1910 — Oct 17-20, Hurricane, Key West, Florida to Virginia (all deaths in or off FL) –37-41

–~41 Blanchard tally from locality breakouts below.
— 37 Waycross Evening Herald, GA. “Summary of the Hurricane Damages.” 10-22-1910, p. 2.
— 30 Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. EM DAT Database.
— 30 Dunn and Miller. Atlantic Hurricanes (Revised Edition). 1964, p. 316.
— 30 Hebert/Jarrell/Mayfield. The Deadliest, Costliest…[US] Hurricanes… Feb 1993, p. 80.
–~30 Herrmann. Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 38, Issue 10, October 1910, p. 1487.
— 30 Jarrell, Mayfield, Rappaport, Landsea. The Deadliest, Costliest…[US] Hurricanes…1900 to 2000.
Breakout of fatalities by locality where noted.
— 3 Boca Raton. Drownings; American schooner Harry T. Hayward, blown ashore.
— 2 Chokoloskee Island, SE of Everglades City. Woodward. “1873 & 1910 Hurricanes.” 6-3-2010.
— 1 Deland. Electrician killed. Waycross Evening Herald, GA. “Summary…Hurricane…” 10-22-1910, p. 2.
— 3 Key West, South Beach. Drownings; Mrs. Alexander Johnson and two children, swept away.
— 1 Lemon City area. Man killed by falling timbers.
— 1 Nocatee area. Drowning; man attempting to cross the Peace River.
— 1 Pigeon Key. Drowning, crewman; four-masted schooner Edwin T. Stotsbury grounds.
— 7 Punta Gorda. Drownings; four Cuban fishing schooners wreck.
— 3 St. Augustine, ~25 miles south of. Drownings; schooner William W. Converse “wrecked.”
— 3 St. Augustine. “Three laborers were reported dead.” Atlanta Georgian & News, 10-22-1910.
–>20 Ten Thousand Islands. Waycross Journal, GA. “Everglades Suffered Severely…” 10-28-1910, p.7.
— 17 Ten Thousand Islands. Bodies, presumably sailors, washed ashore.
— ? Ten Thousand Islands. “…many women and children.”
— 2 Thousand Islands area. Drownings; one-armed man and a baby by high tide.

Narrative Information

Dunn and Miller: “1910 Oct. 17-18 Entire peninsula Major 30 killed, damage $365,000.”

Hermann, Monthly Weather Review: “…[An[ important phenomenon was the tropical storm that swept over Florida and the south Atlantic coast from October 17-20. This disturbance was more destructive than the similar storm of last year, because it covered a much greater territory. It moved directly northward over the central portion of the Peninsula of Florida, thence along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, decreasing in force as it moved northward so that it caused only moderate gales in eastern North Carolina and Virginia.

“In Florida and southeastern Georgia much damage was wrought by the heavy rains and dangerous gales, the loss of approximating over half a million dollars. In Florida about 30 lives were lost, mostly in sparsely settled districts, elsewhere there was no loss of life owing to the perfect distribution of the forewarnings of the approach of the storm by the Weather Bureau. A large number of vessels remained in harbor in safety; a few that ventured to continue their voyage were lost or greatly damaged….

Tampa, Fla. — Shipping in Tampa Bay and to the northward was damaged but little….A few small boats on the coast and possibly some buildings and other structures were injured or destroyed, but there appears to have been no loss of life in this section.

More destruction attended the storm in the vicinity of Charlotte Harbor and the Caloosahatchee River. Seven men were drowned in the wrecking of four Cuban fishing schooners at Punta Gorda; a negro was drowned in attempting to cross the Peace River near Nocatee, and a one-armed man and a baby were drowned by high tide in the vicinity of Thousand Islands. Dwellings and property were also destroyed in the vicinity of Chokoloske, and aid was required to feed and clothe the sufferers. It is also reported that buildings at Flamingo were destroyed. The center of the storm much have entered Florida near Cape Romano, for while the tide seems to have been blown offshore from Boca Grande northward, the keys and islands south of the cape were swept by great waves from the Gulf that reached a great distance inland. The survivors could only escape by climbing trees – George B. Wurtz, Local Forecaster.
Jupiter, Fla. — ….Along the coast where nine-tenths of the people live only one life was lost, one man having been killed by falling timbers near Lemon City. The property loss was confined to small boats, boathouses, and docks. These losses will total about $3,000 in the section of 210 miles from Titusville to Miami. The railroad bed of the Florida East Coast Railway was seriously washed out in several places and repairs will be very expensive. At sea the American schooner Harry T. Hayward, bound from Baltimore to Knight Keys, Fla., was blown ashore at Boca Raton and is said to be a total loss. Three seamen were drowned; the rest of the crew were saved after being in the rigging 12 hours. The vessel and cargo are said toa be valued at $110,000…. – H. P. Hardin, Observer. [p. 1490.]

(Herrmann, Charles F. Von. “Climatological Data for October, 1910. District No. 2, South Atlantic and East Gulf States,” Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 38, Issue 10, October 1910, p. 1487.)

Woodward: “….To Floridians, the October 1910 Hurricane started after notice that it had hit Cuba and was passing the Keys to the west and north of Key West when it looped back and hit Key West for over 30 hours. The loop made by this hurricane was so unusual that for years it was debated if there were really two storms. Winds reached 90 mph on October 17th with gusts up to 100 mph and by 7 a.m. of that morning waves were washing over the southern and western sections of Key West. The U.S. Weather Bureau, which had unadvisedly been placed in Key West, was entirely submerged by 9 a.m. and completely useless. By 3 p.m. there was 7 feet of water in the building. The U.S. army dock and marine hospital dock were swept away and, at times, the waves were over 15 feet high and pounded debris against office buildings.

“The hurricane moved north and hit Cape Sable next, destroying the buildings at Flamingo and salting and killing the roots of the sugar cane planted on the Cape. James Thompson resided on Highland’s Beach and in order to save his family, he put his wife and child into his fishing skiff and rode out the storm in the mangroves with the baby secured under a tin tub. The four families who lived on Wood Key just north of the mouth of Lostman’s River rode out the storm in their boats on the lee side of the island as water broke over it. Twenty-two clam diggers working near Plover Key lost all but three of their boats and survived because Plover Key stands 7 or 8 feet above normal high tide. After the storm, the clammers made their way back to Caxambas.

“The 1910 Hurricane continued north and the lethal upper right quadrant of it hit Chokoloskee Island. Ted Smallwood reported that he and a group were staying in a house that was 9 feet above sea level, but on the night of October 17th the water got so high that they left the house and waded across a valley that was knee deep in water to reach a 30-foot shell mound where they sat outside in the weather for the duration of the storm. The next day he found about 100 drowned chickens under his house, which decayed there for several months until he could get help to raise the house. The hurricane killed mullet that lay about one foot deep around the beach and rotted; meanwhile, two people on the island were reported dead….

“It is estimated that the hurricane hit land around Cape Romano as it headed north as a Category 4 hurricane. The storm was so large that parts of it were still over Key West when, at 6 a.m. on October 17th it reached Marco Island with winds at 115 mph. The residents of Caxambas sought shelter in the Heights Hotel on top of Indian Hill, at a 52 foot elevation, and the highest place in Southwest Florida. The hotel had opened two years earlier in 1908 by James Barfield and his wife, Tommie. While everyone at the hotel was safe from the destructive storm surge, the community lying below them was not. Fred Ludlow, the owner of the Ludlow Fruit Company who employed 20 workers and had over 100 acres of property under cultivation, discovered after the storm passed that his factory for packing and shipping had been destroyed, as well as over a million pineapple plants were lost. Even one corner of the Ludlow home was moved off of its foundation (which was located on a ridge at the west end of the current Ludlow Drive in the estates section of Marco Island). That was the end of Ludlow’s farming operation and he got a new job as manager of the Burnham Clam Factory.

“On October 18th the storm, now reduced to a Category 3, moved into Naples from the south with winds over 100 mph and a high storm surge. It continued its destructive path north, with seven men drowned in Punta Gorda as four Cuban fishing schooners wrecked, a black man drowned crossing the Peace River, and it was widely reported that survivors escaped the storm surge by climbing trees. The hurricane moved up the center of the peninsula of Florida entering Georgia west of Jacksonville on October 19th. The 1910 Hurricane impacted the entire state, including destruction along the east coast as well. Part of the Florida East Coast Railroad was washed out, a schooner wrecked at Boca Raton, killing three on board, and towns like Fort Pierce were in ruins.

“The 1910 Hurricane storm surge salted much of the farming lands of Southwest Florida which could not be re-cultivated until rain washed the salt out of the soil. Local folklore says that the pioneers learned to taste the soil to see if it had too much salt. If farmers were lucky, desalting would occur in the final phases of a storm but only if heavy rainfall continued after the storm tide subsided; obviously nothing would bring back the current crop….

“Never calculated was the amount of damage throughout Florida, nor were the total numbers of deaths ever totaled. Cuba estimated that at least 100 people died from the storm before it hit Florida and they sustained over $1 million in damages in Havana alone. The Hurricane of 1910 is rated as one of the most destructive in history.” (Woodward, Craig. “1873 & 1910 Hurricanes.” Coastal Breeze News, Marco Island, FL, 6-3-2010.)

Newspapers

Oct 18: “Key West, Fla., via Havana, October 18. – The tropical hurricane which has been sweeping over the West Indies and southern waters for the past five days, took Key West in its grip yesterday and tore away the roofs of houses, shook a number of buildings from their foundations, blew vessels from their moorings and did other damage, the extent of which cannot be estimated.

“The first mutters of the storm were heard on Thursday; wind blew and a deluge of rain came down. This storm continued until Sunday, the wind’s velocity not exceeding fifty miles an hour. Then there was a lull for several hours, but in the evening the hurricane swept over the island fiercely until by Monday, the wind registered ninety miles an hour, when the recorder was blown off.

“The South Beach section and the western part of the city suffered the greatest from the storm. The sea poured over the low-lying shore and many houses facing the ocean were either wrecked or blown from their blocks. The pleasure resort, La Brisa, a large wooden building, was hurled from its supports and broken in half. The Consumers’ Ice company’s plant and the Havana America Cigar factory were badly damaged. The handsome residences of M. B. Darnell and N.B. Rhodes were blown down. The new government wharf was pounded by the heavy waves until sections of it were broken away. The damage to the electric company’s plants amounts to $50,000 while the naval station will cost many thousands of dollars to put in repair. Only three lives are reported lost. Alexander Johnson, colored, his wife and four children while attempting to leave their home near South Beach, were caught by the waves. The mother and father each carried two of the children. The father escaped, while the mother and two of the children were drowned.

“Jacksonville, Fla., October 18. – With every telegraph wire in the state south of Jacksonville down, the centre of the West Indian hurricane cannot be located. The velocity of the wind is increasing hourly here. The loss int eh city of Jacksonville up to 6 o’clock tonight was heavy although with the prevailing semi-panic condition it was not possible at this hour to ascertain if there had been loss of life.

“That the property damage throughout the state will total several millions and that there has been loss of life is not doubted here. Invariably the last messages received here last night from points south of Jacksonville reported hurricane winds increasing in velocity and a falling barometer.

“A forty mile wind here this morning had increased to sixty miles an hour at 4 o’clock tonight when it was still increasing and the barometer fell rapidly, standing at a fraction above twenty-nine inches early this evening.

“The only means of communication with the outside world is a single Postal Telegraph wire between here and St. Augustine, Communication by the Western Union was entirely cut off early this afternoon. All telephone wires are gone and the wireless station was dismantled late this afternoon.

“It is reported that a half of the buildings in the town of Mayport, seventeen miles below Jacksonville at the mouth of the St. John’s river, were wrecked. The velocity of the wind was said to be seventy miles an hour. The population of Mayport is about 800.

“Savannah, Ga., October 18. – The wind here has attained a 50-miles velocity and the local weather officials believe this city is directly in the path of the storm. Because of the unusual high spring tides much alarm is felt for the safety of lives and property along the ocean front at flood tide tonight. Tybee reports a gale blowing with the heavy seas breaking over the retaining walls of the government reservation at Fort Screven. The residents of the island are preparing to come to this city on a special train tonight, fearing a repetition of the disaster of 1893. Lowlands in this territory are submerged. All vessels are staying in port.” (Altoona Tribune, PA. “Blowing Very Hard Along the Southern Coast. Great Hurricane…Key West Suffered.” 10-19-1910, p. 1.)

Oct 18: “St. Augustine, Fla., Oct. 18. – The worst storm in sixteen years is sweeping the ocean in a tidal wave over the sea wall and onto the Fort Marion reservation. The entire business section is inundated and the wind was still rising at 9 a.m. Threes are being blown down in the streets, houses unroofed and porches torn down. Street car traffic is tied up and some cars are deep in water. It is not believed that trains will be able to reach the city. All wires are down to the south and it is impossible to estimate the number of dead. The last news said that the storm was raging with fearful velocity on the lower coast. Especial fear is felt for Tampa the Key West, which are entirely cut off from the world.” (Atlanta Georgian. “Fears Are Felt For Southern Florida Towns and Cities. Entire Southern Section of the State Vortex of a Terrific Hurricane.” 10-18-1910, p. 1.)

Oct 26: Tampa, Fla., Oct 26. – Tampa, Fla., Oct. 26. – Further details today of last week’s hurricane ravages in a portion of the Everglades and ten thousand island section of southern Florida, indicate that many square miles were inundated by a tidal wave of tremendous force. The captain of the Everglades schooner Eureka said today that the tide during one period of the storm rose 12 feet in one hour. This inrush in many cases swept inhabited points bare of every vestige of human habitation, depositing in inaccessible swamps, homes, household goods and what little food the water did not ruin. A few cabins which were swept inland on the crest of the wave, were carried out to sea with its outflow. The outrush of water was even more dangerous than its inflow, for it often traveled with mill race force, carrying its victims straight toward the open sea, where the possibility of rescue was almost nothing.

“Sailing vessels form almost the only means of communication with the stricken section, making it slow work to secure details. Supplies for the destitute, who are said to number hundreds, were today [unclear word; “placed”?] aboard the Eureka. The board of trade began a business canvass to raise both money and supplies to follow the Eureka in other vessels. The Eureka will stop first at Marco

“There are no new figures here on the number of dead, which is said to be at least 20.” (Waycross Journal, GA. “Everglades Suffered Severely in Last Week’s Storm.” 10-28-1910, p.7.)

Nov 4: “A Tampa dispatch says: From Punta Rassa [sic], in the Tern Thousand Islands, comes the news of great damage inflicted by the recent hurricane. The report says that the islands were swept by a tidal wave and that those residents who had escaped drowning were in destitute circumstances. Crops were ruined, merchandise houses destroyed and many women and children were drowned. Seventeen bodies, supposedly those of sailors, who perished during the storm, washed ashore. A petition, signed by thirty-six survivors, asks the board of trade of Tampa for assistance.” (Palatka News and Advertiser, FL. “Damage by Hurricane.” 11-4-1910, p. 7.)

Sources

Altoona Tribune, PA. “Blowing Very Hard Along the Southern Coast. Great Hurricane…Key West Suffered.” 10-19-1910, p. 1. Accessed 9-7-2022 at: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10168920/altoona-tribune/

Atlanta Georgian. “Fears Are Felt For Southern Florida Towns and Cities. Entire Southern Section of the State Vortex of a Terrific Hurricane.” 10-18-1910, p. 1. Accessed 9-7-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/atlanta-georgian-and-news-oct-18-1910-p-1/

Brunswick News, GA. “A Big French Liner Is Reported Ashore.” 10-21-1910, p. 2. Accessed 9-7-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/brunswick-news-oct-21-1910-p-2/

Brunswick News, GA. “Bodies Are Found. Seven Unfortunate Seamen Wash Ashore at Punta Gorda, Florida.” 10-27-1910, p. 4. Accessed 9-7-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/brunswick-news-oct-27-1910-p-4/

Brunswick News, GA. “Three Men Drowned on Wrecked Vessel.” 10-21-1910, p. 2. Accessed 9-7-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/brunswick-news-oct-21-1910-p-2/

Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. EM DAT Database. Louvain, Belgium: Universite Catholique do Louvain. Accessed at: http://www.emdat.be/

Dunn, Gordon E. and Banner I. Miller. Atlantic Hurricanes (Revised Edition). Baton Rouge LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1964, 377 pages.

Hebert, Paul J., J.D. Jarrell, Max Mayfield. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Hurricanes of This Century (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS-NHC-31). Miami, FL: National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Feb 1993, 41 pages.

Jarrell, Jerry D, Max Mayfield, Edward N. Rappaport and Christopher W. Landsea. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Hurricanes from 1900 to 2000. Miami, FL: Tropical Prediction Center and Hurricane Research Division, NOAA. October 2001 update. Accessed 9-7-2022 at: https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/deadly/

Herrmann, Charles F. Von. “Climatological Data for October, 1910. District No. 2, South Atlantic and East Gulf States,” Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 38, Issue 10, October 1910. Accessed 9-7-2022 at: file:///C:/Users/Wayne/Downloads/[15200493%20-%20Monthly%20Weather%20Review]%20DISTRICT%20No.%202,%20SOUTH%20ATLANTIC%20AND%20EAST%20GULF%20STATES-1.pdf

Palatka News and Advertiser, FL. “Damage by Hurricane.” 11-4-1910, p. 7. Accessed 9-7-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/palatka-news-and-advertiser-nov-04-1910-p-7/

Rappaport, Edward N. and Jose Fernandez-Partagas. The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492-1994 (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC-47). Coral Gables, FL: National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, January 1995, 42 pages. Accessed 8-20-2017 at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NWS-NHC-1995-47.pdf

Times and Democrat, Orangeburg, SC. “Vivid Story. Young Lad Tells of His Shipwreck and Fierce Battle for Life.” 11-1-1910, p. 1. Accessed 9-7-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/the-times-and-democrat-nov-01-1910-p-2/

Waycross Evening Herald, GA. “Summary of the Hurricane Damages.” 10-22-1910, p. 2. Accessed 9-7-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/waycross-weekly-herald-oct-22-1910-p-2/

Waycross Journal, GA. “Everglades Suffered Severely in Last Week’s Storm.” 10-28-1910, p.7. Accessed 9-7-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/waycross-journal-oct-28-1910-p-7/

Woodward, Craig. “1873 & 1910 Hurricanes.” Coastal Breeze News, Marco Island, FL, 6-3-2010. Accessed 9-7-2022 at: https://www.coastalbreezenews.com/columnists/coastal_history/1873-1910-hurricanes/article_4ec44fcc-c885-542d-899c-bf4ea57f631c.html