As a social historian specializing in community studies, I am often asked to do media interviews after catastrophes or significant accidents. These tragedies can profoundly impact the social, economic, and historical fabric, altering lives, historic buildings, landmarks, and artifacts. This was the case this week. After a three-alarm fire destroyed a 170-year-old hotel in Elkton…
Category: Disasters
Historical Research into a Railroad Disaster: Greenwood, Delaware
Recently I have been researching a deadly Delaware tragedy that spurred a vice president of the Pennsylvania Railroad to push for national safety transportation regulations. Following several accidents involving powerful explosives, including a catastrophic one in Greenwood, DE, the Bureau of Explosives was created under the American Railway Association. The Sussex County disaster occurred over…