Newcastle, Indiana Tornado
March 11, 1917
 Tornado
Cuts Narrow Swath Through City Leaving Trail of
Death and Heavy Destruction of Property
Newcastle, Ind., March 12. -- With
twenty-one known dead, one of them being
unidentified, and the injured numbering about
200, Newcastle today began the work of clearing
away the debris left by the tornado which swept
the southern part of the city from the west to
the east yesterday afternoon.
The Known Dead. The known dead are as
follows:
EVERETT DUNLAP, 1022 South 21st street
JAMES NEILIS, 25, recently from Kentucky
GRAY DAVIS, 35, South 22nd street
MRS. JOHN DAVIS, 60, Mooreland
______ DAVIS, 4 son of Gray Davis
ORVILLE DAVIS, 6, son of Gray Davis
MRS. ARCHIE FLETCHER, 22, South 25th street
______ RAZOR, 14, son of W. T. Razor
______ NEWTON, residence unknown
BERNICE DAY, 9 South 22nd street
JUNE DAY, 6, South 22nd street
MRS. VERA HIGGINS
MRS. MARY E. Williams
ETHEL DAY, South 22nd Street
ERNEST WATERMAN, 6
WM.
LOWREY, Grand Avenue
______ RAZOR, 14, son of W. T.
MRS. PETER DAY, 58
ERNEST McLEAN, 60
PRICE SKELTON, 24
Injured and Missing. Following
is a list of those more seriously injured:
Varley Dudley
and wife, Russell McLean, Henry
Jeffers, Mrs. Charles Schelley, 60, and young
daughter; Harley and Elizabeth Newton; Charles
Fletcher; Peter Day, 60, south Twenty-second
street; Carl Harrison, 25, Newport, Ky.;
Calvin
Todd, Archie Fletcher, 23;
Mrs. George Sox, age
55; Harry Flack, about 35.
The
list of missing today was:
William Davis, East Walnut street;
Mrs. W.
Newton.
Two
sons of J. W. McLaine.
Some Injured Succumb. Two more
were added to the list of dead today bringing
the total to twenty-one.
Mrs. Peter Day, 58, died from her injuries at
a hospital being the fourth of a family of six
to meet death in the storm. Three
daughters were dead when found. A fourth
daughter escaped injury by being in another part
of the city. Peter Day, the head of the
family, was injured.
The unidentified body late today was said to
be that of Ernest McLean,
11 years old.
His brother Jesse McLean, one of the seriously
injured, also died today.
Hundreds of Homes Destroyed. With
daylight today the extent of the damage could be
seen better. Fully 500 homes, most of them being
small frame structures, which the occupants were
paying for on the installment plan, were
destroyed or damaged almost beyond repair.
The estimates of the loss remained at about
$1,000,000.
The first large list of supposed dead began
to dwindle early today when persons who had been
listed as killed began to appear or were found
to be injured. The rush of the first few
hours of rescue work, which had not become
really organized until today, there were
duplication of names.
Only a few of the injured had to be cared for
in hospitals. Search of the ruins continued
today in a systematic way, but as the day
progressed and no more bodies were found, the
hope was expressed that all had been accounted
for.
Almost Martial Law. The city
today was under police and military control
approaching martial law. Several companies
of Indiana national guard were patrolling the
damaged districts, and only persons with a
military pass were allowed through the lines and
none but property owners were allowed to leave
what once had been the streets and step on
adjoining property.
All saloons were closed under order of
Mayor
L. J. Watkins, and he also ordered all factories
to close today. The workmen in the factories
were organized into gangs and put to work on
clearing up the debris out the streets and then
from the private property.
Mayor Watkins also was searching for
brickmasons and carpenters in many parts of the state.
He plans to have all
flues repaired first for until that is done many
persons whose homes were not damaged seriously
cannot have fires until gas mains are repairede.
All cooking today in Newcastle was on
gasoline, oil or coal stoves. Partial wire
service and traction service had been resumed
today.
Work of Repair Under Way. Before
7 o'clock this morning work of repairing the
damage to the less injured buildings was under
way. Carpenters were hurrying along the
devastated streets with their told an wagonloads
of lumbers were being hauled to various
addresses. Daylight disclosed many pitiful
sights. Many persons remained in the wreck
of their homes last night. Several used
blankets, quilts and bedding to stop up broken
windows or holes in the roofs.
The scene hardly can be described.
Freaks of the windstorm could be seen more
plainly today. The greatest havoc
apparently was in the district southeast of the
Southside school. There the buildings were
demolished and frequently none of the timbers
remained around the foundations. In other
houses the damage from the outside apparently
consisted of broken windows, holes in the roofs
and such, but no furniture was left in them.
Walls of other houses were torn away and the
furniture left almost untouched. Property
owned viewed the ruins for the most part
philosophically. Many of the them whose
homes had been torn away completely set about
searching for what little furniture was left.
Scattered throughout the district were
children's toys, heavy timbers and furniture.
One house as badly damaged, and some of the wall
paper was even torn away. A baby's picture
remained hanging, apparently not having been
shaken. In another section of the city a
chicken was seen walking around with feathers
blown from one side of its body.
Same Story Answers for Many. The
story told by survivors were in many instances
alike. That of Asa Williamson, whose wife
and daughter were both killed, was typical.
Williamson said he had been walking and arrived
home with the storm. His wife and daughter
were on the porch. They heard a roar and
with some men who roomed in the house started to
the basement. One man carrying a child got
there, but the women and another man were on the
stairway when the house was swept from the
foundation, dragging them with it. The
Williamson home and the one to the north were
telescoped. Mrs. Williamson and her
daughter, Mrs. Vera Higgins, were dead.
One man was lodged between the two houses, but
was not seriously injured. Williamson,
himself, who had not had time to start to the
basement, was not injured beyond being shaken.
M. M. Minich, a one-armed druggist, and his
clerk, escaped, they don't know how. The
drug store was completely torn down and the
ruins caught fire. Minich and the clerk both
crawled out from between the timbers only
scratched slightly. Practically all of the
injured were able to take care of themselves,
particularly after having their wounds dresses.
Most of them were at homes of friends or being
cared fro by the citizen's relief committee.
Narrow Swath Through City. The
storm broke during a warm afternoon. It
hit the western part of the city and cut a
swath, varying from a few feet to two blocks
wide, easterly across the city.
Practically everything in its path was levelled.
Houses on either side which were not completely
torn down had windows smashed and doors blown
in. The storm swept through the fine
residential section and also through the
districts inhabited by factory workers and the
poorer classes. It is in the poorer
section that rescue workers expect to find more
dead and injured.
Among the families to suffer was that of
Mayor L. J. Watkins. His daughter and
mother-in-law were rescued from the cellar of
their home, neither being injured. The
house was demolished. ....
Hundreds Are Homeless.... Freaks of
the storm and narrow escapes were numerous.
The Indiana Rolling mills, one of the larger
factories here was demolished.
C. W. Mouch,
president of the company, was in the offices at
the time. He with
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Newhouse rushed into the large vault where the
books and records are kept and escaped
uninjured. Two freight cars loaded with
iron were on a track near the mills, both were
picked up by the winds and tossed about as if
they were feathers, being dropped some distance
away. The tornado swept along Lincoln
avenue after hitting the roller mills. The
better residential streets, where nearly all
houses were destroyed, were Lincoln Avenue,
South Main street, South Fourteenth street and A
avenue. Other streets were damage was
heavy were 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd,
24th and 25th.
Mrs. A. R. Stigar,
Bundy avenue, was in bed
when the wind hit her home. The house was
torn down, but the bed was picked up, carried to
a street and dropped. A tree broke over
the bed, but Mrs. Stigar was not injured
seriously.
Sunday Day of Mercy for Many. The
fact that it was Sunday probably saved hundreds
from injury or death. The south side
school building, a brick structure, was
demolished.
The moans of dying and the screams of persons
less injured who were pinned under the ruins of
their homes was heard on every side. Most
of the dead were taken from homes that were
completely demolished. Many persons
escaped injury by rushing into cellars when the
storm struck the city.
Many persons were away from home at the time
of the storm and it was declared that if it had
not been for this, the list of dead would
probably reach several hundred.
The three Newcastle ambulances were
supplemented a fwe hours after the catastrophe
by three ambulances from Muncie. The
Muncie machines were rushed to the stricken city
filled with doctors and medical supplies.
Muncie also sent a large squad of police to
assist in rescue work....
The loss to the Indiana Epileptic village,
near here, was $200. That was caused
principally by large hail stones.
Newcastle has a population of 15,000 and is
known as the "city of roses" because of its many
large green houses. It also has a large
number of manufacturing establishments,
including the Maxwell automobile plant and the
Indiana rolling mills.
The Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, IN
12 Mar 1917
J. Leb Watkins,
mayor, lost everything but
his clothes. His home was destroyed and a
pocketbook containing $205 blown away. ...
The storm.... struck the Indiana rolling
mills first levelling the large plant as if it
had been raked with a dozen 42-centimeter guns.
....
After leaving the city, the storm destroyed
many farms for a twelve mile stretch. Two
farm hands lost their lives when a barn was
blown down. Two small sons of
Ernest Gray,
a
farmer, were killed. [Hagerstown]
Ora Smith was painting a barn door when it
was blown off. He was carried along with
the door about 200 yards and landed in a pond.
He cannot recover. ...
In ploughing its way through the city, the
storm wrecked many of the finest homes in
Newcastle, among them the residence of
George
Barnard, former mayor. The house, an
imposing structure, occupied a place upon a high
hill, where it received the full force of the
terrific wind. It was literally torn to
pieces.
Rose Houses Down. Newcastle is known as
the City of Roses, because of the beautiful
American beauty blooms. The town has
boasted of its acres of hot houses. Many
of these were directly in the path of the storm
and the frail construction of the glass-covered
building fell easy prey to the wind.
Thousands of dollars of damage was done to
growing flowers and other plants. ...
For several hours the town was entirely cut
off from outside communication. Practically
every road leading into the city was blocked
with fallen trees and debris. The
situation was made dangerous by the heavily
charged trolley wires of the Union Traction
Company of Indiana and other high voltage lines
which were down all through the storm-swept tion
[town].
One of the main buildings, occupied by the
electric light company, was left in a crumbled
mass. Within a distance of twenty feet
from that building stood a giant smokestack,
which withstood the shock from the storm without
damage.
Rain Prevents Fire. Following the sweep of
the storm, a terrific rain poured for half an
hour. Several fires started but the rain
aided volunteer workers in extinguishing the
blazes. Rescue work started immediately.
Many were saved after they had been buried under
the debris for half an hour or more. The
searchers were attracted by their screams for
aid.
Wild scenes followed in the wake of the
disaster. One many with an ear torn off
and with only a sheet wrapped around him ran
through the city for an hour, fighting off any
one who attempted to hold him. At last he
was caught and taken to the hospital where he
quieted down.
William Lowrey was burned to death when he
was caught in the wreck of his home and was
unable to escape when the ruins caught fire.
The rescuing party had nothing with which to
fight the flames and not knowing a man was
buried in the wreck, watched it burn. The
soon smelled the burning flesh and his charred
body was found.
When the storm broke, a sister of
Mrs. Elwood
Lawson saw she would be unable to reach a house,
so grabbed a tree and hung on while the storm
passed. It was the only tree in the block
which was not blown down and she was not
injured.
The Fort Wayne News, Fort Wayne, IN 12
Mar 1917
Three persons are still missing today.
It is believed that they with probably others
are buried under the ruins. Twenty-five were in
hospitals, seriously injured. Two children
at the Home hospital are unable to give their
names and no one has claimed them. It is
believed their parents were killed.
The Fort Wayne News, Fort Wayne, IN 13
Mar 1917
The total number of dead today is 21, J. W.
McClain having died during the night.
Factories which had been closed since last
Saturday, resumed operations this morning.
Much of the debris had been cleared away.
Many of the houses damaged beyond repair have
been removed from their sites and work of
repairing those which can be made habitable
again is progressing rapidly. ....
The holding of the funerals of the victims
began today. Those of
Gray Davis, his
mother, Mrs. John Davis, and his son,
Orville
Davis, were held at Mooreland today. Other
funerals will follow quickly now.
The Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, IN
14 Mar 1917
Newcastle,
Ind., March 15. -- Harry Falck died today making
the twenty-second death resulting from the
tornado last Sunday. He was injured when
the home of Gray Davis was wrecked, killing
three others.
The Fort Wayne News, Fort Wayne, IN 15
Mar 1917
SAFE AT NEWCASTLE
Former Fort Wayne Woman's Home Was
Considerably Damaged
Quite a great deal of alarm was felt for the
safety of Mrs. A. W. Jacobson and family of
Newcastle, Ind., until they were found to be
safe. Local relatives and friends were
expecting Mrs. Jacobson to arrive in the city
Sunday to visit here. When she did not
arrive and news of the tornado reached here
friends were much distressed until she sent a
message. She started for here, but the car on
which she was a passenger was struck by the
storm, and it was four hours before she was able
to return home. She found her family safe,
but her home was damaged considerably.
Mrs. Jacobson was Miss Hazel Row, of this city,
a sister of Miss Besse Rowe, a teacher in the
Hamilton schools here.
The Fort Wayne News, Fort Wayne, IN 15
Mar 1917
 The
Fort Wayne News, Fort Wayne, IN 1895-1917 Read it online at ancestry.com.
Use this
Free trial to search for your ancestors.
Search
for more information on the Newcastle Indiana
tornado
and other disasters in the Historic
Newspapers Collection. The number of
newspapers on line has recently doubled - search
over 1000 different newspapers. Use this
Free trial to search for your ancestors.
Search for ancestors in
Newcastle, IN among billions of names at ancestry.com. Use this
Free trial to search for your ancestors.
Hazzard's history of Henry County, Indiana 1822-1906 Read it online at ancestry.com.
Use this
Free trial to search for your ancestors.
| 
