Mary-This is my painting that is dedicated to a circus elephant named Mary 1916 Elephant Hanging Still Haunts Erwin, TN By Angela K. Brown Murderous Mary the Elephant is hung from a railroad train. ERWIN, Tenn. (AP) — The railroad crane squeaked and strained as it slowly hoisted the 5-ton elephant. The chain around the animal’s neck tightened as the crane ascended, lifting first the front feet and then the back feet off the ground. Moments later, with about 3,000 people watching, Mary the circus elephant was dead, her lifeless body hanging 6 feet in the air. Mary was executed for trampling her handler, and tales about the bizarre hanging on a rainy afternoon in 1916 have endured for generations.