The 1924 Storm

The Peoria Weather Bureau Chronicles:

June 28, 1924:

"The storm of early a.m. was the worst in the vicinity of Peoria since that of June 10th, 1902. The recent storm damaged some localities by wind, others by heavy rains. 

"The wind damage was largely to trees and lighter buildings. In some localities, houses were unroofed, substantial farm buildings demolished, and even small orchard trees leveled. Some of the worst destruction occurred a short distance west of Hanna City, in portions of Peoria, along several miles of the road west from Washington, Ill., at Cloverdale, and in the north portion of Pekin. At Cloverdale, and near Hanna City and Washington, buildings were scattered 1/4 to 1/2 mile. West of Washington all telephone poles were blown down and occasionally tumbled farther into the fields.

"At Peoria the gale lasted six minutes, ranging from 40 to 62 miles per hr. At 3:30 a.m. it rose suddenly from 20 mi per hr to 62 mi from SSE, then blew successively for about one minute each, from S, SW, West, and then two minutes from NW, and dropped immediately to 25 miles or less. The barograph in the Weather Bureau office showed an instant drop of .18 inch, and instant recovery, during the passage of the gale.

"It is thought that the Hanna City, Peoria, Washington, damage was all done by the same portion of the storm; while that at Pekin was by another squall, and the Cloverdale-Dutch Hill destruction may have been a third.

"In Peoria and Tazewell counties 4 persons are reported killed and 17 injured; while the wind damage is estimated at close to a half million dollars."

The Washington-area damage started in the vicinity of the Amos Guth and Louis Stahl farms, which is now the oldest part of Sunnyland around Cherry Lane and Stahl Street. Both farmers lost barns and sustained damage to their homes.

Damage was also extensive around Koch School, a school in the East Peoria School District where River Crossing of East Peoria Nursing Home currently sits, south of ICC.  The school was completely destroyed.  Near the school, a six-pound weight off a steelyard scale was carried fifty yards and driven through the wall of a nearby home.

As the storm moved eastward, it toppled every telephone pole along what is now Route 8.  The Andrew Smith farm, which is now the Rolling Meadows subdivision, suffered what was considered the most devastating losses.  Three barns were destroyed, and the home's roof was ripped off.

The Hollands Grove Cemetery trees and timber at “The Forks" were badly damaged. Numerous other farmers in the area lost barns or had livestock killed by flying debris.

The storm weakened slightly when it reached the Washington city limits. Trees were badly damaged throughout the city, but most buildings were spared, with around eleven city homes suffering minimal damage.

The storm re-energized on the east side of Washington and greatly damaged Eureka and Roanoke. 

After the storm, it was inaccurately reported across the Midwest that multiple towns had been wiped off the map in Central Illinois, and hundreds of lives were lost. Thousands of cars from all over Central Illinois descended on the area to view the storm's after-effects and check on those potentially affected since all phone lines were down. This greatly congested traffic on the damage-ridden “Peoria Road” (now Walnut Street/Peoria Street/Washington Road). Cars also streamed into Morton to view reported storm damage, only to find reports were inaccurate, and Morton was largely spared.

Kansas resident Caroline Eckhart, Louis Stahl’s sister, had heard the exaggerated reports of the storm’s fury.  Fearing the worst, she had a medical episode and passed away.

It was originally estimated that power would not be fully restored for two to three weeks after the storm, but poles were replaced, wires were hung, and service was restored within a week.