Organized in 1907, the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus became one of the largest and most recognized shows touring the United States. Resembling a small city, by 1918 it featured over twenty tents, 1000 workers and performers from numerous countries, and hundreds of trained wild animals. The circus performed in over 100 cities each season before wintering in Indiana. On June 22, 1918, the engineer of an empty military troop train fell asleep and crashed into a Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus train near here. An estimated eighty-six people died and over 100 others were injured, but aid from neighboring towns and other national shows allowed the circus to finish the season. Despite the wreck's magnitude, railroad safety was slow to improve.