The Lorain Tornado, 1924

The Lorain Tornado, 1924 is an Ohio historical marker in Lorain County.

Lorain County · 383 Broadway Avenue, Lorain, OH, 44052 -- 383 Broadway Avenue

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Side A: Just after 5:00 P.M on June 28, 1924, a tornado swept off Lake Erie directly into downtown Lorain. Within five minutes, seventy-eight people lost their lives. Fifteen died in the old State Theatre that stood upon this site, as an audience of two hundred watched a Saturday afternoon musical performance. More than one thousand suffered injuries. The tornado did extensive damage to the business district, destroyed 500 homes, and damaged a thousand more. The city’s largest industry, the American Shipbuilding yards, was severely damaged. The tornado, which had hit Sandusky before striking Lorain, continued along the shoreline and struck Sheffield and Avon minutes later. Contemporary accounts listed eighty-two deaths resulting from the deadliest tornado in Ohio’s history. Side B: Same

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

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Marker data: Ohio Historical Markers program, Ohio History Connection (Remarkable Ohio)

More markers nearby

Lorain Station 100under 1 mi
Founding of Lorain, Ohiounder 1 mi
Shipbuilding–Lorain’s First Industryunder 1 mi
Admiral Ernest J. Kingunder 1 mi

On the National Register nearby

Duane Block190 ft
Broadway Building260 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.