Great Cyclone at Fort Smith -- Ft Smith AR
N 35° 23.101 W 094° 25.300
15S E 370876 N 3916669
A horrifying tale of a late-night tornado that ripped through town in 1898 is retold on this historic marker.
Waymark Code: WMN8N5
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 01/19/2015
Views: 9
Great Cyclone at Fort Smith -- Ft Smith ARtells the awful tale of a late-night tornado that destroyed downtown Fort Smith and cost hundreds of people their lives and health.
GREAT CYCLONE AT FORT SMITH
A cyclone, carrying death and destruction in its wake, visited Fort Smith at 11:15 PM on Tuesday, January 17, 1898. Out of the Western skies on an unusually balmy night came first an "epic show" of lightning, followed by heavy winds. Then with the roar of 1000 freight trains, a tornado of great proportions spring from the Indian Territory, leaping over the Arkansas River and striking first at the National Cemetery, then turning its force on Garrison Avenue. It flattened buildings from Ninth Street to the new high school on Grand Avenue, cutting a mile-long 500 yard swath of destruction through Fort Smith. Property damage was placed at half a million dollars. As a beautiful morning dawned on January 12, 55 people were dead or dying, and 113 were seriously injured.
History of Marker:
A city historic marker erected in 2003
Link to Marker: Not listed
Additional Parking: Not Listed
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