People are commemorating the 100th anniversary of the deadliest tornado in U.S. history
MURPHYSBORO, Ill., (KBSI) – The Jackson County Historical Society is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the deadliest tornado in U.S. history with several special events.
The kick-off began Thursday, March 13, beginning with remarks from Jackson County Historical Society President Scott Johnson.
“The tri-state tornado, 100 years ago, changed the face of Jackson county — Murphysboro, Gorham, and DeSoto — forever,” he said.
The tri-state tornado struck the Midwest on March 18, 1925.
Just imagine what that day must have been like a century ago — a twister so big, historians said people who saw it didn’t know what it was. There was no funnel shape – just sweeping darkness, like a violent fog rolling towards them.
“Out of approximately 695 people that died in that tornado, 300 of them came from Jackson county,” Johnson said.
It’s an event scientists and meteorologists continue to marvel at. Christine Wielgos, a Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Services, said the tri-state tornado reminds us of how far we’ve come.
“Looking back 100 years ago, people that were in the path of this devastating tornado had no way of knowing that such a catastrophic event was going to happen,” she said.
Today, we have severe weather forecasts, tornado watches, sirens, cell phones, televisions – all things to warn us of dangerous weather headed our way.
“All they had to rely on was what they saw in front of them, which had to be terrifying to see,” Wielgos said.
According to the history books, in three and a half hours the twister swept across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana where it finally dissipated — wiping out towns and killing hundreds of people along the 219 mile path.
After the opening remarks, the Jackson County Historical Society opened its doors for people to wander through a tri-state tornado exhibit with photos and artifacts.
Local Abby Cripps said, growing up in the area, she’s always been interested in the history of the tri-state tornado. She said seeing artifacts preserved from the natural disaster was eye-opening — like the tree impaled by a large wooden plank and a child’s pair of shoes.
“They found one shoe in one town and then another shoe in the other town, of a child that had gotten hit during the tornado,” she said. “Really, it all stood out to me.”
According to Johnson, the legacy that came from the natural disaster was the resilience of the people. They rebuilt the town.
Today, people play on the playground and shoot hoops at Longfellow Park, a memorial built over the spot where Longfellow School used to stand, all those years ago.
High school student Allison Dyer said she’s grateful for the history that’s been preserved.
“We’ve also rebuilt a lot and there’s still lots of historical buildings around, which is cool because not a lot of towns around here actually value their their town history like Murphysboro does,” she said.
You can learn more about the 100th anniversary events, here.
