Tornado of 1924

On June 28, 1924, a deadly tornado struck Sandusky and Lorain. Over eighty people lost their lives and hundreds more were injured. In Sandusky, over one hundred homes and twenty-five businesses were destroyed. Those killed in the Sandusky area included R.F. McKee, William Hampton, Howard Van Blarcum, Jacob Schaefer, Minetta Margard, and Howard Wobser, age 14, from Castalia. Mrs. Julius Kardatzke of Vickery, John Hinton, a native of Kentucky, and Mrs. Eleanor Stacks, from Cleveland, later died from injuries sustained during the tornado. 

The standpipe at the Water Works was crushed by the tornado:

The roundhouse at the B & O Railway was destroyed. R. F. McKee and Jacob Schaefer, who lost their lives during the tornado, had been employed by the B & O Railway.

The Kilbourn Cooperage on East Water Street was destroyed, along with much of its stock:

Area residents viewed the damages at  on Market Street:

The National Guard was brought in to assist in the clean up following the devastating tornado:

These are just a sample of the photographs and postcards in the holdings of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Visit us to view these and hundreds of other images from the 1924 Tornado. Extensive coverage of the 1924 Tornado was featured in both the Sandusky Register and the Star Journal, both available on microfilm at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Jack Vance, an Associated Press operator working at the Register on June 24, 1924, was hailed as a hero for his coverage of the tornado. He was given the distinction of “breaking” the big news story.  Mr. Vance was in his office at the Sandusky Register as the tornado hit Sandusky. In the darkness of the storm, debris hit Vance’s window. He took his copy about the tornado over to the Western Union Telegraph Company, but there was no wire. He rushed to the telephone, only to find that there was no connection. There was an automobile outside the Register’s building. Jack Vance jumped into the car, and drove to the New York Central Railroad office, where the story was transmitted over the railroad wire.