and eventually removed the debris with a steam crane and flatbed car.