Historical Marker Dedication

There will be a dedication of the new historical marker placed in memory of the Bennett family that lost their lives in one of Smith County’s worst railroad accidents on April 24, 1949. The April 28, 1949 Carthage Courier headline read, “Ten Killed When Train Strikes Truck; County’s Worst Tragedy.” The Smith Countians, all residents of the Hogan’s Creek community, were returning from services at the Lancaster Church of God, located about three miles from where the accident occurred. Witnesses said the heavily loaded farm truck pulled around another truck, onto the track and in the path of the fast, westbound traveling Tennessee Central freight train. The historical marker has been a service project of the Leadership Opportunity of Smith County Class of 2018.