1909 – April 21, Windstorm, south Lake Erie coastal area, especially, Cleveland, Ohio– 9

— 9 Blanchard tally from locality breakouts below.
— 8 Schmidlin and Schmidlin. Thunder in the Heartland. 1996, p. 245.

Ashtabula (1)
–1 R. R. Woodworth, seeking shelter in shed at St. Matthews’ Episcopal, which failed.

Cleveland (8) Evening Tribune, Marysville, OH. “Eight Die in Storm.” 4-23-1909, p. 1.
–1 Jasper Cromwell, “blown from a train at the Cleveland Furnace company plant.
–1 John Niebalski, “fell from church tower; died at hospital.”
–1 Louis Petro, “crushed by falling roof; died at hospital.”
–1 Mrs. Olive Phalen; hospital nurse, hit in head “by a stone blown from the top of a building.”
–1 Joseph Slazek, “struck in head by flying timbers; died at hospital.”
–1 Charles Trautman, “hit by flying timbres.”
–1 Joseph Vessia, “killed by falling smokestack at Cleveland Frog and Crossing works.”
–1 Unidentified woman, “blown into a pond at Wade park and drowned.”

Narrative Information

Akron: “Akron, O., April 21. – In a terrific wind storm today at noon part of the roof and the chimneys of the Clarendon Hotel blew down and an unknown boy was struck and injured.” (Times-Democrat, Lima, OH. “Akron Struck by Wind Storm.” 4-21-1909, p. 7.)

Ashtabula: “Ashtabula, O., April 22. – One man was killed, a dozen persons injured and heavy property damage resulted from a 10-minute cyclone which struck Ashtabula and vicinity. The dead: R. T. Woodworth of Plymouth. Woodworth and Fassett sought refuge in sheds of St. Matthews’ Episcopal church, Plymouth, and were caught when the church crumbled before the gale and crushed the sheds. Woodworth was killed outright. The church was 70 years old.” (Evening Tribune, Marysville, OH. “Killed at Ashtabula.” 4-22-1909, p. 1.)

Cleveland: “Cleveland, April 21. – This section of the State was visited today by the most severe rain and wind storm in years, telegraph and telephone wires being leveled by the elements. Much damage is reported to property and communication by wire is almost entirely cut off, making details hard to obtain. An effort is being made to reestablish communication with the surrounding country.” (Steubenville Herald-Star, OH. “Great Storm.” 4-21-1909, p. 1.)

Cleveland: “Cleveland, O., April 22. – The tornado which swept through Cleveland and northern Ohio resulted in eight deaths in this city, and in addition seven persons were fatally hurt, 50 more or less seriously injured, and property valued at more than $1,000,000 was destroyed.

“The storm arose suddenly and lasted but five minutes, during which time the city was shrouded in darkness. From the northeast off the lake came a gale blowing at the rate of 66 miles an hour. In its wake followed a sheet of rain and hail which fell with terrific force. In the blinding rain pedestrians were blown off their feet and hurled against buildings, in many cases to be struck down by flying bricks and timbers which filled the air….

“The fatally injured were mostly foreigners and were hit by flying timbers.

“Fred Geigle committed suicide during the storm because he was afraid he would be killed. He left a note explaining his action….

“Roofs were lifted off houses, walls hurled down, strongly braced smokestacks picked up and chimneys demolished, porches stripped off residences and small buildings carried away. Debris was gathered into the arms of the wind to be deposited elsewhere. In some instances roofs were carried for a distance of 300 feet and then set down. Skylights and windows were crushed. Many persons were injured by flying glass. The loss was especially great to school property. Twelve school buildings were damaged.

“Telegraph and telephone service was ruined. Poles were swept down by the wind. Crossed wires set poles on fire. Streetcars and trains were delayed. Trees were torn up by the roots at Woodlawn and other cemeteries. A score of monuments were overturned and crushed.

“The largest single injury that was done was to St. Stanislaus church, East Sixty-fifth street and Forman avenue. The wind practically demolished the structure. The loss is estimated at $125,000.” (Evening Tribune, Marysville, OH. “Eight Die in Storm.” 4-23-1909, p. 1.)

Mansfield: “A fearful wind and rain storm passed over Plymouth, Wednesday, doing great damage. The west end of the new foundry building of the Root Bros. company was blown in at noon and that fact alone undoubtedly saved the lives of many workmen who were at dinner. Two houses south of town were unroofed. A. C. Morse’s barn met the same fate while the waiting room a Huron Valley park was completely destroyed. On the Dan Kirkpatrick farm a swath was cut through the woods as clean as though a giant scythe had mown the trees down. The streets in the town were flooded, limbs blown from trees, trees uprooted and much minor damage done.” (Mansfield News, OH. “Plymouth Suffers Much Damage.” 4-22-1909, p. 6.)

New London: “New London, April 21. – A terrific wind and rain storm which struck this place at about 12 o’clock today did a great deal of damage, uprooting trees, overturning buildings and knocking down many chimneys. The residence of Mr. McElroy suffered severe damage by the falling of a large maple tree through a dining room window while other residents suffered the loss of barns, chicken coops, out houses, etc. Boxes and barrels were blown all over town and a fine apple orchard near the cemetery was almost totally destroyed. Rain fell in considerable quantity during the storm but ceased after the wind subsided.” (Evening Herald, Norwalk, OH. “Near Cyclone at New London.” 4-21-1909, p. 1.)

Sources

Evening Herald, Norwalk, OH. “Near Cyclone at New London.” 4-21-1909, p. 1. Accessed 3-4-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/norwalk-evening-herald-apr-21-1909-p-1/

Evening Tribune, Marysville, OH. “Eight Die in Storm.” 4-23-1909, p. 1. Accessed 3-4-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/marysville-evening-tribune-apr-22-1909-p-1/

Mansfield News, OH. “Plymouth Suffers Much Damage.” 4-22-1909, p. 6. Accessed 3-4-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/mansfield-news-apr-22-1909-p-6/

Schmidlin, Thomas W. and Jeanne Appelhans Schmidlin. Thunder in the Heartland: A Chronicle of Outstanding Weather Events in Ohio. Kent State University Press, 1996, 362 pages. Partially digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=QANPLARGXFMC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Steubenville Herald-Star, OH. “Great Storm.” 4-21-1909, p. 1. Accessed 3-4-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/steubenville-herald-star-apr-21-1909-p-1/

Times-Democrat, Lima, OH. “Akron Struck by Wind Storm.” 4-21-1909, p. 7. Accessed 3-4-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lima-times-democrat-apr-21-1909-p-7/