Italian Hall Disaster
On December 24, 1913, a Christmas party was being held at the Italian Hall in Calumet, Michigan for striking miners and their families. The party was taking place on the second floor of the building, which was only accessible by a steep staircase. (There was also a fire escape outside of the windows.) Someone shouted, “Fire!” even though there wasn’t actually one. But this caused people to panic and rush for the staircase. A total of 73 people- 59 of which were children- perished in the stampede. According to many witnesses, the man who shouted “fire” was anti-union, and did this on purpose because the mining workers were on strike. Unfortunately, though, the man was never identified. This sparked a lot of debate among historians, who argue as to what actually happened that day. But the Italian Hall was eventually torn down. Only a stone archway remains.