This file
part of www.watertownhistory.org
website
1873 Tornado
THE TORNADO IN WATERTOWN
Watertown Democrat, 07 19 1873
If the people did not get up much of
an excitement here on the 4th of July, the unruly elements did. The morning dawned tolerably fair, with only a
few floating clouds in the sky. Though
no general arrangements had been made for an extensive celebration, still there
was to be an assemblage and proceedings on the Sharpshooters' grounds, and the Fire Department was to parade in full dress.
About
The streets and roads were quickly
cleared and deserted by a lively scramble for shelter. The tornado fiercely flew across the river,
striking the corner of Smith & Bennett's Machine Shop (editor’s note: sw corner First and Wisconsin)in the First ward, tearing
off the roof and carrying beams, rafters, boards and the long, wide and heavy
strips of sheet-iron with which it was conveyed two or three blocks away,
before they fell on the earth. The
smoke-pipe on the engine house, in the rear, was also blown over. Nearly the whole roof, on both sides, was
lifted up and borne away on the wings of the tempest. The tall smoke-stack on Mr. L. Doering's flouring mill(note:
Louis Doering, proprietor, Eagle Mill, S First,
between Western and Milwaukee), which was fastened on one side to the roof of
the machine shop, was blown over and in one place separated. It can be easily restored to its position.
The piles of lumber around Mr. O'Mayer’s carpenter shop (note: Christian Mayer, near First
and Milwaukee), nearby, were scattered about in all sorts of confusion, but no
loss, except picking up the boards, will be sustained.
The hurricane pursued its course,
dashing across Mr. S. Baird’s garden (note: Samuel Baird, lawyer, sw corner Second and Wisconsin), knocking down one apple
tree, and covering the ground with dying boughs, when a little beyond it came
in contact with the tall and stately cottonwood trees in front of Mr. J. B. Gillett’s
lot, on Second street (note: James B Gillett, cooper, nw
corner Second and Milwaukee), and in a moment's time it twisted and snapped off
the largest branches, strewing the road, walks, and the yards of Mr. F. Miller’s
(note: Frederick Miller, e s Second between Wisconsin and Milwaukee) and Mr. C.
Daniel’s dwellings opposite, with a thick covering of huge stems and foliage. Two or three of Mr. Gillett's largest trees
were so completely stripped and demolished, that little more than bare trunks
are left standing. Onward the whirlwind
rushed, turning swiftly on its axis - for it went with a revolving motion -
snatching away here and there the leaves and limbs from the shade trees in it
pathway, until it reached Mr. J. T. Moak’s residence
(note: s e corner Fourth and Milwaukee), where it broke off one good sized soft
maple on the sidewalk, and another hard maple in the yard. The blast slightly raised the roof of the St. Paul
Depot building, but it fell back to its place without doing much harm beyond
loosening a few bricks and brackets.
In the Seventh ward, the roof of the
brick house belonging to Mr. Michael Krakow, was raised from the walls into the
air, carried across the road and dropped into the middle of a rye field four or
five rods distant, shattered and smashed into pieces.
In Mr. John Richards’ grove, a
German Sunday School Picnic was being held. A crowd of parents, teachers and pupils had
gathered together, and were enjoying themselves finely, when all at once the
heavens were darkened, the rain descended, branches flew through the air, and
trees came crashing to the earth. The
party hurried from the woods into the middle of the road for safety, where they
shiveringly endured, "the pelting of the
pitiless storm," until its fury was spent. They were a disappointed looking set of
pleasure-seekers, their cheerfulness all gone, their fresh wreaths of blooming
flowers drooping, their gay dresses soaked and dripping wet, but in these
respects they were no worse off than many others, caught in a similar dilemma
on our glorious anniversary of liberty -- the 97th this year, we believe.
These are the main incidents of
devastation in the progress of the gale through the city. Everywhere trees, shrubbery, sheds, and
chimneys were more or less damaged, and no doubt in the more open country where
it extended and had freer play, grain, com and grass fields have been injured.
The unroofing
of the machine shop, at this busy season, is a serious delay and embarrassment
to its enterprising and meritorious owners, Messrs. Smith & Bennett, who
were actively engaged in finishing several threshing machines, and making other
implements, which they manufacture. On
Saturday morning, however, they were vigorously at work to repair, as soon as
possible, the damage their building had suffered. In a few days they will be in a better
condition than before to carry on their operations, though at a considerable
outlay.
This was the fiercest tornado
recently experienced in this region. The
old settlers tell us that some twenty-five years ago, a destroying whirlwind
commenced in the town of Farmington, and spreading about a mile in width; swept
with resistless rapidity through the town of Ixonia,
uprooting the forests, hurling away fences, overturning buildings, and carrying
ruin and havoc along its entire course, until its rage was exhausted. This summer, so far, these dreaded and
mysterious land cyclones have been frequent in the west. Ours was slight in comparison with others that
have desolated portions of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, but it
was sufficiently awful and threatening to give us a vivid idea of the mighty
but concealed power residing in these sudden and unaccountable commotions of
the elements.
We know not by what means they
collect and combine their wild, gigantic, overwhelming strength -- how they
form, concentrate and evolve their vast, impelling energy -- whence they come
or whither they go -- sometimes suddenly bursting out of an apparently calm
atmosphere, ravaging a region, and then sinking back into repose, leaving
behind as traces of their angry presence and lurid passage only wreck and
calamity -- but we do know it is best to keep out of their way if we can, and
that they are capable of inflicting the most fearful disasters and terrific
losses on man and his works. Life and property, homes and temples, the labor of
ages and the monuments of art often perish or vanish at the dissolving tough of
theses titanic agencies of nature.
Cross reference:
