Chester County, PA Tornado, Jul 1877 - part 10

After the storm had passed through the village of Ercildoun on that Sabbath afternoon, a tide of visitors set in, entirely unprecedented in this part of the country. The sun shone out beautifully; a terrible scene of desolation was spread out in every direction, buildings on every hand having been either blown away or overthrown; fences nowhere; the grass apparently parched and destroyed; trees filling all the roads and pathways; the debris of dwellings spread over all the fields; animals gasping for breath or dying; crops shorn to a level with the ground, and human beings running in every direction. Before evening had come, upwards of a thousand people were gazing with astonishment at the scene; carriages and vehicles of all descriptions were to be seen. On the following day, in fact, during the whole of the next three weeks, the number of visitors did not seem to diminish. On July 8th, the Sabbath after the storm, it is estimated that the number was swelled to five thousand. All the roads leading to Ercildoun were absolutely obstructed with vehicles. Reporters for the press, artists for the illustrated papers, and photographers, were busily attending to their duties. Some of these visitors came in the interest of science, others to extend sympathy and aid to the sufferers, but the great mass of them came with no such purpose. They gazed upon the scene as they would upon a great natural curiosity, and gave the subject little profound thought. They regarded it as a grand “show,” and were certainly well repaid for their many miles of travel thither. The citizens of the village kept watch for a few days to prevent pilfering, but were not entirely successful, as many valuables were stolen.

It is estimated that about fifteen thousand people visited the ruins in and around Ercildoun. The damage done to the Seminary property at Ercildoun—amounting to one-fourth of the injury along the whole track of the storm—was so great, and the general outlook upon the lawn—in which most of the trees were either overthrown, broken off, or otherwise injured—was of so unfavorable a character, that it was deemed best by the proprietor to change its location. He purchased a valuable property containing twenty-six acres of land and very fine improvements, in the vicinity of the borough of West Chester, twelve miles east of its former location. Additional buildings of the most approved character were erected thereon, and its capacity for a Young Ladies’ Seminary or Boarding School, is greater than it was at Ercildoun, and it is believed that some advantages of a decided character will accrue to it in consequence of it being more easy of access, and of its close proximity to one of the most beautiful towns in the State of Pennsylvania.

The story of the great storm seems now to be fully told. It is one of the phenomena of the century. It has no rival or parallel in this latitude. Its track was extremely narrow, not more than two hundred yards in width, yet it destroyed nearly forty thousand dollars worth of property, principally in buildings. We may never see the like again, but those of us that endured its terrors and suffered its losses, will never forget it. The storm-cloud, in its long journey of twenty-two miles, killed but one person and severely injured three others, but it imperiled the lives of several hundred, who are justly thankful for their narrow escape from death. We have not been accustomed to fear much the thunder, the lightning and the storms of heaven. That calm Sabbath July afternoon has, however, reminded us that a passing cloud may be lashed into the wildest fury and deal out death and destruction on every hand. Whilst we cannot foolishly regard this storm as a dispensation of Providence, as some have said, but rather the wild fury of the elements, acting according to fixed laws, we are, nevertheless, impressed with the dangers to human life on every hand, and with the power of God as he carries out his laws, irrespective of man’s wishes or expectations.

A full description of the great tornado in Chester County, Pa, 1877

Continued in part 11, below