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70 Years Later, the Hartford Circus Fire Still Burns

On July 6, 1944, a circus tent in the North End of Hartford caught fire. The tent covered three blocks. It was gone in six minutes. 

Credit DragonflyDC / Creative Commons
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Creative Commons
Little Miss 1565, Eleanor Cook.

Roughly 170 people died. You'll understand my imprecision as we go along. Five employees of the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter, and served minimal prison sentences. One of them, James Haley, was so unscarred by this that he later served for 24 years in Congress.

The symbol of the tragedy was Little Miss 1565, a young girl whose remains were never claimed, and were not firmly identified for almost 50 years. During that time, two Hartford detectives brought flowers to her unmarked grave each anniversary of the fire.

What are your memories of the fire? Comment below, email Colin@wnpr.org, or tweet @wnprcolin.

GUESTS:

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Colin McEnroe is a radio host, newspaper columnist, magazine writer, author, playwright, lecturer, moderator, college instructor and occasional singer. Colin can be reached at colin@ctpublic.org.
Chion Wolf is the host of Audacious with Chion Wolf on Connecticut Public.
Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. She served as the Senior Producer for 'The Colin McEnroe Show' for several years before stepping down in 2021 and returning to her previous career as a registered nurse. She still produces shows with Colin and the team when her schedule allows.

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