Democratic Sentinel, Volume 10, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 May 1886 — STORM-DAMAGE ELSEWHERE. [ARTICLE]

STORM-DAMAGE ELSEWHERE.

Wreck and Ruin in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The storm which did such fearful work at Xenia was far-reaching, extending throughout Northern and Central Illinois, Central Indiana, and Central Ohio. The winds blew' a hurricane and the rain fell in torrents, flooding streams, and* washing away bridges, culverts, and farm fences. At Dayton. Ohio, the raiqfall measured four and a half inches in three hours. If is roughly estimated that the damage tc property in Ohio alone will reach $500,000. Many of the railroads were seriously crippled by washouts. Indiana suffered severely’ from this phenomenal meteorological disturbance. At Kempton many houses were partially wrecked, one man killed, and several wounded. At Wilkinson the storm blew down all the buildings in town except three. Samuel White was killed, and his wife was fatally injured. A boy named Shaffer was also killed, and about twenty persons seriously hurt, several of whom will die. At Lafayette the Court House and the Roman Catholic and German Methodist Churches were badly damaged, two large carpenter shops burned to the ground by the lightning, and numbers of smaller buildings demolished. At Attica the buildings of the Attica Milling Company, the Revere House, t&e Hess and Harvey Carriage Factory, the depot, and nearly a hundred dwellings and smaller business houses were destroyed. Over 700 people are homeless, four were killed outright and two more fatally injured, while a large number are seriously hurt. The aggregate losses at Attica will be in the neighborhood of $200,000. Seventy buildings were hit hard, being half demolished or entirely annihilated. One of the many losses at Attica will be of valuable shade trees, the district swept over being almost entirely devastated in this respect. At Williamsport several houses were wrecked, two persons killed, and a number badly injured. At Logansport property was damaged to the amount of SIO,OOO. In the vicinity of Richmond houses and barns were wrecked, whole woods ruined, some stock killed, and one barn destroyed by lightning. Reports from Tipton, Taylor's, Monon, and intermediate points show great loss of property, live stock, nnd crops. Many persons are reported injured from all points, and it seems miraculous that the loss of life was so small. The Wabash River inundated the crops along its valley and ruined them. In Illinois the storm was not so violent, though much damage was inflicted in certain sections. Near East Lynn, Rossville, and Potomac a number of houses were demolished and five persons killed. The country was deluged by the tremendous rainfall. The damage by the storm in Jo Daviess County will exceed $20,000. Buildings were unroofed, glass broken, and fences leveled. Several houses were wrecked in the vicinity of Jacksonville, and two or three people seriously injured.