Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-06-30
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
HALF-CENTURY PASSED SINCE
STORM SWEPT vIROOUA
Seventeen Persons Were Killed and
One Hundred IniGred-Prop-
erty Loss S200, 00e

Monday of this week marked the pass
ing Of half-eentury since the great
tornado swept through the southern
part OF ViFoqua and laid waste our pros
porous little Village" killing seven
teen people and injuring one hundred.
Fifty years is long time ago. The
people in whose minds the memory of
that storm is still vivid are bent with
age and many who were children then
have passed into the long sleep. The
great Civil war had just resulted in
victory for the north; jeff Davis had
just been captured; only a short time
before President Lincoln had fallen by
the hand of the vile assassin Booth.
The telephone, automobile, flying ma
chine and all the other wonderful inven-
tons we regard as commonplace today
were then unknown. Most wonderful
has been the progress of the nation
and our city in the half-century pass
ed. From the Lacrosse Daily Demo-
GRAFT of July l, 1865. edited by M. M.
Pomeroy, the following report of the
storm is given in condensed form:
At four o'clock black clouds rolling
In few moments the wind sprsng up,
and almost Immediately could be seen
coming from the northeast a cloud of
wind, rolling at times close to the earth
dust, sticks, etc, filling the air. At
the same time there appeared another
cloud of like nature coming directly to-
ward the village from the west. The
first current was passing to the south
west, and the points or ends met half
mile west of the village, when it
seemed as If mighty strife was going
on between millions of invisible spirits
in the two currents. People ran for
their houses in terror-ths whirlwind
with shrek and howl kept on its east
ward course, the larger current turn
ing the smaller one back, the two GO
ing on together in their work of de-
struction. In two minutes its fury was
spent at Virodua and the southern por
ton of the place land the most beau
tifuD was made q scene of wilder and
more terrible devastation than we ever
witnessed before
LIST OF KILLED
j. G. Barstow and wife, child of H.
/ G.. Weeden, Lydia Gillett, wife of DR..
Dean and daughter, Mrs. Moon, Eliza
Derby, two children of James Daniels,
two children of James Cook, one child
of Nelson Rhodes, Mrs Good
SEVERELY WOUNDED
Mr.. and Mrs. Drake and son Phineas,
Mrs. Decker, Mrs. John Gardner, ser
want girl at w. S. Purdy's, j. NJ. Ben
nett, Mrs. J. Buckley, DR.. Dean, DR..
Weeden and wife, Peter Hays, wife
and four children, Mrs. w S. S. White,
daughter and grandehild, o. C. Smith,
| Mrs. r. C. Bierce, j Dawson. Be-
sides these there are others wounded
but their names we could not learn in
the limited time set apart for this pur-
pose. In the school house there were
twenty-foHr children, and the teacher
| Eight children were killed. and all more
Or less cut, bruised OF rnansiec.
DWELLINGS AND BUILDINGS DESTROYED
| Twenty-six houses ard barns were
completely demolished, and about forty
more or less injured. Below we give a
lis. of buildings destroyed within easy
reach of mans voice VIM. Vought
house, Er. Russell house, H. Greeve
house and two barns, C. F. Gillett house,
John Gardner house, w. S. Purdy house,
D. Onstctt house and blacksmith shop,
j.. Buckley house and blacksmith shop,
DR. Dean house, ]. M. Bennett house
and barn, John Barstow house, DR.
Weeden house and barn, W. S. White
house and barn, o. c. Smith house, r.
C. Bierce house and barn, John Everett
house and barn, j. A. Somerby house
including printing Office, court house
unroofed, M C. Nichols store, Col Rusk
house damaged barn destroyed, o. j.
Stilwell house damaged barn destroyed,
j. Dawson dwellinp destroyed store
damaged, C. w. Pitcher house damag-
ed, D. B. Priest store house ruined,
Masonic hall destroyed, Dr. Tinker kitten.
en-, woodshed and barn destroyed, j. R.
Casson house, NJ. E. church, W. F.
Terhune barn destroyed and house de-
molished, John Cummings house. Mrs.
Fretwell, Messrs. Lindley, Jones, Levi
Gains, A. r. Burrell, NJ. F. White, J..
II. Lutte, H. Trowbridge ard others had
their houses more or less injured.