Alton, Iowa Tornado
June
2, 1860
Terrible Tornado at Alton.
GREAT STORM OF WIND, RAIN AND HAIL.
LOSS $200,000.
Over One Hundred Houses Damaged.
THREE CHURCHES NEARLY RUINED.
In the Alton Courier of the 4th we find
full details of a tornado which occurred there
last Saturday evening. We make an abstract from
the Courier's account.
Suddenly, about a quarter past seven, the
wild fury of the tornado broke upon the city.
Almost in an instant, even as men said " there
it comes," it was here in all its
destructiveness. The wind, furious at first,
increased momentarily in strength, the rain came
down in torrents, doors flew open, shutters were
torn off, signs were flying in the air, here and
there belated men and boys were hurrying for
shelter, limbs clung an instant to the parent
tree and then were dashed to the ground, and
then in few moments more the hail, like shot
from a million muskets and balls from twice a
million rifles, came rattling down upon the
street and roof, shivering in an instant
thousands of panes of glass -- making windows,
in a breath, like the walls of a bombarded city;
while through all the din and roar of the time,
quick ears caught the crash of many a falling
building; and in every heart was a kindly and
sympathizing feeling for the as yet unknown
sufferers. The storm lasted less than half an
hour.
In the western part of the city much damage was
done by water and hail, and the fruit trees and
gardens were badly injured.
The German Catholic Church, corner of Third
and Henry streets, built last year at an expense
of about $9,000, is almost a complete wreck, the
basement and part of a front wall alone
standing.
Further up Henry street, opposite the German
Protestant Church, a frame story and a half
house, about finished, for
John Challacombe, was torn
completely to pieces.
The steeple was blown off the Episcopal
Church. It is said that the Church is almost a
total loss, the walls being very much sprung and
cracked. The Church cost about $12,000. The
organ is ruined.
The steeple was also blown from the Methodist
Church. The roof was considerably damaged by its
fall, and the interior is also somewhat damaged.
The loss can not be less than $3,000.
The house of D.
Simms, was also completely crushed by
the falling steeple of the Methodist Church. It
was worth $1,800.
The Democrat Office -- No loss in the
city is commented upon with more and warmer
expressions of sympathy than that of the
Democrat office. The building was new, yet
hardly finished, and
Mr. Fitch moved into it only a week
ago -- just a week ago on Saturday evening,
opening it with a gathering of his friends; and
it is now all gone -- the most complete wreck we
ever saw.
The building, presses, engine, and stock, and
all, is completely wrecked -- the entire loss
must be at least $8,000. The [illegible] office
was moved into the building on Saturday, as was
also the German bindery; and of course the
entire stock of these establishments is also a
complete loss.
The Courier gives a long list of houses
injured and destroyed, but none of the losses
were very heavy, although the aggregate was
large.
Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, IA 7
Jun 1860
Transcribed by Sherry
McClellan. Thank you, Sherry!
 Search for more information on the
Alton Tornaco and other disasters in the Historic Newspaper Collection on line at ancestry.com
Search
over 1000 different newspapers. Use this Free Trial
 to search for your ancestors.
Search
for your ancestors from Alton, IA among the billions of
names at ancestry.com
Find birth records, census images, immigration
lists and genealogy other databases for your
surnames. Use
this Free Trial
to search for your ancestors.
Iowa
Marriages:
to 1850,
1851-1900. Searchable databases at
ancestry.com. Use this Free Trial
to
find your ancestors.
|
