River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1904-08-25
TWELVE KILLED
BY W|NDSTORM
GREAT HAVOC BY A TORNADO
IN MINNESOTA.
RUIN IN THE TWIN CITIES
Property Loss More Than 81 100000
Two Theaters Are Wrecked
Many Big Structures
Suffer Heavily.


IL persons, injury to scores and de-
struction to property both private and
public, estimated in round numbers at
100000 rode on a screening gale
which tore down the valley OF the Mis-
sissippi at about nine o'clock Saturday
night from point somewhere near
the confluence of the Minnesota and
Mississippi rivers near Fort Smelling.
At about that point the fury of the ela-
ments seemingly divided and with q
roar descended on the Twin cities and
their environs.
Twelve Lives Lost.
The dead are: Lorin F. Hokanson,
theater; body removed to city morgue.
George Kwenton, carpenter, 37S To-
rontO avenue, killed at Tivoli theater;
body removed to city morgue.
Richard Hillisbeck, operator at Min
neapolis Junction, killed by lightning.
Unknown woman.
Unknown child, killed by falling
wall of dormitory at the House of the
Good Shepherd.
Albert Odhe, aged 80 years, at st.
Louis Park, suburb of Minneapolis.
Six year old son of Frank Hedges,
at st. Louis Park.
Unknown girl, aged ten years, at ST.
Louis Park.
Four unknown dead at WaConia, a
small station 20 miles west of Mime
apolis
Edwin Gillert, 43S South Rober-
street, one of the last persons seen in
Tivoli theater during the calamity, is
missing.
The names of 20 of the injured arc
in all districts of the city are reported
to have sustained bruises and cuts by
falling timbers and glass.
Great Bridges Destroyed.
Beginning at a point below Fort
Smelling there is the first known evil
dence that the storm struck with dam
aging effect 1t came from the south
west and, bowling in it's fury up
rooted trees and demolished buildings
in it's pathway toward st. Paul. 1t tore
off two spans of the high bridge as
completely as if they had been unbolt-
ed from the rest of the structure and
carted away by worl1men. There the
bridge connected with the high bluffs
at West ST. Paul and it is $50 feet
above the river. This mass of steel
was carried to the flats below, where
flying steel Orders and heavy planks
fell on several small frame houses of
the fiat jewellers and crushed them
completely. None of the occupants of
the houses was hurt, they having seen
the storm coming and took refuge in
the caves in the hillsides, where they
were safe.
Theater Building Wrecked.
The storm tore along the flats, up
roofing trees on Harriet island. and
with deafening roar and the hiss and
splash of falling sheets of rain it
struck this city at the Wabash street
bridge. Here were located at the
bridge entrance, on opposite sides OF
Wabash street. the Tivoli concert hall
and Empire theater, both of which
were fairly crowded with men watch
ing the performance. Both buildings
stood on the edge of the bluff over
looking the river with sides of the
buildings open and were wrecked. The
full force of the tornado struck them.
The buildings began to sway and rock
and the audience became panic-strick-
en-. Men and boys rushed over each
other for the exits. The lights went
out and the sheet lightning flashes, one
following another with gunfire rapid
ity, Illuminated a scene of pandemon-
ium which was intensified by the crash
of glass and the tearing of timbers as
the frame structure gave away before
the tornado. Sections of the roof were
blown through the air and landed east
in Third street, a block distant. I'm
derneath the debris of the Tivoli were
found when the storm had passed. the
mangled bodies of Lorin F. Hokanson
one of the employees in the concert
hall, and George Kweton, one of the
audience.
Path of Ruin.
On the storm rushed to the north
east over the wholesale district, and
every building facing the south from
Wabasha street for blocks east on
Third street had scarcely whole pane
Of glass in any window, while many
on the opposite side were also broken.
Tin roofs on several buildings were
rolled in bundles as one would roll
huge sheet of paper and deposited IN
the street. Flying plate glass mixed
with the rain battered everything
which stood before it, and horses and
carriages were swept along the streets,
which in an Incredibly short space of
time were filled with water. Wires
were torn down and part of the city
was in darkness. The high buildings,
reaching skyward above the smaller
ones on East Third street, were shaken
to their foundations The fine large
plate glass windows were blown in
and in several skylights were blown
out
Big Structures Damaged.
The German-American bank build
ing, the Pioneer Press building, ten
and history structures, had scarcely
whole pane of glass left above the
second or third story OH the sides ex'
posed to the storm. These, with the
First national bank buildings on East