Berlin and Koro, Wisconsin Tornado
July
3, 1907
Furious Wind, Rain and Electrical Storms
in Western and Northern Parts of the State
At Last Sixteen Killed
Telegraph and Telephone Wire Are
Prostrated and It Is Feared a Larger List of
Fatalities Will be Reporter ~ Disturbances Are
Especially Severe at Koro - - Wide Are Affected
- Buildings. Crops and Live Stock Destroyed.
(Special to the Northwestern.)
Milwaukee, Wis., July. -- As a result
of the storm which swept through western
Wisconsin Wednesday afternoon and evening
telegraphic and telephonic communication was
badly interrupted and is only partially
restored. This storm in many places
assumed cyclonic proportions, and a number of
fatalities have been reported as well as immense
damage to buildings and crops. There was
also undoubtedly great loss through the
destruction of livestock. A deluge of rain
accompanied the wind. The storm was
especially severe around Koro and Berlin in
Green County and at Neillsville, Oakdale, Black
River Falls and other places in the western part
of the state....
The dead are....D.
G. Troxell, Koro; Mrs. Frank Draves,
Koro; infant girl, Koro...Mrs.
Jasper Poff, Warren;
Andrew Baumel,
Weyville
... At Koro there were two distinct storms,
on at seven o'clock and the other about 7:45.
Trees were blown down and the property damage is
heavy.
At Berlin, where the fiftieth anniversary of
the city's incorporation was being celebrated,
the storm struck at suppertime, bringing alarm
to hundreds of old men and women, gathered there
to participated in the anniversary festivities.
At Berlin, not far away, the storm clouds had
an entirely different formation. The sky
was filled with black masses of clouds and the
town was almost as dark as night just previous
to the breaking of the storm. County roads
in the vicinity of Berlin are impassable because
of huge trees blown across the highways.
Telegraph and telephone lines throughout the a
large district were blown down by the
far-reaching storm. ...
In Green Lake County.
Berlin, Wis. July 5 -- Additional
details show that Wednesday night's storm in
Green Lake county was in truth a veritable
cyclone.
Measures have been take for the relief of the
people of Koro, where the storm was especially
furious, causing three deaths and great property
loss. The dead at Koro are
D. Y. Troxell,
well known as "Uncle Dave" Troxell, who died
from Injuries; Mrs.
Frank Draves, and an infant child
whose body was picked up in a field near Koro
after the storm. The storm was the
fiercest experienced in this section of the
state for years. It struck Koro about
seven o'clock in the evening, where homes were
destroyed, barns demolished, stock killed, trees
uprooted, people injured, furniture and bedding
blown for miles, and, in fact everything in the
path of the storm completely destroyed.
Typical Twister.
The storm was the fiercest in the vicinity of
the D. Y. Troxell farm.
Here, to use the words of an eye witness, two
clouds joined one from the north and one from
the south. One cloud nearly touched the
ground and ripped and tore the Troxell home,
barn and contents, so that scarcely a whole
piece of furniture can be located. The
house was thrown toward the south about fifty
feet and then ripped and torn, while the barn
was thrown toward the north and completely
demolished. The clothing and bedding is
strewn along the road and in the trees for a
mile and cattle were found in the pasture with
their necks broke.
Mrs. Frank Draves,
wife of the man who runs the farm, was blown
about fifty feet and died a few minutes after
she was found. Two children of
Mr. Draves
were also injured.
From the Troxell place the storm moved east
to the home of Ed.
Jordan and here the same thing
happened. The home was also twisted down.
Mr. Jordan escaped with a broken rib, while the
two children are cut around the head and bruised
on the arms. Next the farms of
Jay Wightman
and Louis Troxell
were devastated the Wightman farm
being damaged the most. All members of the
Wightman family were injured. Mr. Wightman
and the two boys were seriously hurt while Mrs.
Wightman it is thought will recover.
Across the road at the Troxell place the house
is a complete loss but the walls of the house
are standing.
A Second Storm.
A second storm passed over at about 7:45.
This on struck the large Spencer Angle barn,
tipping it over and killing one horse and
seriously injuring two. The cloud then
moved due east and blew down a few windmills and
ripped the roof off the barns of a Mr. Conrad
and also partially destroyed the barn of
Stasy Angle.
As yet the actual loss is not known, but the
following figures will give an idea of the great
damage sustained:
Spencer Angle, barn totally
destroyed, loss [illegible];
N. Allen,
windmill, loss $50, W.
H. Ogilvie, chimneys blown off and
outhouses destroyed, $100;
Charles Kaiser, one windmill, $50;
D. Y. Troxell,
house, barn, outbuildings and contents,
$7,000; Ed. Jordan,
house, barn, outbuildings and contents, $6,000;
Jay Wightman,
house, barn an contents, $3,000;
Lois Troxell,
house, partially destroyed, and barn and
contents totally, $2,400;
Herb Betry, roof of barn blown
off.
The Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI 5
Jul 1907
Killed in a Cyclone.
One of the parties that was killed in the
cyclone that struck near Berlin on the evening
of July 3d was D. Y.
Troxell, who was the father of
Mrs. A. I. Chambers,
of Rudolph. Mrs.
W. E. Warren of the town of Carson,
Portage county, was also a daughter of Mr.
Troxell. The Troxell place was utterly
demolished and Mr. Troxell was so badly injured
that he died on the afternoon of the 4th.
The Grand Rapids Tribune, Grand Rapids,
WI 10 Jul 1907
The Menasha Record would vote a hero medal to
Mrs. Blanche Krueger,
the woman who drove to Berlin in the rain last
week to secure medical aid and other assistance
for the victims of the tornado which did so much
damage a few miles out in the country. And
the fact that helps to emphasize the courage and
thoughtfulness of this brave little woman was
that she did not seem to think she was doing
anything out of the ordinary.
The Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI 11
Jul 1907
It's an ill wind that blows nobody good.
The recent tornado in the vicinity of Berlin did
a vast amount of damage, but it is claimed the
Berlin liverymen have been able to swell their
bank accounts to a considerable figure as as
result of furnishing rigs to parties who have
gone out in the country to view the path of the
storm.
The Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI 11
Jul 1907
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