Harmon Pease Hepburn

(Mayor of the City of Ashtabula at the time of the Disaster)

 

Born: 1833

Married: Mildred Ritter Hepburn - They had two daughters Susan and Mildred

Died: March 4, 1914 in Cleveland, OH (buried in the historic Lake View Cemetery, Cleve. OH)

 

About:

At the time of the disaster H.P. Hepburn was not only the Mayor of Ashtabula, but he was also a railroad builder, manufacturer and civil engineer. To our knowledge he had nothing to do with the building of the all Iron Ashtabula Bridge, but on the night of the disaster, Hepburn helped get a fire engine to the disaster sight, helped rescue people and get them to safety. He even took an injured passenger, H.T. Tomlinson, to his home for care.

 

To his credit, he also set in motion a city wide emergency response plan to care for the injured. Since there was no hospital in town, he kept track of where each victim was taken so surgeons coming in on the relief train from Cleveland would know where they were and treat them. He also called for an investigation by the Coroners Jury to be done at the insistence of a very upset community.

 

Hepburn died March 4, 1914 at the home of his daughter, Mrs. R.K. Beach, in Cleveland, OH. He is buried in the historic Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, OH – Plat: Section 11, Lot 27-NE

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In another interesting note:  H.P. Hepburn was the builder of the Charlotte Highway Bridge. This bridge has been restored and still stands today at the Calhoun County Historic Bridge Park. You can read Hepburn’s obituary and learn more about this bridge by clicking on the PDF Icon here: