«««««««««««««

Illinois Genealogy Trails History Group
«««««««««««««

CHAPTER XXIX
"HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY"
©May 2006, Transcribed by Kim Torp

CASUALTIES IN THE COUNTY
"THE TORNADO OF JUNE 1860 - TORNADO AND CYCLONE OF THE SEVENTIES -- DESTRUCTIVE WIND STORM OF 1896 -- GREAT RIVER FLOODS"

The first destructive hurricane of which there is any mention in history is that which occurred June 5, 1805. The storm moved from the southwest to the northeast across what is now Madison county. It swept over the American Bottom, cutting a swath about three quarters of a mile in width, demolishing houses, tearing up trees, destroying stock and everything movable in its tempestuous pathway. It swept the water out of the lakes, scattering the fish therein far out on the prairies. It carried in its wrathful embrace tops of pine trees from fifty miles out in Missouri. There were but few inhabitants then in the county and no one was killed, but several were severely wounded by flying rails and timbers.

On May 17, 1838, a violent hurricane crossed the county, which prostrated fences, trees and insecure buildings. It was accompanied a heavy fall of rain.

A heavy hail storm visited townships 3 and 4, range 7 east, on July 24, 1854. Some hailstones were picked up after the storm, which, it was declared, weighed a pound. Roofs were greatly injured, window panes shattered and the fruit and foliage stripped from trees. Many turkeys, chickens and geese were killed by the hailstones.

THE TORNADO OF TUNE, 1860
The most destructive tornado which ever devastated the county was that which struck Alton on Saturday evening, June 2, 1860. The Alton Courier of June 4th, says, in recounting it, "In twenty minutes it destroyed property to the value of many thousand dollars. No lives, however, were lost and but few persons injured. The German Catholic church, at the corner of Henry and Third streets and built last year at a cost of $9,000, is almost a complete wreck, the basement and part of the upper front wall alone standing. The steeple was blown off the Episcopal church. It is said the church is almost a total loss, the walls being much sprung and cracked. The church cost about $12,000. The organ is ruined. The steeple was blown from the Methodist church The roof was also considerably injured by the fall. Loss $3,000 The house of D. Simms, just south of the church, was completely crushed by the falling steeple. It was worth $1,800. No loss in the city is commented on with more and warmer expressions of sympathy than that of the Democrat office. The building, presses, engine, stock and all are a complete wreck. The entire loss must be at least $8,000. Over one hundred houses throughout the city were damaged, and the total loss of property is estimated at $200,000."

TORNADO AND CYCLONE OF THE SEVENTIES
Another fearful tornado was that of March 8, 1871, which crossed the river at St. Louis coming from the southwest, and swept through this county with destructive effect. At East St. Louis it did an immense amount of damage and was so resistless that it lifted a locomotive from the track and landed it in the ditch. At Nameoki, in this county, it struck a string of box cars and hurled them a considerable distance, besides doing great damage to houses, barns and out-buildings. Fragments of steamboats, destroyed at the St. Louis levee, were carried clear across Madison county and landed in the timber and fields along the northern border. A church at New Douglas, in which service was being held, was stood up on end and the congregation precipitated to the lower level.

Still another terrific tornado, or rather cyclone, was that of May, 1873. At Alton the famed funnel shaped cloud swept across the river from the south, passed between the Topping store and Farber's mill (now the Standard mill) -- the lot between being vacant and, by creating a vacuum, caused the east wall of the mill to fall outward from the basement tot he roof of a three story building. The wall was of brick and three feet thick. The front wall of Basse's mill on Front street was also blown in. The fourth story of the Armory Hall building, corner of Third and Piasa streets, was torn off. The cyclone then swept southeast and took the flagstaff and chimneys off the City Hall, then passed diagonally across the street and crushed a two-story brick, northeast corner of Market and Second streets, leaving not one brick upon another then rising higher took off the chimneys of the three story brick adjoining, occupied by Dr. Haskell's office; next moving northeast and still rising clipped the chimneys off the Ursuline Academy and disappeared in the higher altitude. The freaks of these cyclones are curious; for instance, the fourth story of the Armory Hall was blown off for the second time in this disaster, the first being destroyed in the great tornado of 1860.

DESTRUCTIVE WIND STORM OF 1896
One of the most destructive tornadoes which ever visited this locality was that of May 27, 1896, which swept over ST. Louis, crossed the river into East St. Louis and thence passed into Madison county. In ST. Louis it did incalculable damage to property and exacted a toll of 500 lives. It blew down the approach to the Eads bridge in East St. Louis, a moment after the passage of a passenger train, wrecked the Relay depot and did a vast amount of damage throughout the city, especially to railroad property. The cyclone passed on through this county, with destructive effects to the rural districts.

GREAT RIVER FLOODS
In June 1844, a terrible and destructive flood from the Mississippi and Missouri rivers swept over the American Bottom causing immense property loss though not as much as if the country had been more thickly settled. The river rose higher than ever recorded before or since. The American Bottom was flooded over its entire area from Alton to Kaskaskia and steamboats were able to sail over it from St. Louis to the bluffs six miles from the river channel. In Alton the flood did great damage. All the stores on West Second street were flooded. Merchants went to their business in skiffs and sold goods to customers from ladders or while standing on their counters....

Back to the Main Index Page for Madison County