Mary (Sparks family pet from age 4 to death), also known as Mighty Mary or Big Mary, was an Asian elephant that worked with the Sparks World Famous Shows.∼Mary had enough. She didn't want to put up with sick humans anymore. She was only trying to survive the best way she knew how. Animals like Mary should never be thought of as murderers because they aren't vindictive like humans are. Animals kill to survive. Humans kill for greed and pleasure. Mary was defending herself. She didn't deserve such barbaric treatment as those sick humans looked on as she was being hung like it was entertainment. I hope they put up a memorial for Mary someday in Tennessee. She deserves that.∼Charlie Sparks was the owner of Sparks World Famous Shows. It was told Charlie was frustrated his show was not the size or caliber of his competitors, and had been traveling around putting up advance posters announcing two noon Circus performance parades. Sparks posters even claimed his shows were "Moral, entertaining, and instructive!"
On Monday, September 11, 1916, Sparks World Famous Shows played St. Paul, Va., a tiny mining town in the Clinch River Valley, which is where Walter “Red” Eldridge signed up with Sparks World Famous Shows. He’d dropped into St. Paul from a Norfolk and Western boxcar and decided to stay for a while leaving his job as hotel worker behind at the Riverside Hotel. Eldridge was immediately hired as an elephant keeper.
Tuesday, September 12th animals from the Sparks Circus paraded through the small town of Kingsport, Tennessee. (The show's star attraction was a five-ton Asian elephant named Mary.) Red Eldridge, the new Trainer, was riding on Mary’s back. “Big Mary” was billed as "the largest living land animal on earth"; her owner claimed she was three inches bigger than “Jumbo”, P. T. Barnum's famous elephant. Mary was 30 years old and five tons, and very talented: she could "play 25 tunes on the musical horns without missing a note". As the “pitcher on the circus baseball-game routine”, her 400 batting average " had astonished millions in New York." She was Charlie Sparks' favorite, his claim to “Circus Fame”, and he told Mary was worth $20,000. She was also the leader of his small band of elephants, known as a crowd-pleaser and an unpredictable giant. Rumor and exaggeration swirled about “Big Mary”.
During the Parade, Mary suddenly stopped. She had noticed a pile of watermelon rinds in the side of the road and veered off course for a snack. Red struck Mary in the head with a bull hook. In an instant, the elephant wrapped her trunk around the man and threw him into a drink stand. It’s said that she then stepped on his head in front of a crowd of shocked onlookers, including children.
One man unloaded his pistol into Mary, but the bullets couldn't penetrate her thick hide. The townspeople chanted, "Kill the elephant!" Murderous Mary, as she came to be known, had to die. But how? And where? Mary didn't perform for the Matinee performance September 13th (the day after the incident with Eldridge). Sadly she was chained outside the circus tent, and supposed to have spent the entire performance time swaying nervously. The crowd's dissatisfaction with her absence was offset by the announcement that Mary would be hung in the Clinchfield Railyards later in the afternoon, with no additional charge for admission. The people felt justice must be served for what had happened to Eldridge. Charlie Sparks knew no town in Tennessee would invite his circus to perform with a certifiably rogue elephant. Performances in Johnson City, Tennessee scheduled for September 26, had already passed a privilege-tax ordinance restricting carnivals' operations within city limits, in order to protect its citizens from wholesale fleecing. It was common knowledge that Johnson City officials were looking for an excuse to ban all traveling shows. As valuable as Mary was, she had to go.
(Did Mary kill Red Eldridge because she was in pain? Erwin legend has it that Mary had two abscessed teeth, which caused her to snap in such agony when Eldridge hit her with his bull hook. Tragically, the infections were discovered after Mary was killed.)
Kingport’s neighboring town of Erwin was home to an enormous rail yard and a 100-ton derrick car with a crane strong enough to hang an elephant. Mary weighed 10,000 pounds. They had a difficult time, but finally were able to complete the horrific deed of chaining up Mary. (the details left out in Respect for all). They dumped her in a grave they'd dug with a steam shovel 400 feet up the tracks. (The reports of the grave size varied from a too-small 10 by 12 feet to as "big as a barn”.
In 2016, on the anniversary of Mary’s hanging, Erwin began to embrace it’s elephant history. RISE began what it hoped would become an annual ritual: a weeklong series of events to celebrate elephants. That first year, the town paid nearly $9,000 for local artists to paint eight fiberglass elephants. They were displayed all over town and then auctioned off. The money raised went to their new found partner, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee (Hohenwald, TN). They are a sanctuary for retired elephants from circuses and zoos. Their partnership continues towards the sanctuary.
Elephants are my favorite wild animal.
I heard this tragic story about Mary not long after moving to East Tennessee. Now later, I wondered if there was a Memorial here on Find A Grave for Mary where I could leave a token for her...
Thank You for your tokens and thoughts for Mary and any elephant.
On Monday, September 11, 1916, Sparks World Famous Shows played St. Paul, Va., a tiny mining town in the Clinch River Valley, which is where Walter “Red” Eldridge signed up with Sparks World Famous Shows. He’d dropped into St. Paul from a Norfolk and Western boxcar and decided to stay for a while leaving his job as hotel worker behind at the Riverside Hotel. Eldridge was immediately hired as an elephant keeper.
Tuesday, September 12th animals from the Sparks Circus paraded through the small town of Kingsport, Tennessee. (The show's star attraction was a five-ton Asian elephant named Mary.) Red Eldridge, the new Trainer, was riding on Mary’s back. “Big Mary” was billed as "the largest living land animal on earth"; her owner claimed she was three inches bigger than “Jumbo”, P. T. Barnum's famous elephant. Mary was 30 years old and five tons, and very talented: she could "play 25 tunes on the musical horns without missing a note". As the “pitcher on the circus baseball-game routine”, her 400 batting average " had astonished millions in New York." She was Charlie Sparks' favorite, his claim to “Circus Fame”, and he told Mary was worth $20,000. She was also the leader of his small band of elephants, known as a crowd-pleaser and an unpredictable giant. Rumor and exaggeration swirled about “Big Mary”.
During the Parade, Mary suddenly stopped. She had noticed a pile of watermelon rinds in the side of the road and veered off course for a snack. Red struck Mary in the head with a bull hook. In an instant, the elephant wrapped her trunk around the man and threw him into a drink stand. It’s said that she then stepped on his head in front of a crowd of shocked onlookers, including children.
One man unloaded his pistol into Mary, but the bullets couldn't penetrate her thick hide. The townspeople chanted, "Kill the elephant!" Murderous Mary, as she came to be known, had to die. But how? And where? Mary didn't perform for the Matinee performance September 13th (the day after the incident with Eldridge). Sadly she was chained outside the circus tent, and supposed to have spent the entire performance time swaying nervously. The crowd's dissatisfaction with her absence was offset by the announcement that Mary would be hung in the Clinchfield Railyards later in the afternoon, with no additional charge for admission. The people felt justice must be served for what had happened to Eldridge. Charlie Sparks knew no town in Tennessee would invite his circus to perform with a certifiably rogue elephant. Performances in Johnson City, Tennessee scheduled for September 26, had already passed a privilege-tax ordinance restricting carnivals' operations within city limits, in order to protect its citizens from wholesale fleecing. It was common knowledge that Johnson City officials were looking for an excuse to ban all traveling shows. As valuable as Mary was, she had to go.
(Did Mary kill Red Eldridge because she was in pain? Erwin legend has it that Mary had two abscessed teeth, which caused her to snap in such agony when Eldridge hit her with his bull hook. Tragically, the infections were discovered after Mary was killed.)
Kingport’s neighboring town of Erwin was home to an enormous rail yard and a 100-ton derrick car with a crane strong enough to hang an elephant. Mary weighed 10,000 pounds. They had a difficult time, but finally were able to complete the horrific deed of chaining up Mary. (the details left out in Respect for all). They dumped her in a grave they'd dug with a steam shovel 400 feet up the tracks. (The reports of the grave size varied from a too-small 10 by 12 feet to as "big as a barn”.
In 2016, on the anniversary of Mary’s hanging, Erwin began to embrace it’s elephant history. RISE began what it hoped would become an annual ritual: a weeklong series of events to celebrate elephants. That first year, the town paid nearly $9,000 for local artists to paint eight fiberglass elephants. They were displayed all over town and then auctioned off. The money raised went to their new found partner, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee (Hohenwald, TN). They are a sanctuary for retired elephants from circuses and zoos. Their partnership continues towards the sanctuary.
Elephants are my favorite wild animal.
I heard this tragic story about Mary not long after moving to East Tennessee. Now later, I wondered if there was a Memorial here on Find A Grave for Mary where I could leave a token for her...
Thank You for your tokens and thoughts for Mary and any elephant.
Mary (Sparks family pet from age 4 to death), also known as Mighty Mary or Big Mary, was an Asian elephant that worked with the Sparks World Famous Shows.∼Mary had enough. She didn't want to put up with sick humans anymore. She was only trying to survive the best way she knew how. Animals like Mary should never be thought of as murderers because they aren't vindictive like humans are. Animals kill to survive. Humans kill for greed and pleasure. Mary was defending herself. She didn't deserve such barbaric treatment as those sick humans looked on as she was being hung like it was entertainment. I hope they put up a memorial for Mary someday in Tennessee. She deserves that.∼Charlie Sparks was the owner of Sparks World Famous Shows. It was told Charlie was frustrated his show was not the size or caliber of his competitors, and had been traveling around putting up advance posters announcing two noon Circus performance parades. Sparks posters even claimed his shows were "Moral, entertaining, and instructive!"
On Monday, September 11, 1916, Sparks World Famous Shows played St. Paul, Va., a tiny mining town in the Clinch River Valley, which is where Walter “Red” Eldridge signed up with Sparks World Famous Shows. He’d dropped into St. Paul from a Norfolk and Western boxcar and decided to stay for a while leaving his job as hotel worker behind at the Riverside Hotel. Eldridge was immediately hired as an elephant keeper.
Tuesday, September 12th animals from the Sparks Circus paraded through the small town of Kingsport, Tennessee. (The show's star attraction was a five-ton Asian elephant named Mary.) Red Eldridge, the new Trainer, was riding on Mary’s back. “Big Mary” was billed as "the largest living land animal on earth"; her owner claimed she was three inches bigger than “Jumbo”, P. T. Barnum's famous elephant. Mary was 30 years old and five tons, and very talented: she could "play 25 tunes on the musical horns without missing a note". As the “pitcher on the circus baseball-game routine”, her 400 batting average " had astonished millions in New York." She was Charlie Sparks' favorite, his claim to “Circus Fame”, and he told Mary was worth $20,000. She was also the leader of his small band of elephants, known as a crowd-pleaser and an unpredictable giant. Rumor and exaggeration swirled about “Big Mary”.
During the Parade, Mary suddenly stopped. She had noticed a pile of watermelon rinds in the side of the road and veered off course for a snack. Red struck Mary in the head with a bull hook. In an instant, the elephant wrapped her trunk around the man and threw him into a drink stand. It’s said that she then stepped on his head in front of a crowd of shocked onlookers, including children.
One man unloaded his pistol into Mary, but the bullets couldn't penetrate her thick hide. The townspeople chanted, "Kill the elephant!" Murderous Mary, as she came to be known, had to die. But how? And where? Mary didn't perform for the Matinee performance September 13th (the day after the incident with Eldridge). Sadly she was chained outside the circus tent, and supposed to have spent the entire performance time swaying nervously. The crowd's dissatisfaction with her absence was offset by the announcement that Mary would be hung in the Clinchfield Railyards later in the afternoon, with no additional charge for admission. The people felt justice must be served for what had happened to Eldridge. Charlie Sparks knew no town in Tennessee would invite his circus to perform with a certifiably rogue elephant. Performances in Johnson City, Tennessee scheduled for September 26, had already passed a privilege-tax ordinance restricting carnivals' operations within city limits, in order to protect its citizens from wholesale fleecing. It was common knowledge that Johnson City officials were looking for an excuse to ban all traveling shows. As valuable as Mary was, she had to go.
(Did Mary kill Red Eldridge because she was in pain? Erwin legend has it that Mary had two abscessed teeth, which caused her to snap in such agony when Eldridge hit her with his bull hook. Tragically, the infections were discovered after Mary was killed.)
Kingport’s neighboring town of Erwin was home to an enormous rail yard and a 100-ton derrick car with a crane strong enough to hang an elephant. Mary weighed 10,000 pounds. They had a difficult time, but finally were able to complete the horrific deed of chaining up Mary. (the details left out in Respect for all). They dumped her in a grave they'd dug with a steam shovel 400 feet up the tracks. (The reports of the grave size varied from a too-small 10 by 12 feet to as "big as a barn”.
In 2016, on the anniversary of Mary’s hanging, Erwin began to embrace it’s elephant history. RISE began what it hoped would become an annual ritual: a weeklong series of events to celebrate elephants. That first year, the town paid nearly $9,000 for local artists to paint eight fiberglass elephants. They were displayed all over town and then auctioned off. The money raised went to their new found partner, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee (Hohenwald, TN). They are a sanctuary for retired elephants from circuses and zoos. Their partnership continues towards the sanctuary.
Elephants are my favorite wild animal.
I heard this tragic story about Mary not long after moving to East Tennessee. Now later, I wondered if there was a Memorial here on Find A Grave for Mary where I could leave a token for her...
Thank You for your tokens and thoughts for Mary and any elephant.
On Monday, September 11, 1916, Sparks World Famous Shows played St. Paul, Va., a tiny mining town in the Clinch River Valley, which is where Walter “Red” Eldridge signed up with Sparks World Famous Shows. He’d dropped into St. Paul from a Norfolk and Western boxcar and decided to stay for a while leaving his job as hotel worker behind at the Riverside Hotel. Eldridge was immediately hired as an elephant keeper.
Tuesday, September 12th animals from the Sparks Circus paraded through the small town of Kingsport, Tennessee. (The show's star attraction was a five-ton Asian elephant named Mary.) Red Eldridge, the new Trainer, was riding on Mary’s back. “Big Mary” was billed as "the largest living land animal on earth"; her owner claimed she was three inches bigger than “Jumbo”, P. T. Barnum's famous elephant. Mary was 30 years old and five tons, and very talented: she could "play 25 tunes on the musical horns without missing a note". As the “pitcher on the circus baseball-game routine”, her 400 batting average " had astonished millions in New York." She was Charlie Sparks' favorite, his claim to “Circus Fame”, and he told Mary was worth $20,000. She was also the leader of his small band of elephants, known as a crowd-pleaser and an unpredictable giant. Rumor and exaggeration swirled about “Big Mary”.
During the Parade, Mary suddenly stopped. She had noticed a pile of watermelon rinds in the side of the road and veered off course for a snack. Red struck Mary in the head with a bull hook. In an instant, the elephant wrapped her trunk around the man and threw him into a drink stand. It’s said that she then stepped on his head in front of a crowd of shocked onlookers, including children.
One man unloaded his pistol into Mary, but the bullets couldn't penetrate her thick hide. The townspeople chanted, "Kill the elephant!" Murderous Mary, as she came to be known, had to die. But how? And where? Mary didn't perform for the Matinee performance September 13th (the day after the incident with Eldridge). Sadly she was chained outside the circus tent, and supposed to have spent the entire performance time swaying nervously. The crowd's dissatisfaction with her absence was offset by the announcement that Mary would be hung in the Clinchfield Railyards later in the afternoon, with no additional charge for admission. The people felt justice must be served for what had happened to Eldridge. Charlie Sparks knew no town in Tennessee would invite his circus to perform with a certifiably rogue elephant. Performances in Johnson City, Tennessee scheduled for September 26, had already passed a privilege-tax ordinance restricting carnivals' operations within city limits, in order to protect its citizens from wholesale fleecing. It was common knowledge that Johnson City officials were looking for an excuse to ban all traveling shows. As valuable as Mary was, she had to go.
(Did Mary kill Red Eldridge because she was in pain? Erwin legend has it that Mary had two abscessed teeth, which caused her to snap in such agony when Eldridge hit her with his bull hook. Tragically, the infections were discovered after Mary was killed.)
Kingport’s neighboring town of Erwin was home to an enormous rail yard and a 100-ton derrick car with a crane strong enough to hang an elephant. Mary weighed 10,000 pounds. They had a difficult time, but finally were able to complete the horrific deed of chaining up Mary. (the details left out in Respect for all). They dumped her in a grave they'd dug with a steam shovel 400 feet up the tracks. (The reports of the grave size varied from a too-small 10 by 12 feet to as "big as a barn”.
In 2016, on the anniversary of Mary’s hanging, Erwin began to embrace it’s elephant history. RISE began what it hoped would become an annual ritual: a weeklong series of events to celebrate elephants. That first year, the town paid nearly $9,000 for local artists to paint eight fiberglass elephants. They were displayed all over town and then auctioned off. The money raised went to their new found partner, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee (Hohenwald, TN). They are a sanctuary for retired elephants from circuses and zoos. Their partnership continues towards the sanctuary.
Elephants are my favorite wild animal.
I heard this tragic story about Mary not long after moving to East Tennessee. Now later, I wondered if there was a Memorial here on Find A Grave for Mary where I could leave a token for her...
Thank You for your tokens and thoughts for Mary and any elephant.
Gravesite Details
Birth date is estimated from 1886 -1894 from articles.
