1899 New Richmond Tornado

 A few years ago I spotted a collection of 4 by 5 inch glass plates in a box with the intriguing label, "1899 New Richmond Tornado".  This was in dad's stuff in his handwriting.   I was vaguely aware of this old catastrophy but don't remember him mentioning these plates.  According to Wikipedia, this storm tore a track through Western Wisconsin on June 12, 1899, killing 117 people.  The worst damage occurred in New Richmond, a small city I often drive through now on the way to my orchard.   I printed the collection in my darkroom and found the results amazing.

There were large structures that survived and areas of the town that were spared, allowing this view.   It is apparent immediately that human nature hasn't changed - people must have come from miles around to do what we now call "rubber necking".

Fires were an added challenge amidst the devastation.

Survivors salvaged what they could.  The line of people in the middle are blurry because a long exposure was necessary.

There were several smaller negatives - including the one that produced this shot - that were not glass plates.  They were the same dreadful brittle negatives with water soluble emulsions that dad's mother's family used at the time - I found them a nightmare to work with.  Because of these, I think this collection somehow was obtained by the Baker family - my grandmother's clan - who lived in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin,  not all that far from New Richmond.

These men lounge around a tree with its bark stripped off.   The two on the right likely are artists or photographers - the equipment used to take the photo plates had to be that size.   The formal dress speaks of a differant time.  I gave the glass plates to the Wisconsin Historical Society, feeling they give an invaluable view of this 111 year old event.