St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-06-22
A Tornado Wrecks the Hadley Bridge.

A Tornado Wrecks the Hadley Bridge.
TWO PERSONS KILLED, AND SEVERAL
INJURED.
The well-known HadIey highway
bridge over the Connecticut river, loca-
ted mile east of Northampton, was
totally wrecked by tornado Thursday
afternoon, and II persons and six teams
were carried with it into the river, Mrs
Catharine NJ. Sullivan of Hadley being
killed, Sheriff EnOs F. Cook of Hadley
fatally wounded, and several others in
jured. T. M. Place, the bridge keeper
was standing at the door of his house
at the Northampton end of the bridge
at quarter before o'clock, when the
accident occurred. For three minutes
after he noticed the tornado sweeping
down from the northeast, from the di-
rection of North Hadley, his attention
was attracted by the cracking of limbs
on the neighboring trees, many of which
were wrenched from the trunks, and
then a cloud of dust arose in the bridge,
and the tornado struck the extreme
western end and swept the whole struc-
ture, span by span, off its piers. The
western span was left SO that its floor
forms an inclined plane from the abut-
ment to the river, but with this excep-
ton not vestige of woodwork re-
mains out of the river, and the ruins lie
where they fell, just south of the piers.
When the bridge was struck there
were two teams on the western end and
four on the eastern, and Mrs. Sullivan
was walking toward Northampton, Oh
the western half of the bridge. William
w. Smith of North Amherst was in one
of the west-end teams and Charles Cook
and son of Amherst in the other. At
the east end Dwight Smith of Hadlev
and his brother, George Barlow Smith,
with the latter's three SOUS and hired
man named LancOur, were divided be-
tween two teams. Sheriff Cook was
alone, and SO was John Sullivan, his
mother having just alighted from his
team, intending to walk to town. All
the teams were facing Hadley except
that of Sullivan's, who had not turned
around. After the crash came it was
found that Mrs. Sullivan had been ia
tally crushed by the falling timbers so
that she breathed but a moment after
her body was lifted up out of the ruins
near the second pier from the west end
by men who climbed out on the fallen
timbers. All the men, it is believed,
were able to reach the shores without
help except Sheriff Cook. He received
severe cut on the back of the head
and was unconscious for time, bleed
ing from the ears. He recovered con-
seriousness after being taken home, but
died during the evening. George b.
Smith was also badly bruised and, it is
feared, internally hurt. Sheriff Smith
was also badly bruised, but was taken
back to Northampton and is doing well.
All the wagons were badly smashed
and one horse was killed.
The path Of the tornado OF mimic
hurricane was about 10 miles long and
a mile wide, and it came from a north
westerly direction. Not great amount
of rain fell and it was accompani ed
with lightning and hail. The 250-feet-
long tobacco barn of Thomas REYNOLDS
of Hadley, a mile above the bridge,
was blown down, also that of William
Wallace, and the long barn of Seth Smith
OH Hadley street was unroofed, and two
of the magnificent "Hadley elms" near
ex-senator EdsOn's house were torn up
by the roots, some of which are eight
and ten feet long. One large tree in
front of Kingsley's hotel was blown
down, and so were other scattered trees,
making, according to one report, Is or
20 i'll all. The loss to buildings is esti-
mated at $500. A number of men and
horses sought shelter in the Reynolds
barn, and had narrow escape, the
horses, it is said, being blown down to
the edge of the river. At Hatfield, the
tornado blew down John Graves's two
tobacco sheds, in which four men had
taken shelter. One of them had his
face cut, and George Kingsley was
bruised about the head, left shoulder
and leg. John Fitch's tobacco shed
was also demolished, and the roof taken
from F. Graves's house. Several ma
pie and elm trees were blown down on
the main street.
The Northampton part of the old
bridge was 81 years old, and two struc-
lures had preceded it. 1t was built in
1896 the Hadley end was carried off in
1910, and again in 1859. The bridge
was freed in April, 1875, the bridge
company being allowed $4,000 for
their rights.
The Wool MARKET.-The demand
for Wool continues quite active, and