The legend of Kate Shelley is based on the true story of a fifteen-year-old girl’s efforts to save a train from disaster on a stormy night in 1881. The fatherless girl from Iowa—who not only had risked her own life to save the lives of others, but also struggled to provide for her family—quickly became an appealing heroine to a sympathetic public. Kate’s bravery earned her many rewards, as well as served as the inspiration for poems, songs, and children’s books. Today, a railroad bridge over the Des Moines River bears her name.
Although Katherine (Kate) Carroll Shelley was born in Ireland, she came with her parents to the United States as an infant. Eventually the growing family established a farm next to Honey Creek near the town of Moingona, Iowa. Kate’s father, Michael Shelley, also found a job with the nearby Chicago and North Western Railway. When Michael Shelley died in 1878, Kate, then only thirteen, took over many of the responsibility of running the farm.
On the night of July 6, 1881, a severe summer storm brought torrents of rain, causing the water levels of creeks and rivers to rise to dangerous levels. Concerned about the stability of the numerous bridges in the area, the railroad sent out crews to check for possible washouts. Late that night, a locomotive carrying four men safely crossed the bridge over the Des Moines River, then cautiously approached the wooden bridge over Honey Creek. With a loud crack, the timber gave way, plummeting the locomotive into the creek. Hearing this from within the Shelley farmhouse, Kate quickly realized what had happened. With an improvised lantern, she headed out to the creek. Discovering that the flood waters had already reached the house’s yard, she was forced to take a detour over a bluff at the back of the house. When she finally arrived at the bridge, she saw the train’s engineer, Edward Wood, hanging onto the top of a tree (another crew member also survived, but the other two drowned). He attempted to communicate with Kate, but they could not hear each other over the sounds of the storm and the rushing water of the creek.
Kate feared that an even worse tragedy was about to occur: an express train loaded with passengers was due shortly. It had to be stopped before it reached the downed bridge. The closest train station was in Moingona, but the Des Moines River lay between it and Kate. To get over the river, she would have to use the railroad bridge. The bridge was not intended for use by pedestrians and had been constructed in such a way as to discourage this. The ties were spaced far apart, longer than the stride of a person walking, and there was no flooring beneath the ties, making it possible to fall through to the river. Spikes and nails had also been added as a deterrent. Despite this, Kate got down on her hands and knees and began crawling slowly across the bridge, as sharp metal jabbed and cut her flesh. She was hampered even further by her long, wet skirt, which sometimes caught on a nail, unbalancing her. The lamp blew out, but she still held onto it, her way instead illuminated by bursts of lightening. Beneath her, the waters of the Des Moines swept all manner of debris along its current. At one point, an uprooted tree, with earth still clinging to its roots, came perilously close to toppling her from the bridge. At any time the express could arrive and send her to her death. Finally, Kate made it across the river and began running the half mile to get to the station so that a warning could be sent out by telegraph. She then helped guide a party back to Honey Creek to rescue the two surviving crew members stranded there.
The riveting story captured the imagination of newspaper readers across the country. In most versions, Kate’s bravery saved the express train, although some accounts embellished this more than others. For example, in one story the warning telegraph was sent out seconds before the wire went dead. In another, the train was successfully stopped at the station right after Kate arrived. The grateful passengers immediately took up a collection to reward her. However, in 1957, a detailed account of that night, which was confirmed by Kate’s sister Mayme, appeared in the magazine Trains. The writer, Edward H. Meyers, claimed that the railroad had already made the decision to stop all trains as a precaution, including the express, prior to receiving Kate’s warning. The article also stated that Kate’s father had died after a long illness, contrary to the many reports that he had died in a railroad accident.
Nonetheless, Kate’s bravery was indisputable, and she received many rewards and acknowledgments. The Iowa state legislature gave her a gold medal and $200. The Order of Railway Conductors gave her a gold watch and chain. A scholarship was raised for Kate to attend college. Money was collected for the struggling Shelley family, including $100 from the railroad. The railroad also contributed a carload of coal, provisions, and clothing. Kate received a lifetime rail pass, and appreciative train crews would make a special stop right at her house.
In 1890, nine years after that stormy night, the Chicago Tribune ran an article detailing the Shelley family’s still impoverished condition. The newspaper scorned the railroad for not adequately rewarding Kate, who was then helping support the family as a substitute teacher. The paper began a fundraising effort, raising more than enough to pay off the mortgage on the farm. In 1903, Kate accepted the position of agent at the Moingona railroad station, where she worked until just before her death in 1912. On the day of the funeral, a train was sent to Kate’s home to pick her up for the last time.
Kate Shelley’s name has lived on in many interesting ways. Both of the subsequent railroad bridges built over the Des Moines River (in 1901 and 2009) have been known as the Kate Shelley Bridge. For a time, a train that ran between Chicago, Illinois, and Clinton, Iowa, was called the Kate Shelley. Today the Kate Shelley Memorial Park and Railroad Museum outside of Moingona commemorates that fateful night, while the original lantern that Kate carried is on display at the Boone County Historical Center. Beginning in the last decades of the twentieth century, as stories with strong female heroines became increasingly popular, the legend of Kate Shelley was introduced to new generations of readers as the subject of children’s books.
Midori V. Green
See also Brown, Margaret Molly Tobin; Jones, Casey; Legends; Women in Folklore
Further Reading
Beck, Tobin. 2006. “Kate Shelley: A Girl’s Heroic Journey.” American History 14 (5): 17–18.
Grant, H. Roger. 1995. “Kate Shelley and the Chicago & North Western Railway.” Palimpsest 76 (Fall): 138–44.
Hubbard, Freeman H. 1945. Railroad Avenue: Great Stories and Legends of American Railroading. New York: Whittlesey House.
Kaye, John Brayshaw. 1882. “Our Kate.” In Songs of Lake Geneva and Other Poems, 194–200. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
Meyers, Edward H. 1957. “The Girl They Stopped the Trains For.” Trains (October): 43–48.
Thompson, Vance. 1890. “Moingona’s Heroine.” Chicago Tribune. April 5.