When most people think of Gainesville tornadoes, the one that usually comes to mind is the 1936 twister that leveled the downtown area and killed more than 200 people. But just after the turn of the century, there was another deadly storm that struck the city.
FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ARCHIVES AND WIKIPEDIA:
In 1903, one of Georgia’s worst natural disasters in history occurred in Hall County as a tornado touched down southwest of Gainesville and tore through the city.
The storm’s clouds were compared to smoke from an approaching locomotive. The noise of the twister was compared to heavy cannon fire as it tore through the Gainesville Mill Cotton Factory where most of the 98 fatalities and over 200 injuries occurred.
In its four-mile path, the twister’s damage costs were estimated at over $1 million (in 1903 dollars, $35.8 million in today’s dollars.)
By the numbers:
*Lasted only about two minutes
*About 200 structures, including the Gainesville Cotton Mill, the Gainesville Iron Works, hotels, stores, a schoolhouse, a church, and over 300 homes, were destroyed or damaged.
*An estimated 1,500 people were left homeless.
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