A Full Description of the Great Tornado in Chester County, Pa.Darlington, Richard
History
A Full Description of the Great Tornado in Chester County, Pa.
Darlington, Richard
Chester County (Pa.) -- History; Tornadoes -- Pennsylvania -- Chester County
We now find that the storm-cloud passes to a higher elevation, or
disappears, and for eight miles no buildings are touched. It descended
in a modified form near Broad Run, and overturned and destroyed the
barn of Richard Bailey, and leveled his fruit trees, inflicting a
damage of about twelve hundred dollars. Only one more property was
encountered. The buildings of Jos. Marshall to the north of the
Strasburg road, were struck. His barn was destroyed and a portion of
his house was demolished. He sustained a loss of near eighteen hundred
dollars.
The end of the track of desolation is now reached. The storm is at an
end. The cloud has disappeared, and the story is nearly finished. The
loss of property sustained by the persons living along the route of
the storm-cloud is put in tabular form at the end of this work. It
amounts to over thirty-five thousand dollars.
Edwin Walton, of Highland township, who had a good lateral view of the
movement and appearance of the tornado, gives the following account of
it:
As the cyclone or tornado is a phenomenon of such rare occurrence in
this part of the country, and having an excellent opportunity of
witnessing the one which commenced in the eastern border of Lancaster
county, and passed through portions of Sadsbury, Highland, and East
Fallowfield townships, in Chester County, Pennsylvania, on the
afternoon of July 1st, 1877, I will endeavor to give as correct a
description of it as possible, as it appeared to me. About two o'clock
on the afternoon above mentioned, after arousing from a nap, I
observed that clouds were gathering and distant thunder was muttering
to the north-west. The day was warm, the thermometer indicating a
temperature of about 90 deg. Fahrenheit, though no heated term (as it
is sometimes called) had been experienced; the weather for several
days previous having been rather cool and moist for the season. A
strong wind was blowing from the south-west, producing (as I have been
accustomed to term it) an active condition of the atmosphere, when
storms quickly gather, move rapidly, and are apt to be severe, though
not of long duration.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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