The Damaging 1953-1956 Storms

During a four-year stretch from 1953 to 1956, the Washington area was socked with yearly storms that caused considerable damage.

June 13, 1953

This storm was punctuated by strong winds kicking up around mid-morning.  The greatest damage focus occurred in the South Main St. area of town.  The buildings on the square on South Main St sustained roof damage due to falling trees.  The Stormer residence at 400 South Main Street also had a large tree fall.  

The storm continued into the evening, with lightning striking the television antennae of Ed Essig at 701 Crestlawn Drive, destroying a television.

Residents commented that the 1953 storm was the darkest they had ever seen a daytime sky turn during a storm. It was like night.

May 28, 1954

A "three-fingered tornado" roared through the northern half of the township at approximately 6:00 p.m. on Friday, May 28, 1954. It took a path roughly down Dutch Lane, moved east, and destroyed chicken houses and barns.

May 26, 1955

A squall line tore through Central Illinois around 3:30 p.m. May 26, 1955, not lasting more than ten or fifteen minutes, but it packed a punch.  Pekin took the impact of this one with a tornado causing severe destruction in a 12-block section of town.

In our area, the damage was widespread. A large tree fell on the house in the center of town at 109 South High Street. The Shelby Smith farm and airport on North Main Street also suffered damage, as did farms near Pleasant View School. Harlan Blumenshine lost 100 chickens on his farm when a brooder was blown over, and farmer Ariel Ingold had 13 pigs killed in a building collapse.

August 13, 1956

The most locally devastating of this quartet of quarrelsome quandaries slammed into Washington Township in the early morning of August 13, 1956, while most people were asleep.  Originally hitting the Fondulac area of East Peoria, the destructive winds blew into the Robein area around 1:30 a.m. and took a path right down Route 24.  This storm maintained its strength for several hours.  Sunnyland received the brunt of the storm, with both Vespa Hardware and Lawnwood Lumber stores being hit especially hard.