Will Ross Lackey, Jr., and Esq. One negro family, Nancy Smith and two children lost their lives in the wreckage of their little home, and one of Till Bledsoe's children was killed. The residence of J. M. Lews at that place was twisted entirely around, but it did not fall, but is in such a damaged condition that it will be necessary to tear it down. The tornado is included here with an estimated F2 intensity and 2 injuries based on the destruction of the Bush Brown home south of McEwen. FROM THE NASHVILLE AMERICAN, MAY 2 1909, PAGE 5, "FALLING TIMBER": WILDER, Tenn., May 1. The horror of the storm was greatly increased especially were people were (sic) severely hurt by the darkness and torrents of rain, which followed. All the houses there are damaged more or less, but no one was killed. On March 21-22, there were 108 tornadoes that impacted several states most focused across Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Alabama. The rear flank downdraft of the parent supercell also caused significant damage up to 2 miles south of the tornado path, such as the numerous trees blown down across Winchester. The majority of the 34 deaths caused by this F4 tornado were in the residential areas of the east and south areas of the town. BEE SPRING, Tenn. (WKRN) On April 29th and 30th in 1909, Middle Tennessee suffered its deadliest tornado outbreak in history. A school was reportedly carried intact for two miles, touching the ground every 200-300 yards, leaving holes in the earth. Contributions may be sent direct to Mr. Young or to the Citizen and we will forward to the relief committee. In its course from Rudolphtown to the Robertson County line the storm put out the eyes of several mules and other stock at Hinton, blew down the residence and stable of Joe Rosson, blew away the residence of Mrs. Ella Rosson and blew her over 100 yards. A list of the top 10 worst tornadoes in Texas history The path of the storm was through a section about one mile southeast of Smyrna, where several homes were converted into wreckage and much farm property was destroyed. More than 320 died in the twister barrage . Coming as it did near midnight, when the people generally were asleep, many barely escaped in their night clothes. Four people are known to be dead and two are missing, supposed to have been blown away as their home was demolished. The tornado likely began in Humphreys County based on the information by Grazulis and the Nashville American. His entire family was wiped out of existence. Owing to the fact that all telephone and telegraph lines are down it is impossible to get the details of the damage wrought. It went on record as an F2 tornado. James Marshall, a young man of about 20, was blown from the bed in an upstairs room and lodged in a tree about twenty-five feet away but escaped without injury. It is thought that the dead and injured list will be increased by further reports. after celebrating, Driver dead after Maryland tanker explosion, Ja Morant investigated by NBA after Instagram post, How NIL will affect local high school athletes, The right thing to do: College softball players, Forsberg, Giannis join Nashville SC ownership group, Ja Morant accused of making threatening statement, Arrest warrants issued for projected NFL draft pick. Tornado Outbreak of April 29, 1909 - National Weather Service The McConnico Church southeast of Franklin was also heavily damaged. The Tri-State Tornado occurred on March 18, 1925. The Sixth District schoolhouse, of Rutherford County, was blown a distance of fifteen or twenty feet and left standing without showing any visible results of great damage. On account of the destitution which is reported to exist in the stricken district, Mayor Northington has issued the following statement: "Reports having reached me of the destitution occasioned by Thursday night's storm, on account of which scored of persons have lost all of their means and been rendered homeless, it becomes my duty to make the fact known in our citizens officially. The Evans Mills, on Stones River, one mile north of Florence, were blown into the river and destroyed. Fortunately no one was killed, but several were wounded. The listing is U.S.-centric, with greater and more consistent information available for U.S. tornadoes. Reports from farmers are that crops will have to be planted over again. Thousands of dollars worth of property completely ruined. The house of Judge Lewis was also destroyed and several other houses damaged beyond repair. Contributions may be sent direct to Mr. Young or to the Citizen and we will forward to the relief committee. after celebrating, Driver dead after Maryland tanker explosion, Ja Morant investigated by NBA after Instagram post, How NIL will affect local high school athletes, The right thing to do: College softball players, Forsberg, Giannis join Nashville SC ownership group, Ja Morant accused of making threatening statement, Arrest warrants issued for projected NFL draft pick, Best athletic wear for kids joining baseball and, How to watch all the Oscar-nominated movies in style, Best smart home devices for older users, according, 5 reported dead after severe weather in Kentucky, Rollover crash cleared on I-65N, injuries reported, Man hit, killed after celebrating birthday in Nashville, Driver dead after MD tanker explosion, fire, Ja Morant investigated by NBA over Instagram post, More than 21K NES customers without power, Downed power lines cause road closure in Goodlettsville, 1 killed amid turbulence event on business jet, Straight line winds damage buildings in Waverly, Portions of Calif. home hang over cliff after landslide, BBB: Beware of Storm Chasers in Middle TN, WATCH: Carjacking suspect caught after wild chase, Man dies after being hit by metal carport in Kentucky, Highest wind speeds from Fridays severe storms, Parent threatens teacher over book assignments, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. As soon as a message could be sent to Pulaski, local doctors and citizens hastened to the scene of disaster to aid as much as possible in the work of relief. Eight-year-old boy of Paulina Farris, colored, Centreville. The time of the tornado was adjusted to 8 PM and the path width added as 300 yards based on the newspaper articles in the Nashville American. The worst damage to houses is the home of Prof. J. M. Goulson, a good two-story house, completely ruined, but no loss of life, though to look at the ruins seems marvelous that the family escaped. 20th Century 1909 Oct 14, Tornado Outbreak, AL (11-21), AR (2), GA (1-2), TN (42-50) -56-75 lornajarrettblanchard October 14, 1909 95 Daily Telegraph, Atlantic, IA. Many tenant houses and barns were wrecked on different places. And the tornado also injured 70 people as it traveled through the county, Lancaster said. The next place in Tennessee was the farm of Mrs. Kate Wall, where all the fences and outbuildings were blown away and considerable other damage wrought. FROM THE NASHVILLE AMERICAN, MAY 1 1909, PAGE 4, "DEKALB COUNTY": ALEXANDRIA, Tenn., April 30 - A destructive wind of high velocity accompanied with much lightning and the largest hail ever known here struck the section of the country from Statesville to Smith Fork, traveling east. April 20, 1909: A windstorm "of great cyclonic power" caused $15,000 of damage in Putnam County. - Dickson County was swept by a terrific storm last night, and as a result more than fifty houses lay wrecked today, and the damage to property will run far up into the thousands of dollars. The cyclone struck Primm Springs, a summer resort in Hickman County, and devastated the country. We hear that considerable damage was done in the south part of the county, that a large amount of timber was blown down near Gatewood Ford on Clear Fork and that the Tennessee Lumber and Coal Co.'s saw mill near the mouth of Crooked Creek was demolished. The cyclone of the night of April 29th or morning of April 30th, did great damage near Rugby. Aftermath of deadly April 1909 tornado outbreak in Centerville, TN (Tennessee State Library & Archives) 62 people were killed in the outbreak, with 31 of them dying when a massive F4 tornado. It then completely blew away Webb & Crawford's Planning Mills and the stock house of the Cookeville Roller Mills. US Dept of Commerce January's largest single outbreak happened over the course of two days when 129 tornadoes were spawned, mostly in the South, in the record year of 1999. Among the towns affected were Horn Lake, Mississippi, where about half of the fatalities were recorded, and Whitehaven, Tennessee, where the tornado damaged 30 homes. The second F3 tornado flattened structures near Covington and Medina. One brick home was completely demolished. The storm seems to have entered the county from the southern side, passing between this place and Tennessee City. FROM THE WILLIAMSON HERALD NEWSPAPER: The second tornado that night struck at 11:15 p.m. about four miles southwest of Nolensville. The seriously injured are M. J. Farrar and daughter, of Gyruston, the former having a broken collarbone, and the latter a broken arm and leg; residence wrecked and burned. But the daily mail from Charlotte brings a letter from Circuit Court Clerk J. J. Taylor to the effect that about twenty-five residences were destroyed there. A gulch just west of the town evidently broke the force so that no serious damage has resulted. Intensity was unclear but probably F2 based upon descriptions. Ten years ago today, the most prolific tornado outbreak on record swept across the southeastern United States. Mrs. Berry (sic) Prosser, near Fayetteville; fatally injured. Jeff Dunnivant, a tenant on Irby Scruggs' place and his family escaped from the wreckage of their home with only slight injuries, but not a fragment of anything was left to the family, except the night clothes in which they were sleeping. Tennessee 225: Dive into the history of the Volunteer State. Please Contact Us. The tornado appears to have begun west of Aspen Hill in Giles County, not in Limestone County, Alabama, as Grazulis stated, then passed near Aspen Hill where it damaged homes and barns, through Conway where the school was destroyed, between Bunker Hill and Bryson, and through Bee Springs destroying numerous homes and the Bee Springs Church on Bee Springs Road about 1/3 mile south of Stevenson Road. SHAMBURGER (2016): Despite the complete destruction of the home in Humphreys County as reported by the Nashville American, the tornado was not included in Grazulis' book Significant Tornadoes 1600-1991. GRAZULIS: Moved NE from 9 miles W of Dickson to Charlotte and on to Bellsburg. On Lick Creek the house of Frank Hunter was badly wrecked and one member of his family blown for a short distance without serious injury. Will Ross Lackey, Jr., and Esq. Elam Tucker, who lives at the old Suttle place, near Aspen Hill, lost his barn, also Will Coon, Billy Widene, and D. Biles, and the tenant houses on the Phillips place, south of Tucker's, were wrecked. At Walter Hill the residence of Mrs. Upchurch was totally destroyed and she herself was fatally injured. Two more people may have died in rural areas near Fayetteville. The most notable result was the destruction of the Web & Crawford Planing Mill. All NOAA, (The following newspaper article was transcribed from The Pulaski Citizen of May 6, 1909.). Dickson was left to the right of the storm's pathway, and fortunately little damage was done here. The wind was from the southwest and first struck the west end of the city and blew down a number of houses in Bushtown, the negro part of the city. From Conway eastward to the county line, and even beyond through Lincoln County a wide path of destruction and desolation was swept through a prosperous and happy farming community. $150,000 damage. Late-April 1909 Tornado Outbreak - liquisearch.com - The heaviest rainfall in years, accompanied by high winds, has fallen here since midnight last night. Another (not counted) indirect death occurred in Lincoln County due to a Miss Jennie Kelso interacting with a live electrical wire. His mother, who was seriously injured, and a little boy were rescued with much difficulty from the ruins. All of the buildings belong to the Fentress Coal & Coke Company. One of the saddest stories was of two brothers in the Hillsboro/Leipers Fork area who were blown over a 20-foot bluff and into a nearby creek, according to the Nashville American newspaper. Robert Barnes and wife, near Fayetteville. The village of Harms, five miles west of Fayetteville, was almost completely destroyed. All missing people in Kentucky have been accounted for, Gov. Thousands of trees were downed and cattle were killed. The home of Wilson Estes was also destroyed, together with the livery barn of Russell Estes, owner of Primm Springs Hotel. The creeks are out of banks and all the farm work of the spring is practically lost. 6 Feb. 2021. The tornado outbreak of late-April 1909 was a deadly tornado outbreak that affected much of the central and Southern United States between April 29 and May 1, 1909. Did the tornado hit Gatlinburg Tennessee? Damage: The F-scale rating, path length, path width, and injuries are all estimated from the reported damage in the Nashville American, indicating the tornado began near Decaturville, moved through Perryville, and ended northeast of Linden. Oscar Brown, a young son, was also seriously injured. Elk River is higher than ever before. The second largest was the Super Outbreak of April 3-4, 1974, which was credited with producing 148 tornadoes in the central and southern United States (though 4 of these were later . Mrs. Will Adcock and her daughter are reported killed, but not verified. W. C. Greer lost his large barn and two mail hacks. A number of small barns was blown down. This would be typical of damage reports all along the storm route that night. The 10 Worst Torandoes in the History of Texas - Money Inc SHAMBURGER (2016): Based on the locations of damage reported by Grazulis and in the Pulaski Citizen, the Nashville American, and the Nashville Tennessean newspapers, the path of this tornado as plotted by Grazulis is incorrect, and is certainly oriented more east-northeastward similar to the other tornadoes on this day. Bud Guffey, his wife, and two chidlren. J. M. Colston and wife, near Fayetteville. The Oscars will air on ABC and can be streamed on ABC.com and the ABC app as well as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV or FuboTV. How often do tornadoes hit Tennessee? The storm was about two miles south of Alexandria, and the following farmers had their barns demolished entirely or unroofed: James Dinwiddle, J. S. Turner, J. D. Griffith, Oby Jenkins, G. G. Gibbs, Vick Groom, Bob Vannatta, John Midgett (two), Mort Foutch, and Hanison Self. Representative M. E. Neely lost a valuable barn, as did Maj. B. Randolph, both of the Walter Hill neighborhood. From there, it crossed over to Columbia Avenue, where it completely wrecked everything along both sides of the pike, from Winstead Hill to the area just adjacent to Battle Ground Academy. And those individuals are buried in the Bee Spring Cemetery that you see here today.. One-half of the house where Attorney J. It traveled through the Conway Community, destroying the local public school, Lancaster explained. B. Thompson lives was blown across the street and his barn turned over, but his family was not hurt. [2], The April 1909 outbreak was part of an active and deadly year nationally for tornadoes. P. M. Greenwood had a small house blown away. The most terrible cyclone in the history of Giles County struck with great fury between 11 and 12 o'clock Thursday night. Sorry, the location you searched for was not found. The house was completely torn to pieces. Two people were killed and 20 injured in that second storm. These pictures show the damage in Centerville in Hickman County where there were nine deaths and 32 injuries. It is seldom our mountain country has such a cyclone. Several of the injured people who later died were plantation workers. Damage: The emergency is one which as charitable, sympathetic people, we should take prompt steps to alleviate. The path length was estimated based on a beginning point in the Bushtown area and end point just past Algood. FROM THE NASHVILLE AMERICAN, MAY 1 1909, PAGE 10, "AT WATERTOWN, TENN.". It was around 10:15 p.m. when the first of these tornadoes came rolling out of Hickman County into the White Oak area, just across the county line. The storm extended over many states inflicting damage on widely scattered communities from the Great Lakes to the Gulf. The home of the widow Speight was also destroyed. This massive tornado then passed into Lincoln County where much of Millville, Cyruston, Clardyville, and Harms were damaged or destroyed. Nashville, TN500 Weather Station RoadOld Hickory, TN 37138615-754-8500Comments? (Bud) Hardy, Mrs. Louie Gordon, who was living with her mother, Mrs. Eliza Wilkinson, was cut and bruised about the face and arm. One person was killed near Nolensville and another near Walterhill. Franklin, Tenn., Apr. Its course was about a half mile wide and lay from Cross Roads into Scott Co., between the farms of William Cummings and Laban Riseden, just escaping both the homesteads, but tearing up all the timber in the neighborhood and bearing on southward below Rugby, carrying away the home of Young John Brewster and crushing in his shoulder and injuring his wife. Only one member of this large family escaped unhurt. At Cross Roads, Scott County, it demolished the home of Henry Reed, debris falling upon him and crushing his skull. It touched down during the dead of night between 10 and 11PM.