A new exhibit at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science explores the deadliest tornado in U.S. history.
“The Tri-State Tornado: Tragedy and Resilience” traces the steps of a March 18, 1925, F5 tornado that raged through parts of Southeastern Missouri, Southern Illinois, and Southwestern Indiana. Winds peaked at 300 miles per hour, resulting in 695 fatalities, 2,027 injuries, and 15,000 homes destroyed along the twister’s 219-mile path.
“We want people to remember this event and honor the individuals who lost their lives, and those who provided relief and assistance for recovery,” says Tom Lonnberg, Evansville Museum’s chief curator and curator of history. “It’s an overview of the entire event.”
In Southwestern Indiana, the tornado traveled through Posey, Gibson, and Pike counties before dissipating just southwest of Petersburg. The Red Cross, along with the three major hospitals at the time — St. Mary’s, Deaconess, and Walker — and the National Guard, assisted thousands.
To create the exhibit, Lonnberg collaborated with regional historical and genealogical societies as well as public libraries, the University of Southern Indiana, Willard Public Library, and New Harmony, Indiana’s Working Men’s Institute. He also used books about and newspaper records of the event as resources. Jeff Lyons, chief meteorologist with Channel 14 WFIE-TV, assisted with vetting information. The exhibit includes a video produced in 2007 by then-student Matt Mahrenholz for F.J. Reitz High School’s Feel the History class.
“Relearning this information has been fascinating,” Lonnberg says. “In some ways, I think the storm has been forgotten.” The exhibit runs through July 6.
