Bellevue Tornado
The following was copied by Daryl Polley from
an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer for Monday
August 26, 1867
A fearful tornado passed over the village of Bellevue just above Newport, on Saturday afternoon between one and two o'clock. Six or seven frame houses were in course of construction in the place, nearly all of which were blown down or damaged by the storm. The buildings were being erected for the following individuals: Reuben Tedrow, Frederick Heintz, V Harris, Job Thompson and a Mr. Robb of Cincinnati. Mr. Thompson's house was not greatly damaged. The buildings of Mr. Harris and Mr. Robb were almost completely wrecked. The damage to each of them is about six hundred dollars. The houses of Tedrow and Heintz were not in a very forward state of construction, and the damage to them therefore was not so great as the others.
Mr. Spencer Reeves had just finished a large stable in Bellevue, which was completely demolished, many of the time being carried a distance of a quarter of a mile. Mr. Reeves' loss will amount to between $1200 and $1400.
Several carpenters who were engaged at the work on the frame houses, when they saw the stable blown away, ran to an open field for safety. They state that the air suddenly became dark and that boards, rails and pieces of timbers from the buildings were hurled over their heads at a frightful rate. None of them however, were injured.
The small building at the Taylor's Creek Bridge, which is used as a toll-house, was blown into the air for a considerable distance, and finally came down on the opposite side of the road. Luckily the toll-gatherer was not in it at the time. A large sycamore tree which stood near the bridge was blown down and the trunk twisted in a fearful manner, showing the great force of the tornado.
Wolf's Rolling Mill and the Miami Coal Oil Refinery, which are situated but a short distance this side of Bellevue, were partially unroofed by the storm. The steamer Allegheny Belle was passing up the Ohio River, opposite Bellevue, at the time of the storm, having a number of barges in tow, two of which were blown loose from her and drifted down the stream, but were afterward caught by one of the ferry boats.
The tornado came from the north east and seems to have extended a considerable distance up the river. The Maysville packet Columbia encountered it a short distance below Dover, but the boat was not injured. The passengers, however, were considerably alarmed for awhile.
After the storm five of six cows were minus
their horns. It is supposed they were knocked off by flying timbers.