Cherokee County, AL Tornado, Apr 1903

Submitted by Audrey

Great Devastation Reported from Cherokee County Along the Coosa River.

Devastation in Cherokee.

Chattanooga, Tenn., April 9--A special to The Times from Gadsden, Ala., gives an account of further devastation by the storm of Wednesday morning.

It is stated that a terrific cyclone passed over a path a quarter of a mile wide in Cherokee county, causing the death of one person, the injury of several and doing damage estimated at $15,000.

The cyclone occurred about 3 o’clock in the morning. It first struck the house of Charles Smith, a tenant on the Bishop farm on the Coosa river. Smith’s back was broken and his 7-year-old son was killed.

The storm then swept back and forth across the Coosa river and laid waste some of the finest homes and orchards in Cherokee county, a large number of persons had narrow escapes. In one instance a barn was lifted from over four horses, leaving them uninjured. A Negro who was sleeping there also escaped unhurt.

The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Ga 10 Apr 1903