Country Facts and Folklore
By Andy Reddick

A TWISTER IN DOUDS

As reported in the newspaper, the community of Douds-Leando suffered considerable damage from a tornado on July 15, 1903.

Portions of the roof were blown off McGill’s store and the railroad depot. The front of Tolbott’s store was badly damaged, as the plate glass windows and the front door were blown inward. Several buildings were moved by the storm. William Doud’s barn was moved more than a foot off its foundation.

High winds blew tree limbs down on both sides of the river, and the river road below Leando was impassable because of downed trees. According to reports, some of the trees seemed to be uprooted.

Hail caused damage to property and crops. Orchards suffered, and the corn and oats crops suffered severely. It was the worst storm of the season locally with heavy rain reported by many area residents.

(Keosauqua’s State Line Democrat Thursday, July 15, 1903)

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Contributed to the Van Buren Co. IAGenWeb Project by Andy Reddick
http://iagenweb.org/vanburen/