The Great Storm of 1894
A violent cyclone-like windstorm tears through Western Washington, leveling buildings and trapping citizens in the debris.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The first electric storm to hit Seattle in three years broke about 7 o'clock last night. It raged with intense fury for fifteen minutes, marking a path of destruction through the state. In Seattle, the Salvation Army tent at Front and Battery streets was laid level with the ground. In Tacoma, the 'Home' lodging house on R Street near Ninth collapsed, trapping Mrs. Fesha and her children; all were eventually rescued, though Mrs. Hurley, also in the building, was severely injured. The storm, traveling at nearly 40 miles an hour, downed hundreds of trees, destroyed the packing department of the Pernbocker Furniture Company in Centralia, and blew over the Odd Fellows' hall in Winlock.
“The trees bent before it, the buildings shook and the Salvation Army tent at Front and Battery streets was laid level with the ground.”
While Seattle is rarely associated with cyclonic activity, the 1894 storm highlights how vulnerable the city’s early frame-built 'boom-era' infrastructure was to extreme weather. The destruction of the 'Home' lodging house, described as poorly constructed during a rush, serves as an early warning of the civic costs of unregulated, rapid development.
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