Tri-State Tornado

Tri-State Tornado. March 18, 1925. On Wednesday, March 18, 1925 at 4:15 p.m. a tornado ripped through the city of Princeton. In the 60 seconds it took to pass through town, hundreds of people lost everything they owned, and many lost their lives. The tornado was rated an F-5 and named the "Tri-State Tornado," the deadliest tornado in U.S. history to date. In Princeton alone there were 45 deaths, 200 injured and 500 homes destroyed. The 219-mile track left by the tornado was the longest ever recorded in the world, traveling from Missouri, through Illinois and finally into Indiana. In total, the Tri-State tornado claimed 695 lives, injured 2,027 people and destroyed 15,000 homes. The estimated damages came to $16.5 million ($224 million in 2014 values). In Princeton wind speeds reached up to 73 mph, and train cars weighing thousands of pounds were tossed around like toys. There was a ¼ mile-wide path of complete destruction and a broader path of substantial damage over a mile wide. Most of downtown was spared, but the southern third of town was largely reduced to rubble. Additionally, many residences were consumed by fire due to wood stoves toppling over in the storm. Still, Princeton was lucky, especially in a time when forecasters lacked the technology to predict and track severe weather, and cities did not yet have tornado sirens or weather alerts on the radio. The Southern Railway Shops, the Heinz plant, and Baldwin Heights school were destroyed, but fortunately most people had left for the day, contributing to Princeton's low casualty rate. Furthermore, the retail stores around the square held sales events on Wednesday afternoons, luring shoppers downtown and out of harm's way. Had the tornado arrived much earlier, many more Princeton residents would have lost their lives. As often occurs in the wake of disasters, sightseers from nearby areas flocked to Princeton's south side to view the damage, requiring a declaration of Martial Law to limit access to residents only. The Tri-State Tornado left many people homeless or jobless, and many children orphaned, but the people of Princeton showed great resilience. One example of this resilience was their ability to make light of their damaged automobiles. Many vehicles' roofs had been ripped off during the storm but were still drivable and became known around town as "tornado convertibles." Clean-up efforts began almost immediately, and rebuilding began within weeks, although it would be decades before the wounds inflicted by the Tri-State Tornado would completely heal.