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FIERCE GALE WRECKS HOUSES AND SNAPS OFF STRONG TREES Storm Proves Worst Seen in Fountain County Since Attica Cyclone 25 Years Ago. NUMEROUS NARROW ESCAPES BUT NOT A FATALITY OCCURRED Exaggerated First Reports Cause Con sternation and Attract Thousands to the Village to View the Re ported Devastation. About 4:40 o'clock Saturday after noon, the most violent windstorm that has visited Fountain county since the memorable Attica cyclone of May 12, 1286, swept across the town of Hills boro, fourteen miles southeast of this city, and within the few minutes that it raged did damage estimated at fifty thousand dollars or more. The storm burst upon the village in the midst of a driving rain and with little warning save the dull roar of the wind. For nearly ten minutes it raged and few of the inhabitants had any idea that the storm was as severe as it was or that they were within the grip of a cyclone until after the danger had past. In spite of the large property damage no lives were lost and thut one person sus tained any injuries of consequence. The telephone and telegraph wires were all blown down and to this fact is due the wildly exaggerated reports that first reach this city. A yellow journal of Danville, Ill., with a corres pondent on the spot came out Sunday morning with a sensational story pro claming in glaring headlines that Hills boro had been wipt from the map and that the business section was almost entirely in ruins and not a building in town escape injury. In view of the fact that the Hillsboro telephone ex change was out of business and the facta could not be learned, this report spread alarm thruout the county and many hundreds of people hurried to Hillsboro to see the ruins or to see if relatives there were in distress. Many went from Attica, in fact nearly every surrounding town was represented by automobile loads of sightseers, the ma jority of whom were more or less dis appointed,when they saw that the work of the storm had been grossly exagger ated. As it was however, the storm was a severe one and it is rather a re markable fact that there were no ser ious injuries or deaths as a result of it. The barns were leveled, one house ut terly demolished, many buildings par tially unroofed, verandas torn down and shade trees and telephone poles snapt off like sticks of candy only one man was hurt. E. J. Wilt sustained a three-inch gash in the forehead extending above the eyebrow when a sheet-iron awning of his hardware store was blown in and crashed on his head. The accident might easily have cost him his life but he escapt with only a painful flesh wound. The cyclone struck about three miles west of Hillsboro. Its first act was the destruction of a large barn on the farm of Wallace Epperson. A new silo had been built adjacent to the barn and this was carried away. The loss is approximately $2,500. Two small barns on the farm of Thomas Taylor and J. W. Hayes were next in line. These were leveled, en tailing a property loss of $1,200, includ ing some hogs that were killed. At the western edge of Hillsboro, not far from the Big Four depot, the tornado playfully tipt over the garage at the home of J. H. McGee, proprietor of the novelty works. The top and fender of his Maxwell auto were broken and other damage was done to the ma chine. The chimney was blown from his residence and part of the roof car ried with it. His mill across the street was badly shaken up. The roof was torn off in part and the smokestack blown down. The building lasts badly as a result of the blow. Fifty yards beyond the McGee home was the scene of the wind’s greatest fury. Where stood the humble home of Clyde Holmes before the storm, there was only the stone foundation left when the tornado past. Portions of the building were scattered over the ground for a distance of u0 to 400 yards. The floor of the house stood on end with the matting still attached, leaning against a corn crib across the one beam was carried 300 yards across the Big Four tracks and rammed into the side of Glen Templeton’s house. Scarcely any of the meager furnishings of Holmes’ house could be found. Fortunately none of the Holmes fam ily was at home when the storm struck. Mrs. Holmes and the children were on a visit with her mother in Veedersburg at the time. Holmes had been in the house during the afternoon but left a few minutes before the arrival of the cyclone. Had the family been home, it is inconceivable that they could have escaped unhurt. The destruction of the house meant the loss of everything to the family. Holmes is a laboring man and was a renter. The heaviest individual loss probably falls on the telephone system of which County Commissioner Wm. A. Wright is the owner. He had his linemen busy early Sunday and before the day was past had, succeeded in re-establishing service over part of the town where the damage was least. Poles were broken, wires tangled and severed and damage done in other ways which Mr. Wright estimates will amount to nearly $10,000. The Big Four railroad rushs to the scene a special train Saturday night to sput up its telegraph wires and remove obstructions from the track A number of freight cars on the siding were blown down the track and upset by the derail. The roof of the depot was torn away and carried 200 feet by the wind. One freak of the storm was that it struck the town from two directions at the same time. The western half of the town which includes the business district was struck from the southwest while the eastern edge was struck from the northeast, the wreckage indicating that the opposing currents had formed a huge whirlwind. So far as can be learned however, there was no tunnel shaped cloud such as usually figures in storms of this kind. The gale was ac companied by a violent hail storm. Hail the size of large walnuts fell in immense quantities. The fall of rain was not excessive and was of short dur ation. The wind struck the row of brick buildings occupied by the Hillsboro state bank,:.J. D. Linville Co., H. T ochari, walt Laird and several other business firms with full force, tearing the sheets iron awnings, supported by one inch rods from the front of each. With the fall of the awnings E. I Wilt, a hardware dealer of Hillsboro, of the firm of Wilt Laird rushed to the front and started to open the door. He was struck with great force by the falling awning and was badly cut. Mrs. Ethel Watkins, a widow, and two little children had a narrow escape from death. Their house was shifted from its foundation by the gate and they were held prisoners in an upper room. Relatives released them an hour after the storm. Practically all the furniture in Widow “winnie Wood’s home was demolished when the tornado struck it. The house was partially moved off the foundation and threatened to crash down on Mrs. Wood and one child with her. She has four others children. her loss is heavy and a grievous burden to her. Morrison, Finch Co., grain dealers, are also heavy losers. Two large ele vators were unroofed, smoke stack severed and with other things their loss is estimated at $1,000. Windmills were broken like reeds before the wind and no small building stood before the storm unless protected by larger ones. O. P. Hart’s chicken house was blown down and before the chickens could escape a number of them were crushed by falling timbers. A large hay barn on the farm of Joe Hays was blown down and one hundred tons of timothy hay was whisked away. His loss is estimated at $1,500. The barn on Alvin Halmore’s farm east of town was also demolished. Two fine mules were caught in the wreckage but were taken out uninjured. His residence was also badly damaged and he estimates his loss at $1,500. The storm which reachs the magni tude of a tornado at Hillsboro Saturday seems to have swept half way across the state, starting in near Covington where some of the fine sugar camps of that vicinity suffered severely. Wesley Sprankle lost about three hundred trees and his neighbor ,Will Helper lost near ly two hundred besides suffering other loss. (Omrad Weber had eighteen shucks of corn blown away and so thore ly were they scattered that he has not been able to find any of the fodder since. Wesley (arpenter lost about two hundred trees from his maple grove and Will Barkley half as many. Sweep ing eastward the storm next singled out the home of Lewis Road south of Veedersburg a couple of miles. His house was torn down and the wreckage strewn for miles. His barn, outbuild ings and fences were laid low and some of his poultry and livestock killed. Mr. Roach and his wife were trading in Veedersburg when the storm visited their home but some of their children were at home and fortunately escapt unhurt al tho they were frightened nearly to death. When a summer kit chen was blown against the house the walls crashed in and the children fled out as the house went to pieces. ‘‘Bill’’ Bailey’s woodshed was car ried fifty yards and stoves and small farming implements stored therein were badly broken. Two sheds own ed by Harvey McBroom were blown down. George McBroom’s orchard, containing many old but valuable trees, was almost wiped out. Russell Kragg was leaving town in a buggy when the storm overtook him. He was badly shaken up and bruised. For a time it was thought he sustained a facture of one arm. A tree fell on a pony owned by Dan Harding and the animal was killed. Holland’s furniture store was partially unroofed. A portion of Mrs Emma _ Layman's house was blown from its foundation and scattered promiscously for more than a mile, while the bed clothing and wearing apparel was left behind. J. A. Wilt must advertise for 300 shocks of corn if he hopes to get back the portion of his crop which the tor nado showed a liking for. The corn was scattered to the ‘‘four winds of heaven’ and is a complete loss. On top of this Mr. Wilt lost two barns by the storm and a third barn was un roofed. He thinks he is lucky as his loss does not exceed $800. The most serious loss to the town a s whole is the destruction of the hand some maple trees which shaded its resi dence streets for it will take years to replace the trees which the storm des troyed in a few minutes. The broken and twisted trunks of these hardwood trees show more clearly than anything else the tremendous power of the wind. Trees six inches in diameter and even larger were swept off like fragile sap lings and scores of them blocked the sidewalks in all parts of the town. One of these is a tree with a history and its loss is mourned by all. The old state road passes thru Hillsboro and near the central part of town stood a huge maple tree, over a hundred feet tall and probably two hundred years old. In other years when the old road was a stagecoach route this tree was a favorite resting place and it said by old residents that Abraham Lincoln, General Lew Wallace, Senator Hanne gan, Senator Voorhees and other not ables have rested beneath its branches and quencht their thirst at a nearby well. The tornado seemed to have spent its fury by the time it reached the home of Jesse Brant, two and a half miles east of Hillsboro, alboit dam aged fences and orchards as far east as Wingate, and in the vicinity of New town. After ‘‘tearing up Jack’’ at Hillsboro the storm abated in fury but continued to sweep onward toward the south-east a high wind velocity with more or less damage being reported in several places between Hillsboro and Indianapolis. Four miles this side of that city the storm reacht its climax and practically tore up the thriving village of Ben Davis. The damage there was many times worse than at Hillsboro althody another seeming miracle, not a death occured, altho a score of dwellings were wrecks and scattered over the landscape.
Newspaper Details
Attica Ledger Press
Attica, Indiana, US
Fri, Oct 20, 1911
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Mark M.
USA 31 Aug 2026
Other Publications Near Attica, Indiana
Attica Daily Tribune
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Attica Ledger Tribune
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