The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-08-18
SWEPT BY STORM
Topeka Visited by Destructive
Hurricane.
Roofs Torn From Buildings and
Trees Destroyed.
CRAWFORD LOSES ROOF
Tin Ripped Off and Left in
Alley.
Shawnee Mills and Warren NJ.
Crosby Suffer.
Wind Blows at the Rate of 60
Miles an Hour.
CRAWFORD LOSES ROOF

Topeka was swept by a severe wind
storm early this morning in which
barns roofs, chimneys and hundreds of
trees were destroyed. Strange as it may
seem no one was injured.
The weather bureau reports that the
wind blew at the rate of go miles an
hour from the northwest at 3:15 and
continued at a high rate until S:45, the
most of the time at a velocity of 40
miles an hour. An inch and a quarter
of rain fell between and 4 a. m.
A. 3:15 the wind came up from the
south and gradually shifted to the west
increasing in fury until it took on the
appearance of a tornado. At first the
wind came in steady blow but as it
increased it took a partial rotary
motion and whirIed and twisted with the
fury of a hurricane and tornado COM
bined.
The storm struck North Topeka with
full fury, shifting towards the Santa
F'e shops where the damage is consd-
cradle. Part of the tilling of the main
shop was blown off. The east part of
the city is covered with wreckage, box
es, barrels, roofs of houses, trees and a
miscellaneous collection of about every
thing that is movable. AS the storm
swept over the city to the southeast it's
streyn streets.
While the entire city is strewn with
trees and broken limbs the largest
amount of wreckage seems to have oc-
CURED along Kansas avenue and jack
son street. At the corner of Sixth and
Jackson street, the row of low store
buildings, Mulvane and Leonard. suffer-
ed severely The building at 611 jack
son street occupied by a horse shoeing
shop was partially unroofed and the
entire brick front blown over into the
street, giving runnor to the effect that
the building had been struck by light
ming.
At the Empire drug store on the cor
ner of Sixth and Jackson a large plate
glass window was broken, while one
door east at the printing office of Ives
& Sons, another large window was
shattered and considerable damage done
by the water beating in.
At the bakery of He'll & Schaffer. 121
West Sixth avenue, two glasses were
broken from the front of the building
The new Bates building on the corner Of
Sixth and Jackson suffered from a num-
Der of broken lights. Two of the large
single windows in Hudson's hall were
blown in
Shawnee Mills Damaged.
The roof was stripped from the
mansard portion of the Shawnee mills
and wrapped around a telephone pole
on the street below. In speaking of
the damage done, Mr.. Shellabarger
Sol4d- 1t1e IOOI must nave Deen blown
off early in the storm, as considerable
water fell on the inside of the build
ing and whenever water gets into flour
1t makes bad mess of it. We will get
things Strengthened around TODAY and
the mill to running. 1t is hard to
estimate our damage, but it will not
exceed $500, 1 am sure
The old sycamore tree which has
stood for years in front of the wagon
making shop at 2O7 East Sixth avenue
was twisted and divested of most of
It's limbs, and half dozen wagons
were overturned.
The wind caught the roof of the
south half of the Warren M Crosby
store and rolled the tin roof over on TO
Kansas avenue. The damage to the
stock is slight, as the rain had almost
ceased falling before the roof went off
Ihere were a dozen or less emntv
piano boxes standing on the walk in
front of the w. F. Roehr music store:
Ihese were distributed up and down
Kansas avenue. Awnings are down
and iron framework mixed with wires
and tin from the roofs of buildings
made navigation on Kansas avenue
very uncertain in the earlier hours of
- the morning.
Crawford Is UnrOOfed
The old building known as the
Crawford opera house block was COM
pletely unroofed. and the allev hack
of the building is impossible on ac-
count of the mass of cables, electric
light wires and tin from the roof of
the opera house. The building Wa
damaged by water.
The telephone companies are some
what crippled This is particularly
true of the long distance lines which
are nearly all down. 1t will be several
days before they can all be repaired.
Many of the electric signs over the
city are ruined, and several large dis
play cases, such as are left on the side
walks, were completely ruined
A large barn belonging to Gus
Ester1n, of SIS State street, was blown
down.
The new First Baptist church sus-
tanned damages amounting to about
$500 The skyhght in the Sunday
school room was blown in, and con-
siderable damage was done to the in
terror of the building
Many chimneys were blown down
all over the city and a great many
panes OF glass broken throughout the
residence portion of the city. A large
chimney on the home of Jonathan
Thomas was blown down, and the
home of Mrs. J. G. Wilson, on Topeka
avenue, was damaged.
Severe on Topeka Avenue.
The block between Seventh street and
Eighth avenue on Topeka avenue SEEM
ed to be one OF the several storm-cen-
ters- Damage was done to buildings
large trees were uprooted and blown
over, telephone and electric light wires
put out of commission, and considera HE
destruction inflicted upon gardens and
yards.
The double entry way to the ST
Johns African NJ. E. church at the
southwest corner of Seventh and Topeka
avenues, a large frame affair about Is
feet in height and of about the same
width was torn loose from its founda-
ton and hurled across the sidewalk.