Adams County, ND Tornado, June 1923

WIDE AREA IN SOUTHWESTERN PART OF NORTH DAKOTA LAID WASTE BY TERRIFIC CYCLONE.

FARM BUILDINGS ARE WRECKED, WIRES DOWN, AND PARTIES ARE SEARCHING COUNTRYSIDE FOR DEAD AND INJURED IN STORM -- DAMAGE WILL REACH OVER $100,000, MEAGRE REPORTS OBTAINABLE FROM SCENE OF STORM SAY.

Aberdeen, S.D., June 25. -- Death and destruction swept Adams county, North Dakota, when a tornado at 9 o'clock Sunday evening laid waste a wide stretch of prosperous farming country for 40 miles in the vicinity of Reeder and Hettinger, according to word received here.
Ten are known to have perished and the search continues amid the ruin of farm houses, advices said.
Known dead are MR. and MRS. GEORGE LEWIS of Hettinger; MR. and MRS. W. B. LAMBERT, living south of Bycyrus and OLAF LUNDAHL of Bycyrus.
Three persons are dead in homes destroyed south of Reeder, North Dakota, and two dead south of Scranton, North Dakota.
Three children of the LEWIS family were injured.
Physicians from Lemmon, S. D., and searching parties from towns in the vicinity are driving over the devastated regions searching for other dead and injured.
Wires to Reeder are all down so that communication with what was the center of the storm has not been made.
Property damage will be enormous for the path of the storm is lettered with wrecked houses and barns and wrecked silos.
Known to have been injured in the storm are:
W. R. BEAUMONT.
MRS. FRANK GOTCHEY.
HARRY DANFORTH and two children.
All the above from Reeder. Scores of others, names unknown are reported hurt.
Two children of GEORGE LEWIS were found safe in the basement of the home, the parents dead.
The tornado hit Adams county, south of Reeder, and cut a path through from Reeder to Bucyrus lifted for eight or ten miles and then dropped to earth southeast of Hettinger, continuing for eight miles.
MRS. HERBERT SPENCER and two children of Bucyrus, GLADYS LAMBERT and MARSHALL LAMBERT of Bucyrus were reported slightly hurt.
Telephone communication between Bismarch and Reeder was disrupted by the storm. Reeder is on the Milwaukee railroad line in Adams county, in the southwestern corner of the state, and could be reached over the Milwaukee's line of communication.

Hear Five Killed.
Fargo, June 25. -- A dispatch to the Forum, says five are known to have been killed in a cyclone that struck in the west end of Adams county about 8:30 o'clock Sunday night. The dead listed are:
MR. and MRS. W. B. LAMBERT of Bucyrus.
MR. and MRS. GEO. D. LEWIS of Hettinger.
OLAF LUNDAHL, Bucyrus.
Property damage at $100,000.
MR. and MRS. LAMBERT were killed in the destruction of the residence of HERBERT SPENCER, where they were calling. MR. SPENCER was internally injured and may not recover. MRS. SPENCER was slightly injured and their two children also slightly hurt.

Hettinger Escapes.
Mandan, N. D., June 25. -- A telephone report from Hettinger says that wires were down between Hettinger and Reeder and Scranton.
MR. and MRS. GEORGE LEWIS, who were killed, live considerably north of Hettinger. A report was received at Hettinger that a daughter of MR. and MRS. W. B. LAMBERT of Bucyrus also perished.
Hettinger escaped loss in the storm.

The Bismarch Tribune North Dakota 1923-06-25

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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!