This summary looks back at an F2 from October 23, 1934. Information for this event came from the following resources:
- Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes
- Newspaper articles via newspapers.com
Here are the stats on this event from Thomas Grazulis:
Hit at 1720 local time. There were 20 injuries and 5 fatalities. The path length was 14 miles and the width 200 yards. Rating given: F2
Details from Grazulis:
- Moved NE from 4 miles SW of Maryville, through town and hit a depression-era CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) camp NE of town.
- Tornado ended 6 miles West of Parnell.
- 60 homes were unroofed or damaged in Maryville.
- At the CCC camp, a barracks was destroyed, 5 people were killed.
Additional Details from newspapers:
Here is how the event was described by the Maryville Daily Forum on Wednesday, October 24, 1934:
From this same newspaper article, “the heaviest damage in the downtown district was done at the McFarland ice and fuel plant. The building was unroofed and the heavy concrete blocks were piled to the inside of the building. The roof was carried west across the street on top of the Martin building.”
Per The Marion Standard in Palmyra (10-24-1934), the high school building was hit. Members of the Maryville football team had just returned from practice. They huddled in the gym to escape injury.
Here is a clip from The Marion Standard describing what it was like at the CCC camp:
All five fatalities occurred at the CCC camp. They were all veterans from World War I. Here are the names of those killed followed by newspaper articles:
Harvey Drake, Guy R. Allen, H.S. Newton, Ralph E. Hare, Samuel F. Morrow
Tornado Path
Coordinates based on path description in Significant Tornadoes:
Start: 40.299009/-94.923967 End: 40.435324/-94.736181
Note: Exact tornado path may not be straight and/or continuous.
Social Media Images
Newspaper Clippings
Sources:
Grazulis, Thomas P. (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. Page 856.
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