Whirlwind on the Prairie: Part 1

Uncovering the stories behind one of the earliest recorded tornadoes in Chicago area history

Preface

A tornado which occurred on May 22, 1855, was long believed to have occurred within today's boundaries of Chicago, Illinois. Among the earliest recorded tornadoes in Illinois history, it entered a place of local and regional lore, being mentioned in numerous sources with only limited details.
Over two years of research using a combination of newspaper archives, genealogical information, and GIS analysis finally determined the true location of the tornado. This research brought to light numerous interesting people and places uncovered in documents stored in the National Archives, the Smithsonian Institution Archives, and local historical society archives. Much of this material wasn't able to be shared in scientific and technical publications covering this event. In this series, I attempt to share more details about the people affected by the storm.

A Whirlwind on the Prairie

May 22, 1855, was a hot and humid day in northeast Illinois. Southwest winds had helped push the mercury well into the 80s by early afternoon, with some locations nearing 90 degrees. With the high temperatures and dewpoints came instability. By 3pm, a thunderstorm began to form in then-rural northwest Cook County, about 20 miles from Chicago. As the storm moved very slowly to the southeast, it strengthened. A funnel-shaped cloud descended to the ground, eventually turning into a tornado. Rain began to fall. Then hail.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the tornado moved southeast across Jefferson Township, in the vicinity of Jefferson Mill. Although it avoided most of the houses and barns that sparsely dotted the prairie, it eventually reached the residence of the Page and Wheeler family. Their home, which contained at least 10 occupants, was lifted off of its foundation and demolished. Two small children and one adult were instantly killed. At least six others were injured, some seriously. Multiple farm animals were killed, debris was scattered across the property, and splinters of wood impaled the ground.

It was among the first documented tornadoes in northeast Illinois, and widely regarded as the first to occur within modern-day boundaries of Chicago.

Records Turned to Ash

Just over 15 years later, the Chicago area was faced with another weather-related tragedy. Summer 1871 was hot and dry in northeast Illinois, part part of a larger pattern of dry conditions which covered not only Illinois, but large portions of the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. From early July to early October, just 3.55 inches of rainfall were recorded in Chicago, which was among the driest such periods on record, second only to 1934. Only three days in September recorded any precipitation, and not a drop of rain occurred during the first several days of October. Temperatures were often in the 70s and 80s, far above normal for early-to-mid autumn. Winds were often breezy, with gusts of 15-25 mph on most days.

This lack of rainfall, combined with the heat of summer, led to drought conditions. Vegetation dried out. The top layer of soil turned to dust in the wind. Conditions were ripe for fires.

By early October, several weather observers across the Midwest and Great Lakes began reporting haze and smoke. Prairie fires had begun breaking out across the area in rapid succession. In some areas, smoke became so dense that it blocked the view of any possible clouds in the sky.

Map of fires occurring across the Great Lakes during October 1871. Michigan State University.

U.S. Signal Service/NOAA weather map, Midwest Regional Climate Center.

By October 8, temperatures continued to be above average, into the 80s. A strong low pressure system was moving across the Great Plains, leading to gusty southwest winds of 35-45 mph. By the evening, a fire had broken out in the southwest part of Chicago (modern-day Near West Side community area). Although fires were not necessarily uncommon in cities the 19th century - almost all buildings were made of wood - they could be very dangerous, especially under the right weather conditions. The dry weather of the preceding weeks, and the very windy conditions, rapidly spread this fire across the city. The Great Chicago Fire was underway (1).

By October 10, the fire finally burned itself out after light rain moved into the area and the number of available buildings had dwindled. In the end, over 300 persons were killed and over 17,000 buildings destroyed.

Among those buildings was the Cook County Courthouse. With its destruction came the loss of numerous public records - birth records, death records, property transactions, weather records, and many more. Most records of the Chicago area tornado 16 years prior turned to ash.

Cook County Courthouse after the 1871 fire.
Associated Press (indicated as in the public domain).

Prairie Becomes City

Figure 2, Lincoln et al. 2022. In 1855, Chicago was just a small city near the mouth of the Chicago River along Lake Michigan (dark gray). By the 1900s, Chicago had annexed large tracks of surrounding land, including Jefferson Township (light gray).

In the 1850s, the tiny village of Jefferson sat on the Illinois-Wisconsin Railroad about 10 miles from the city of Chicago, in a township (2) of the same name. Chicago didn't extend much beyond today's Loop, Near North Side, Near West Side, and Near South Side community areas. Rapid growth of the city over the following decades led to annexations of large tracts of land in all directions but east.

In one of the largest single annexations in city history, Jefferson Township (today's Jefferson Park neighborhood) became part of Chicago in 1889. Because of the belief that the tornado of May 22, 1855, occurred within Jefferson Township, this led to the belief that it was the first recorded within today's boundaries of Chicago, although the exact location within the 6-mile by 6-mile township area was elusive.

Because the Chicago Tribune remains one of the most widely-available, contemporary news sources from the 1850s, and due to the lack of county records, the story continued to be told this way for over 160 years.

Click here for Part 2 of Whirlwind on the Prairie, where the location of the May 22, 1855, tornado is finally found.

Footnotes

Elsewhere in the Great Lakes, raging wildfires destroyed numerous towns and killed thousands. One fire in particular, the Preshtigo Fire, remains the deadliest fire in U.S. history.
Townships are political subdivisions of counties. In the 1800s, townships were sometimes referred to as "Town of ..." which, in today's wording, might invoke thoughts of a single, populated place.

References

Chicago Daily Tribune, 1855: A Hail Storm. Chicago Daily Tribune. May 23, 1855.

Chicago Daily Tribune, 1855: Terrific Tornado. Chicago Daily Tribune. May 24, 1855.

Chicago Daily Tribune, 1855: The Storm of Tuesday. Chicago Daily Tribune. May 25, 1855.

Chicago Daily Tribune, 1855: Further Particulars of the Whirlwind of Tuesday. Chicago Daily Tribune. May 26, 1855.

Finley, J. P., 1882: Report on the Character of Six Hundred Tornadoes. Professional Papers of the Signal Service, Volume 12.

Lincoln, W.S., R. Ogorek, B. Borchardt, and S. Heraty, 2022: Determining the Location of the 22 May 1855 Chicago Area Tornado. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 104, E31–E50.