THE CYCLONE
North Vernon Plain Dealer - June 7, 1883, Page 5
FARMS DESOLATED
HOUSES AND BARNS SWEPT AWAY
MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN BURIED IN THE RUINS
BUT NO LIVES LOST
Orchards and Forests Destroyed
It has been the good fortune heretofore of Jennings county to escape the effects of the great wind storms that have passed through all parts of the country, but on Sunday evening it was her turn to suffer and that seriously. At the time mentioned, between 7 and 8 o'clock on Sunday evening, citizens heard a strange roaring noise, impossible to describe, some minutes before the cause of it could be determined, but at last the rush and roar of the wind made itself known. The track of the cyclone was at some places hundreds of yards in width, while at other places it narrowed down to fifty feet or less. Everything in its path was torn away, house, barns, orchards, forest trees, and fences. People who witnessed the sight were horrified and almost paralyzed. The first damage we know of in this county was at Peter Root's near Corners, where it tore down a large log barn, with sheds, and several horses and cows in the barn were killed.
This side it tore lengthways through 70 acres of heavy timber land belonging to Mrs. Ed. Marsh, breaking down all kinds of timber for a space of 200 yards wide. On the Shetgen farm some hay stacks were blown away.
At Pat Noon's, two miles west of town, the damage amounted to $1,000. His house, barn, fences, orchard and a school house near by were leveled to the ground. His buildings are situated low, but the cyclone followed the inequalities of the ground and swept everything. Nearer town, the residence and barn of Mrs. Harms were unroofed, her orchard torn up by the roots and laid flat. Within two or three hundred yards of Mrs. Harms' was the house of Rev. James Taylor containing his family. The wind caught it and in a moment it was in a mass of ruins, the family underneath. Several children were injured by the falling timbers, one of them very seriously. The wind next struck Mr. Jas. L. Yater's place, nearly destroying to an entirety his fine orchard, wrecking his house and barns, even sweeping out of the portion of the house left standing, furniture, including a heavy wardrobe, containing the clothes of the family, and which at the time of this writing had not been found. More than a thousand dollars will be the extent of Mr. Yater's damage. Here as elsewhere no fences were left. A path was swept by the storm to Mr. Frank Little's property, at the extreme south side of town, and here also much damage was done. Hardly a tree in the orchard stood upright, the barn was scattered over the fields, a portion of the tin roofing on the building was torn off and carried high in the air more than half a mile, and not a whole panel of fence was left. The next house in the track was that owned by Mrs. Gorbet, a small frame, occupied by Andy Musser, wife, and five children. All were in the house and all covered up in the ruins. When they were rescued it was found that Andy had a bone broken in one arm and other hurts, Mrs. Musser had been struck by a heavy piece of timber on the head and face from which the blood ran profusely and the children were all more or less scratched and bruised. A little further back in the track of the tempest Mrs. Fowler's orchard was almost entirely ruined. None of her buildings were injured. Across the State road within a few yards only of Andy Musser's, Mrs. Everhart's house was demolished. The furniture broken into bits. To the south of the residences of Peter Marlett and Mrs. Marlett, sr., were unroofed while that of Mrs. Mahan standing between them was not much injured, and all small outbuildings blown down. On the north a little distance the 2d M. E. Church, a brick edifice of some size was a mass of ruins the walls standing only up to the floor. Further east Sammy White's was lifted from over his head and he and his daughter injured, Mrs. White seriously. Mrs. Ammon's residence near by escaped with slight damage, but almost every fruit and evergreen tree was torn up by the roots. The Wilson's house was badly riddled but not unroofed. Chimneys and sheds near the track of the storm were toppled over with hardly an exception. In front of the old Cordwell property the locust trees were broken down but the house escaped. The storm crossed over Babbs knoll, laying every tree flat. At Riley Anderson's on the Babb farm, half the barn was carried away with the other outbuildings. A bench from the colored church was dropped in Mr. Anderson't yard. As far as the eye could reach in that direction could be seen a huge gap, with broken and twisted snags of forest trees instead of the living green that had been there.
Daniel Gray lost all his buildings except his dwelling, and a colt was carried entirely away so that it was not found.
The next in its track was Jasper Grinstead, who lost everything. The families of Collins and Monroe were visiting at Grinstead's at the time. The house was wrenched from about them and by some strange freak none of them were seriously hurt. His five year old boy Joe was badly cut across the face and the others were bruised. Mr. Monroe's child lay asleep upon a bed upon which a brick flue fell covering everything of the bed except where the child lay. It was unhurt. All the chickens were carried away.
The new frame school house at the cross roads south of Oakdale was swept from its foundation and scattered along the path of destruction. A tramping woman with her child had taken refuge in the school house and was badly cut and bruised, perhaps the most injured of any in this county. They found their way to William Swift's were they found shelter for the night.
Michael Kane lost the roof of his house and Mary Wagner her outbuildings and her house was thoroughly wrecked.
Mrs. Huckleberry lost her orchard and outbuildings, and her dwelling house was damaged. Fences were blown everywhere and a large amount of timber destroyed.
George Cook's orchard was partly carried down by the fury of the storm, a loss which cannot be repaired by money.
The smokestack was carried from the sawmill of Armstrong & Co., in Butlerville, but otherwise no damage was done.
The path through Thomas Bewley's grove was about two hundred feet from the south edge, in which everything yielded to the power of the destroyer, but the trees were torn to slivers down to the streets of town. The house of John Forsythe in the north part of town was not touched but trees across the street were broken.
Leaving the grove it tore up by sections ten or fifteen rods in length, posts and all, board fence belonging to Daniel Brown and Thomas J. Moore. Mr. Brown lost his corncrib, woodhouse and the roof of his barn. It here reached over to the residence of Geo. Thomas and blew down a large shade tree on the south side of his house besides other shrubbery. The main track however, was across the buildings of Mr. Moore. The roofs were carried from his house and barn, and both buildings were otherwise seriously injured. His orchard was torn up, and the beautiful shade trees which surrounded his residence were piled about in endless confusion. The shed was carried from over and around his top buggy (covered buggy) and hearse, both of which were strangely left without injury.
Mary Ann Cope was the next and probably greatest sufferer. Her fences blown down by the mile, her house unroofed and her two large barns demolished. Her family carriage which stood in one was mashed to splinters, and with the debris of the buildings was scattered over many acres of meadow and beyond in the woods. She lost two sheep and three cattle, the latter having taken shelter in her hay barn. Her horses escaped with slight injuries. They were stabled in the basement near the wall at the upper side and were saved by the timbers continuing to rest on the wall. The storm had hardly past before a young lady named Crew, who lives with Mrs. Cope, rushed to the stable and rescued the horses. She proved herself a real heroine. Here the trees in the orchard were pulled upward from the soil and dropped near where they had stood. Not one tree in twenty remained. The woods of Edward Hambleton, known as buzzard roost, as the buzzards have roosted there since the settlement of the county, was much damaged. More than a hundred buzzards roost there, and they were seen whirling through the air as the storm was passing. At the O. & M. railway a freight train, Mel Whitcomb, conductor, was encountered. It was a double header, one engine pulling and another pushing, moving westward. The front engine was raised on the south side a foot and a half from the track, but the storm had passed and it dropped back to its place. Thirteen heavily loaded freight cars were raised from the track and one of them thrown seventy feet and the others strewn about in promiscuous wreck as though they had been but toys. A strip of woods between Christ Clement's land and the railroad was torn to pieces and piled up in twisted confused and tortuous wreck out to the county road, while just across the road his barn was left undisturbed. His house was left but the shrubbery was carried from one side of the yard and the _____ from one side of his _____.
Townsend Cope lost a few trees and had some fence blown about.
Mrs. Nancy J. Lee was a severe sufferer. Her house was unroofed and bricks and debris thrown into her upper rooms doing great damage to her furniture. Her woodshed was taken to the foundation, and a hundred and twenty-five bushels of wheat on the floor badly scattered. Her barn and a tenant house formerly occupied by the family badly wrecked. Her top buggy was carried a hundred feet and bent and broken so as to be valueless. Her mover was thrown across the road and one wheel carried away. A spring tooth hay rake was carried up and thrown down and broken in splinters. Her orchard and fences suffered much as did also her timber. The family thoughtfully took refuge in the cellar.
The cyclone passed about half a mile south of Nebraska, making a terrible destruction of timber and tearing Moses Renfro's barn to atoms. It crossed the railroad between Nebraska and the Otter Creek bridge and continued in a north easterly direction making a swath in the timber along Otter Creek. James Gordon's barn was unroofed, his house damaged considerably and a large lot of his fine timber and shrubbery destroyed. William Daugherty's house was torn to pieces and contents was destroyed. Fortunately, no persons were injured.
The storm was the most destructive in its force of any that has ever visited this section. Nothing was in its course that did not feel its power. The damage done was immense, including houses, barns, stock, outbuildings, fruit orchards, forests, &c., and not a fence but lay flat, if it could be found at all.
Necessary present relief has been rendered, by aid of subscriptions by citizens, to those victims of the cyclone who really needed relief, and all are at present writing doing as well as could be expected. Houses were found among sympathizing friends for those who were rendered entirely homeless by the destruction of their buildings. Houses that were unroofed have been repaired either by the owners, friends or the relief committee will when necessary and proper make a report to the citizens, of their disbursements of the relief fund. The petition presented to the Commissioners last week asking an apportionment by the county failed of its object and the only relief the sufferers will have will be at the hands of citizens of this place and a few outsiders.
INCIDENTS
No lives were lost, strange to say, though many persons were for the moment buried in the ruins of their tumbling houses.Streams of sight-seers from this place, Vernon, and the out-townships filled every road leading to the center of the scene of disaster during all day Monday. It was a sight few had seen before. A strong sympathy for those made homeless was manifested everywhere.
Parts of the ruins were picked up at long distances away and will be kept by various persons as relics of the storm.
A very heavy rain storm followed the wind.
During the cyclone Jake Kirtz and wife were on the way to visit Andy Musser and family. They reached the house a few minutes after it had fallen.
Mrs. Everhart sat among the ruins of her house Monday morning while workmen were engaged in building a temporary shelter out of the boards that were left.
A double header freight train was caught in the storm near Butlerville, and a number of cars thrown from the track. Two of them lay bottom up fifty feet away.
In the houses blown down scarcely a piece of furniture or other article escaped destruction. The homeless families are in a desperate plight.
In some localities forest and fruit trees were twisted out by the roots and dropped at a considerable distance; in others they were simply press closely to the ground and were not torn out.
The wind passed within a few feet only of Mrs. Tate's house and her family had a narrow escape. It only injured her trees and fences.
The edge of Babb's woods is a complete ruin for a space of several hundred yards wide, and one would find great difficulty in making his way through the fallen timber.
When the wind stirs a little some of our citizens are in dread lest it be the advance guard of another cyclone.
It is told that a silk dress was carried with the storm, possibly from Yater's and lodged on T. O. Johnson's farm. Other articles of apparel were found at long distances from the homes destroyed.
Mrs. Harms had gone to bed just before the cyclone appeared. Her bed was torn from under her and jammed among the rafters that were left when her house was unroofed.
Our picture of the cyclone is not one of the best engravings ever made, but those who saw the whirling winds tell us it is a mighty true picture.
The round house in the old Bernard garden lost a portion of its roof. The old ice house near the railroad was flattened.
The course of the cyclone was not in a straight line. Its crookedness is unaccountable. At places it turned almost at right angles.
At Osgood the destruction was very great. Houses and business buildings were blown down, and two men, D. E. Carrington and William Walls, Sr., were killed.
BUTLERVILLE
(By our regular correspondent)
On last Sunday evening at about 7 1/2 o'clock a severe cyclone passed through here doing great damage to all kinds of buildings and property that came within its line of
march. It was not more than 1/4 of a mile in width and went from southwest to northeast, and traveled at the rate, perhaps, of nearly a mile per minute. It passed just north of our town, only
destroying a few buildings in town. But, as the storm passed through almost the entire width of the county, I have no doubt but that your paper will have a general description of the storm,
and I will only attempt to mention some of the dame done in this locality by it. Commencing on the west, the Swift school house was utterly demolished, the sills even torn off the foundation,
and a female tramp who had taken refuge there during the storm, was blown a considerable distance into the wood and was badly bruised and injured by the fall. The house is a loss of perhaps
$100. Coming in this direction from that point the storm did dreadful damage to the timber, also blew down a house occupied by Mrs. Mary Wagner and injured her and her daughter severely
though not fatally. The next buildings destroyed were two stables in the northern part of this town, one owned by Mr. Mike Bindhammer, killing one horse, and one used by Joseph Alexander.
The next in line was Mr. T. Bewley's grove of which there is scarcely a tree left standing. Then came Mr. Thomas J. Moore's buildings. The barn and other outbuildings were blown in pieces,
and the roof blown off his two story dwelling, leaving it almost a total wreck. His loss is estimated at one thousand dollars or more. Mrs. Mary Cope was the next sufferer; the roof was
blown off of her house and her fine bank barn blown down, falling upon her stock, killing three cows and injuring the horses considerably. Her sheep house and other buildings were destroyed,
making her loss about equal to Mr. Moore's. The next damage was to a freight train on the O. & M.R.R. near C. C. Clement's which was blown off the track. Thirteen freight cars were wrecked,
some of them being blown 50 to 75 feet over into the fields and their contents scattered in every direction I am not acquainted with the railroad business sufficiently to even estimate that
loss. Mrs. Mary E. Lee's farm came next; the roof of her nice frame dwelling was blown off, leaving it so badly injured that it is uncertain whether it can be repaired without being taken
down to the foundation. One large barn was blown down, also the old house in which the family formerly lived, and a large wagon shed containing wagons, a mower, a sulky hay rake, a new buggy,
&c., all of which were completely broken in splinters. The roof from the new house was carried away without leaving a shingle or board and no part of it has been found or heard of. Her loss
is estimated at two thousand dollars or more. I believe this constitutes all of the large losses and to mention all the minor ones would occupy too much space. I therefore leave the subject,
hoping we may never be visited in this way again. June 12 Z.
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