Photo: Corbis.

This is a resource page on the fire that broke out during a performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus in the north end of Hartford on July 6, 1944. One hundred sixty-seven people died as a result of the blaze, which broke out while several thousand were under the big top for an afternoon performance. Flames spread instantly along the canvas of the tent, since it had been waterproofed with a mixture of gasoline and paraffin. The spectators' stampede to escape proved as deadly as the fire; hindering the escape of many were steel railings along the front of the bleachers and an animal chute blocking a main exit. The circus fire remains the worst disaster in city history. Because it was a circus performance, and because it occurred on a Thursday afternoon during World War II, when many adults held down one or more jobs at war-production plants, children accounted for many of the casualties; only 100 of the dead were older than 15. The injured numbered 487. The lot where the circus performed - bounded by Barbour Street, Cleveland Avenue, Hampton Street and Kensington Street - became the site of the Stowe Village housing project.

The list of resources below probably isn't exhaustive. To suggest additions, contact Kevin@HartfordHistory.net.

Those with personal recollections of the disaster are invited to post them on the site's Bulletin Board.

Special note: The Hartford Circus Fire Memorial Foundation Inc. has been founded to raise money for building a permanent, outdoor memorial to the victims and witnesses of the fire. Plans call for building the memorial on the site of the fire, as a gift to the city. Kathleen E. Palm, the city's treasurer, wrote about the memorial recently in her role as capital campaign chairwoman of the foundation: "It is intended to be contemplative, elegiac and thoughtful - a tribute to the spirit both of the people who endured the tragedy and the community that came together on that terrible day in response." Her words appeared as an op-ed article in the Feb. 8, 2004, editions of The Hartford Courant. The article, along with an artist's rendering of the memorial, can be viewed by clicking here, though registration may be required. To make a contribution to the foundation, send it to:

Hartford Circus Fire Memorial Foundation
P.O. Box 231332
Hartford, CT
06123-1332