Valley Girl Views: When A Tightrope Walker Came To Danville, & The Crowd Broke The Canal Bridge

The canal bridge over Mill Street can be seen in the background. In 1860, it was a wooden bridge. By 1885, it was made of iron.

On August 15, 1860, Prof James Carr strung a wire rope between two buildings over the canal in Danville, with plans to walk across it. Depending on which newspaper account you read, somewhere between 200 and 500 people crowded onto the canal bridge at Mill street, to watch the performance.

After walking back and forth between the housetops on the wire, the performer was "about to perform some ground and lofty tumbling on the bridge as an afterpiece."

Suddenly, the weight of the spectators became too much for the newly installed bridge, and it collapsed. All of those who had been standing on the bridge, men, children, and women holding babies, were dropped into the waters of the canal.

The Detroit Free Press, August 1860

A few men nearby quickly grabbed ladders and ropes. Men who had fallen into the water grabbed children and held them above the water. One man, a Mr John Ross, reportedly had three children around his neck. In about half an hours time, everyone had been rescued. Although a few had broken bones and an assortment of injuries, no one was seriously injured, and all survived.

John Ramsey, between 12 and 14 years old, the son of Thomas Ramsey, was taken out of the water nearly drowned, and was originally thought to be dead. He was however, resuscitated after a short time.

A boy by the name of Nash was "hurt considerably about the head".

A son of Edward Hathaway, approximately age 13, had his arm broken in two places when timbers from the bridge fell on it.

The incident appeared in newspapers across the country, and in states further away, mention is made of a missing child. The local papers did not record anyone missing.

The Montour American listed the following as "particularly active and successful in their efforts to rescue the sufferers": John Ross, Peter M. Messenger, McWilliams Freese, William Kelley, James Moore, Thomas Sanders, James McBride and William Byerly.

There were others whose names were not learned.

The bridge was just three months old, having recently been build by the Wyoming Canal Company.

A rope walker crossing third street in Williamsport PA.

Read about When The Tightrope Walkers Came To Williamsport here

Tightrope walkers were a very regular, and normal, occurrence in the area between 1850 and 1930.

Professor Price walked on a wire rope across the canal in Danville in

Nov. 1859

I could find no information at all on "Prof" James Carr. Professor was a title often used by hot air balloonist and rope walkers in the 1860's. Many balloonists began as rope walkers. It was not unusual for them to use stage names in place of their real names. One man in Texas died from injuries received in his performance, his real name was unknown when he was buried.

A 1959 article in the Danville News reports that the rope walker was actually William W. Fox, an iron puddler who lived on Cherry street in Danville. His grandson Roy said that Fox was run out of town after the canal incident.