Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Loading...
Loading...
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Cely’s map is not only accurate, but captures the unique characteristics of Congaree’s trees and waterways.
How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park
Though they’re protected inside the park, wolves can be killed when they cross its borders.
Wolves Have a Bad Reputation. One Yellowstone Naturalist Is Trying to Fix It.
Passersby stop to admire the punny offerings of Brooklyn’s only dinosaur bodega.
We Visited the Dino Bodega in (Jurassic) Park Slope
Native Americans have a longstanding, rich, and vibrant culture in Wyoming.
Wyoming’s Sacred Landscapes: A Journey Through Native American History

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States New York State New York City Manhattan Slocum Memorial Fountain

Slocum Memorial Fountain

Monument to a forgotten NYC disaster that claimed the lives of 1,000.

New York, New York

Added By
Allison Meier
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  Allison / Atlas Obscura User
  Allison / Atlas Obscura User
Slocum after the fire   Bowery Boys
Bodies on North Brother Island   Bowery Boys
  tylercole / Atlas Obscura User
  tylercole / Atlas Obscura User
  tylercole / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Prior to September 11, the General Slocum steamship fire was the greatest loss of life in any disaster in New York City history. However, its memorial in Tompkins Square is easily overlooked.

The nine-foot stele sculpted by Bruno Louis Zimm from pink Tennessee marble shows two children in relief with the words "They were Earth's purest children, young and fair." A lion's head spits out water into a small basin. On June 15, 1904, some 300 of the 1,300 passengers to board the General Slocum excursion steamer were children under the age of 10.

Almost all of the passengers were from Kleindeutschland, or Little Germany, an area in today's East Village. The Slocum had been chartered by the St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church on Sixth Street and Second Avenue for their annual picnic. As it was a weekday, most of the passengers were women and children. Just 20 minutes after the boat left the Third Street pier, a fire broke out.

Pandemonium ensued. The life vests turned out to be worse than useless, sinking with whomever jumped in (most of the passengers were unable to swim), and lifeboats were painted to the side of the ship. The captain sped the boat towards North Brother Island in an attempt to beach it, but the speed just fanned the flames. By the time the boat arrived to the quarantine hospital island, it was consumed in fire. Patients and doctors attempted to save people by tossing them debris. By the end of the day, around 1,000 people were dead.

Many of the deceased were interred in Middle Village's Lutheran cemetery, where a monument was built in 1905. The Tompkins Square fountain was dedicated in 1906. As for Little Germany, with mostly men left behind with their families dead, they dissipated throughout the city, and you can only find small traces of this past in the rare German sign on an old building in the East Village. 

Related Tags

Memorials Disasters Shipwrecks Fountains

Community Contributors

Added By

Allison

Edited By

tylercole

  • tylercole

Published

June 28, 2014

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://theboweryboys.blogspot.com/2014/06/american-tragedy-tale-of-general-slocum.html
  • http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/09/nyregion/nyc-remember-the-slocum-probably-not.html
Slocum Memorial Fountain
Tompkins Square
New York, New York, 10009
United States
40.726859, -73.981401
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Tompkins Square Temperance Fountain

New York, New York

miles away

Hare Krishna Tree

New York, New York

miles away

Please Don't Tell

New York, New York

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of New York

New York

New York

Places 405
Stories 89

Nearby Places

Tompkins Square Temperance Fountain

New York, New York

miles away

Hare Krishna Tree

New York, New York

miles away

Please Don't Tell

New York, New York

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of New York

New York

New York

Places 405
Stories 89

Related Stories and Lists

Abandon Ship: 5 Maritime Disasters Lost to Time

disasters

By Sarah Blake

Related Places

  • ‘Broken Line’ Memorial

    Tallinn, Estonia

    'Broken Line' Memorial

    A monument commemorating the 852 lives lost in the sinking of the MS Estonia.

  • Belfast Titanic Memorial Garden.

    Belfast, Northern Ireland

    Belfast Titanic Memorial Garden

    The only monument to name all of the passengers and crew who died on the RMS Titanic.

  • Washington’s Titanic Memorial

    Washington, D.C.

    Titanic Memorial

    This lonely waterfront memorial to the men of the Titanic was erected by the "Women of America."

  • Asbury Park, New Jersey

    SS Morro Castle Monument

    Memorial to the 137 lives lost on a ship fire, the whole hulk of which washed up on the Asbury Park shore.

  • R.M.S. Empress of Ireland Memorial

    Rimouski, Québec

    R.M.S. Empress of Ireland Memorial and Mass Grave

    This memorial to a horrific ship collision sits over a mass grave holding dozens of the victims.

  • The S.S. Eastland being hauled upright.

    Chicago, Illinois

    S.S. Eastland Memorial

    This memorial plaque remembers a strangely shallow maritime disaster known as "Chicago's Titanic."

  • The top of the Stairway to Heaven Memorial.

    London, England

    Stairway to Heaven Memorial

    An inverted staircase above the entrance to the Bethnal Green Underground Station functions as a memorial for people who lost their lives during the worst civilian disaster in the U.K. during World War II.

  • The Indian Drinking Fountain, Yamashita Park.

    Yokohama, Japan

    Indian Drinking Fountain

    A memorial to the Indian victims of the devastating 1923 earthquake, built in glorious Mughal style.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.