Wreath Laying at Lake View Cemetery Recalls Victims of 1908 Collinwood School Fire

Sun 3/4 @ 1:30PM

There is no longer anyone alive who remembers the disastrous Collinwood school fire, the worst school fire in U.S. history, where 175 people, including 172 children were killed. (There are still some of us who recall the second worst, at Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago in 1958, where 90 children died, along with three teachers). The fire occurred on March 4, 1908, exactly 110 years ago.

But just because no one has direct knowledge of the awful event doesn’t mean we can’t still pay tribute to those who died. And that is what Lake View Cemetery and the Collinwood Nottingham Historical Society will be doing at their wreath-laying ceremony at the cemetery where 23 identified students, one teacher and 19 unidentified students, marked with a monument designed by Cleveland artist Herman Matzen, are buried. In addition to placing the wreath, the ceremony will include some history about the school and the fire.

It’s free and open to all.

You can learn more about the fire at this website dedicated to the event, exploring the culture of the era, its media and how Cleveland was growing and changing at the time.

Cleveland, OH 44106

 

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